- Overcoming racism in the twin spheres of conservation science and practice. Imagine.
- Getting accepted – Successful writing for scientific publication: a Research Primer for low- and middle-income countries. See above.
- A Performance Management System for Long-Term Germplasm Conservation in CGIAR Genebanks: Aiming for Quality, Efficiency and Improvement. Say what you do, do what you say, have someone verify it, correct it, improve it. Then repeat.
- Quinoa, potatoes, and llamas fueled emergent social complexity in the Lake Titicaca Basin of the Andes. Who needs maize, am I right?
- Harnessing root architecture to address global challenges. Something else for breeders to scour genebanks for.
- Evidence for host–microbiome co-evolution in apple. The genetic patterns in the endophytic microbiome of 11 wild and cultivated apple species mirrors the phylogenetic relationships among the species.
- Phylogenomic analysis points to a South American origin of Manihot and illuminates the primary gene pool of cassava. At least five wild species have contributed diversity to cassava. No word on microbiomes.
- Genetic Identification of the Local Mukodamashi Varieties of Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv) in Japan. Mukodamashi means “deceiving husband” and the legend is that when a wife makes dumplings from this millet variety, the husband mistakes them for rice cakes because the grains are white and sticky. Thing is though, it’s not just one variety.
The poetry of genebanks
This is definitely a new one for me. A genebanker and a poet have collaborated, and the result is Parchment Scalpel Rock: What’s Up, Doc?, a digital exhibition from Coventry Creates. Here’s a taste:
…genebanks are magicians’ hats from which all researchers
can magic the whole genepool’s variation when they need…
The genebanker is Charlotte Allender of the UK Vegetable Genebank:
I have never worked with a poet so I was excited to be paired with George and we had some really enjoyable discussions about carrots and the various drivers which underpin the current production systems which supply UK supermarkets. I was fascinated by George’s approach, where I had some input into the curation of his verse and the selection of pairs of lines for the final booklet.
And the poet is George Ttoouli:
Bringing Charlotte in to help me edit and curate the lines felt necessary, collaborative. I’m interested in decentering authorship, my own and that of others, through processes. With a little more time, I would have loved to devise a project to allow the rabbits (and hares) at Charlotte’s research centre to curate their own sequence of the poems I produced.
See what you think, and provide feedback on the Coventry Creates website.
Nibbles: Presentations, Taro leaf blight, Agroforestry, Agroecology, Photosynthesis
- Two guides to making good presentations. For what it’s worth, here’s my take: fewer words.
- The latest on taro leaf blight in Samoa, from an Indigenous perspective. Not a presentation in sight.
- Agroforestry in the Solomon Islands involves 132 species. Probably including taro.
- The case for agroecology from the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. You could also see the above.
- Or, we could tweak photosynthesis.
Agricultural biodiversity and conflict
The papers that compose this issue evidence how an integrative approach is not only analytically beneficial but also necessary for research supporting the sustainable resolution of conflict, the related conservation of agrobiodiversity and equitable human-environment relations.
Gabriel Tamariz and Megan Baumann have co-organized and co-edited a special issue of Geoforum on “Agrobiodiversity Change in Conflict and Post-Conflict Landscapes.” I’m hoping I won’t get into trouble for sharing this table which gives an idea of what’s in it.
Nibbles: Maize landraces, Indian plantain, Indigenous conservation, Slow Food, Design a tomato, Saffron in Vermont
- A Mexican entrepreneur and a Pawnee Keeper of the Seed try to save maize landraces in their different ways.
- Indian farmer tries to save plantain varieties.
- Indigenous conservation will save conservation.
- Alice Walters cannot save the food system. But why not let her try?
- None of the above of them would understand the concept of designing a perfect tomato.
- Saffron is the perfect spice.