- Bolivia ramps up coca production. Sniff.
- Tamil Nadu ramps up rice breeding.
- Bulgaria ramps up artisanal cheese production.
- Collaboration between organic and biotech ramped up. In other news, pigs fly.
- Ramp up use of microbes, microbiologist says. Nobody surprised.
- Americans ramp up production of purple potatoes.
- Everyone ramps up bean production. To save the planet, no less.
- Can agroforestry be used to ramp up tree conservation? Well, maybe?
- Need to ramp up sweet potato marketing.
Brainfood: PGR commons, Tomato GWAS, Mango pollen, Grapevine cryo, Synthetic wheat diversity, Wild lettuce diversity, Indian homegardens, Ghats agrobiodiversity, Indian cattle, Wild potato genecology, Composite genomics, Conservation targets
- What kind of goods are plant genetic resources for food and agriculture? Towards the identification and development of a new global commons. Exclude non-Parties to the ITPGRFA from access, and get all Parties to make up-front financial contributions are the recommendations that most grabbed my eye.
- Genome-Wide Association Studies Using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers Developed by Re-Sequencing of the Genomes of Cultivated Tomato. Markers for important agronomic traits identified. Now to use the little buggers.
- Low temperature storage of mango (Mangifera indica L.) pollen. Good to know for these recalcitrant things.
- Cryopreservation of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) in vitro shoot tips. Another triumph for droplet-vitrification.
- Evaluation of Morphological Traits Diversity in Synthetic Hexaploid Wheat. But is it novel?
- Wild Lactuca species, their genetic diversity, resistance to diseases and pests, and exploitation in lettuce breeding. It is novel, but can be difficult to use.
- Homegardens as a distinct agro-ecological entity in Kerala: Its biodiversity, structural dynamics and environmental significance. They are becoming more and more important as refuges for biodiversity, but need policy support.
- Probable Agricultural Biodiversity Heritage Sites in India: XVII. The South-Central Region of Eastern Ghats. And not a homegarden to be seen.
- Genetic diversity and relationship of cattle populations of East India: distinguishing lesser known cattle populations and established breeds based on STR markers. Just because it’s not officially recognized as such, it doesn’t mean it’s not a breed.
- Reproductive ecology and genetic variability in natural populations of the wild potato, Solanum kurtzianum. Sexual reproduction, insect pollinator behaviour and seed dispersal by storm water channels make for more diversity within than between populations, and more besides.
- Genomics of Compositae crops: Reference transcriptome assemblies, and evidence of hybridization with wild relatives. Self-incompatibility and post-zygotic isolation makes for crops that are generally more different from their wild relatives.
- Consequences for diversity when animals are prioritized for conservation of the whole genome or of one specific allele. Basically, you can’t do both.
Nibbles: CIAT strategy & genebank, Baked beans, Bambara groundnut meet, Malnutrition debate, Bee farming, Pineapple genomics, Sustainable intensification debate
- CIAT wants your help with its strategic planning. Read page 4 of the document: “…CIAT proposes to create a new genebank…”
- Breeding a better British baked bean. What, again? Or still.
- Talkin’ Bambara groundnut blues.
- Solutions for micronutrients deficiency, in general and in particular.
- Bees and yields take off in Kenya.
- Pineapple taste gene identified, spliced into sugarcane, to produce GMO piña colada. Made you look!
- Proponents of sustainable intensification are lickspittle lackeys tied to the apron-strings of the military-industrial complex.
Nibbles: Golden Rice vs kitchen gardens, China vs world, Cool fungi, Measuring nutrition outcomes, Ancient pig keeping, Mapping potatoes, Plant evolution, Supporting genebanks
- Golden Rice better than kitchen gardens? We just don’t have the data. But why is that?
- Brazil and China compete for African agriculture. Are either of them at this African food security conference? Meanwhile, Australia vs China in the Pacific. Are either of them contributing to this ecosystem management survey? Oh, what could possibly go wrong?
- The “beauty” of mycorrhiza. And more cool fungi.
- World Bank says it is possible to measure nutritional outcomes in children without breaking the bank.
- It wasn’t just ancient farmers who kept pigs.
- CIP uses GIS shock.
- Darwin’s abominable mystery sorted out. Oh, and cereal vernalization to boot.
- Nabhan: The U.S. government should direct more money to the country’s “underfinanced seed collection and distribution programs.”
Nibbles: Citrus cryo, Vegetables everywhere, Threatened ecosystems, Brazilian ag, Native restoration, Regeneration video, Nomenclature, Grass pea, Tef, Millet, Hops, Kenyan rabbits, Bloody quinoa
- Saving citrus by freezing it.
- WorldVeg pushing tomatoes in the Solomons. New York next? Ah, but what they really need is Mind Gardens. Oh, and a how-to-save-seeds book. Or maybe just Jeremy’s latest podcast on breeding your own veggies.
- Ecosystems get their red list too.
- “Although there are some who consider Brazilian agriculture to be aggressive and destructive, we want to share another vision for the rest of the tropical belt…”
- But if it’s too late, of course you can try to restore them.
- Video of wheat regeneration in Canada. Like watching grass grow. No, wait.
- The naming of plants, music to our ears.
- Kew does Lathyrus sativus, grass pea to the rest of you, music to Luigi’s ears.
- IFPRI is going great nutritional guns, with the low-down on tef and biofortified millet.
- So, Big Picture Agriculture’s hop garden is flourishing.
- Likewise rabbits in Kenya.
- Enough already with the quinoa.