- Malawian farmers select their own sorghum.
- “Diverse landscapes are better: Policymakers urged to think broadly about biofuel crops.”
- “Reclaiming Land and Farmers for Rice Cultivation“.
- Local foods nourish local businesses.
- “Domestic animals here eat almost anything“.
The hype goes on
“More food at lower cost.”
Now there’s a headline packed with potential. Alas, that’s all it has at the moment, potential. Not to denigrate the science of Angharad R. Jones — known to his pals as Harry — and colleagues at the University of Bristol. ((The full paper is in Nature Cell Biology.)) They’ve done some nifty research into what makes plant root hairs grow. It’s a complex study involving a computer model of where the plant hormone ought to be, and the bottom line seems to be that it isn’t where the researchers thought it would be.
Great. A deeper understanding of the development of root hairs is important. Root hairs, after all, are the basis of the plant’s uptake of minerals and water. But the press release goes well beyond that:
This new understanding will be crucial in helping farmers to produce food sustainably and to reduce fertiliser waste, which can cause severe damage to ecosystems.
I’ve written the odd press release myself, and I know how hard it can be to interest reporters in the small individual bricks that make up the building that is scientific understanding. But this kind of reporting is, I fear, going to lead inevitably to overinflated expectations and crushing disappointment.
If anyone notices.
Orange revolution
Sweetpotatoes come in different colors and tastes (and sizes). The “yams” eaten in the United States are sweet and have orange and moist flesh. The staple of parts of Africa and the Pacific (and pig feed in China), is typically white-fleshed and not very sweet nor moist (notwithstanding variations like this purple variety.)
Anyway, the orange fleshed sweetpotato is stacked with beta-carotene, the stuff you need to eat for your body to make vitamin A. Many poor people have vitamin A deficiencies, which leads to stunted growth and blindness. So why don’t the poor sweetpotato eaters eat orange fleshed varieties? In part because they simply do not have them, or know about their health benefits. In part because they do not grow well in Africa (decimated by pests and diseases). And also because they do not taste right: too sweet for a staple.
The International Potato Center and partners have been trying to fix all that. Now they have made a nice video about getting orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes into the food-chain in Mozambique. The orange revolution:
https://vimeo.com/2278794I wonder if they also promote mixing more sweetpotato leaves into the diet — even of white fleshed varieties. The leaves are a very good source of micro-nutrients, including beta-carotene! More fodder for the biofortification discussion.
Nibbles: Early diet, Rice, Veggies, Barley, Research, Taiwan, Coffee trade
- Early Peruvians didn’t brush their teeth. On the plus side, they had a tasty, varied diet.
- Mangrove rice farming in West Africa: The Book.
- “Could it be that vegetables are the new meat?“
- Wild relative rescues barleys threatened by Russian pests.
- Gates supports McKnight supports poor farmers.
- Vavilov does Formosa.
- Ethiopian Commodity Exchange gets to grips with coffee. Starbucks unavailable for comment.
Nibbles: String, Lake District, Apples, Biochar, Display, Firs, Sweet potato, Rice, Bison
- Lots of agrobiodiversity in one little piece of Neolithic string.
- Traditional cow breed saves plant saves rare moth. The elusive agrobiodiversity win-win-win?
- Centenarian arboreal agrobiodiversity artfully pruned.
- Burning agrobiodiversity. But in a good way. And for a good cause.
- Plant parts create Yuletide fantasy.
- Speaking of Yuletide, Christmas trees need diversity too. And Michigan State is there.
- Sure, it’s impressive, but is it a potato?
- Farming on the edge … of a large reservoir. Life has its ups and downs.
- Aristotle on bison faeces. Yes, that Aristotle.