Jean-Christophe Glaszmann, an agronomist and expert in genetics, has just been awarded the prix Jean Dufrenoy, the French Academy of Agriculture’s highest distinction. The award was made in recognition of his work on the genetics and genomics of plant species of interest for the tropics.
Mine’s a decaff
We’re always on the look-out for examples of the financial value of germplasm collections which don’t involve some obscure and faraway disease, however nasty. So it was really nice to come across a great story about the search for naturally low-caffeine coffee, and in the Wall Street Journal no less. Coincidentally, there was also a blog post yesterday about the wild coffees of Madagascar. 1 Some of the many species found on that island are known to have low caffeine levels, but “[a]ttempts to transfer the caffeine-free property from wild coffee species of Madagascar, which produce an inferior beverage, to C. arabica have failed owing to a strong genetic barrier.”
LATER: I wonder if the recent Korean “land-grab” in Madagascar will have an effect on wild coffees and other interesting endemics.
Nibbles: Sorghum, Baobab, Coffee squared
- Mosutlhwane? Rice from sorghum. Botswana goes for self-sufficiency.
- Sustainable baobab.
- Growing caffeine-free coffee.
- And, coincidentally, a blog post on wild coffees from Madagascar.
Plant breeding resources brought together
The Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB) has just released a new version of its Knowledge Resource Center for plant breeders:
One of the main objectives of GIPB is the establishment of a Knowledge Resource Center, including a shared information portal covering key areas such as training needs and opportunities, access to conventional and molecular breeding technologies and genetic resources, general information on breeding programmes and useful links.
Check it out.
Nibbles: Spuds, Water, Fungi
- Potatoes from seed. Anyone (with a garden) can do this.
- Orwell on irrigation.
- Edible phonebooks (some assembly needed).