- Delayed luminescence of seeds: are shining seeds viable? Maybe, but more research needed.
- Explaining the spatial scale of campesino agriculture in Mexico: Implications for the supply and conservation of native maize. Maize is not just for subsistence; never has been.
- Impact of Xylella fastidiosa subspecies pauca in European olives. Fancy maths says olives are doomed. But we knew that, right?
- Potential and limits of exploitation of crop wild relatives for pea, lentil, and chickpea improvement. Amazingly, still more collecting is needed.
- The projected timing of abrupt ecological disruption from climate change. And this is why.
- The climatic association of population divergence and future extinction risk of Solanum pimpinellifolium. Its range may expand in some places, shrink in others. so it’s not like all bad news then? At least you know where to collect it from.
- Early Holocene crop cultivation and landscape modification in Amazonia. REALLY early agriculture in the Llanos de Moxos. Any collecting there, I wonder?
- Exploring the genetic base of the soybean germplasm from Africa, America and Asia as well as mining of beneficial allele for flowering and seed weight. The African material is not very diverse, but is very different
- Novel Source of Biotic Stress Resistance Identified from Brassica Species and its Wild Relatives. From 3000 to about 10 “useful” accessions.
- Horizontal gene transfer of Fhb7 from fungus underlies Fusarium head blight resistance in wheat. Thinopyrum elongatum got head blight resistance from the fungus Epichloë. GMOs unimpressed.
- A Wild Cajanus scarabaeoides (L.), Thouars, IBS 3471, for Improved Insect-Resistance in Cultivated Pigeonpea. It has multiple disease resistance mechanisms against pod borer. And here it is.
- A Planetary Health Perspective on Agroforestry in Sub-Saharan Africa. Trees on farms are good for you. Here come the data.
- Dietary diversity and fish consumption of mothers and their children in fisher households in Komodo District, eastern Indonesia. Infants and young children are not getting enough of all the fish.
- Agriculture and the Disruption of Plant–Microbial Symbiosis. Agronomy, ecology and breeding can screw up microbial symbioses in cultivated plants, and that’s not good. But it is expected.
- Animal domestication in the era of ancient genomics. “By documenting how livestock populations endured both past epidemics and environmental change, ancient genomics can provide invaluable information that can be used to address current and future societal challenges.” Can.
Nibbles: Native American seeds, Peasant’s Struggle, IWYP, Taxonomy booklet, Phylogenetics booklet, Lost apples, Yak threat, Online mapping, Sampling strategy
- Native Americans are coping with a coronavirus-caused food shortage by seed saving. Among other things.
- On the International Day of Peasant’s Struggle, even.
- IWYP science brief on using wheat wild relatives in breeding.
- Really nice Meise Botanic Garden publication on botanical nomenclature.
- And to complement the above: Phylogenetics in the Genomic Era.
- More old apples found. I’m beginning to think the whole lost apples thing is a scam.
- But losing yaks is a definite possibility.
- Nature Map Explorer is online. Rejoice.
- Sean Hoban on calculating how much to collect and conserve. Without using the above.
Brainfood: PFM, Endemic diversity, VAM, Food systems, Forages, Ganja taxonomy, Maize phenomics, Yield maps, Cassava breeding, Diversification, Distributions
- The illusion of participatory forest management success in nature conservation. Success is in the eye of the beholder.
- Back to the future of a rare plant species of the Chihuahuan desert: tracing distribution patterns across time and genetic diversity as a basis for conservation actions. A combination of genetic analysis and niche modelling shows that population structure is due to habitat, not geography.
- High‐throughput phenotyping reveals growth of Medicago truncatula is positively affected by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi even at high soil phosphorus availability. And affected differently during the course of plant growth.
- Global drivers of food system (un)sustainability: A multi-country correlation analysis. Most drivers are driving sustainability in the wrong direction.
- Progress and Challenges in Ex Situ Conservation of Forage Germplasm: Grasses, Herbaceous Legumes and Fodder Trees. Highly palatable leguminous woody species tick a lot of boxes. We know what to do. Let’s do it.
- A classification of endangered high-THC cannabis (Cannabis sativa subsp. indica) domesticates and their wild relatives. One subspecies, 4 botanical varieties? Well, that’s like your opinion, man.
- Phenomic selection and prediction of maize grain yield from near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy of kernels. Yeah, but can you do it in the field?
- Global dataset of historical yields v1.2 and v1.3 aligned version. For maize, rice, wheat and soybean, for the period 1981-2016. No NIRS in sight.
- Cassava breeding and agronomy in Asia: 50 years of history and future directions. 50% yield increase in 20 years. Is that good?
- Decision-Making to Diversify Farm Systems for Climate Change Adaptation. Define goals, assess enabling & disabling factors, quantify risks, look for gaps in functional diversity, pick some interventions, evaluate & learn.
- Connecting species’ geographical distributions to environmental variables: range maps versus observed points of occurrence. Points are better than polygons.
Nibbles: Indian seeds, Maize CWR, Wheat nutrition, Off the grid, Global Food Policy Report, Carrots
- Some prominent Indian seed savers. With video goodness.
- CIMMYT builds teosinte greenhouse. No video yet, but I’m sure we’ll get one eventually.
- Modern wheats keep you regular.
- You too can live the Paleolithic life. Regularity not discussed.
- But you won’t need to, because yes we can build an inclusive food system. It says here.
- And no doubt it will include carrots. Lots of carrots. Yes, it was International Carrot Day.
Brainfood: Bushmeat, Mixed livestock, Zoos, NUS, GS, Vavilovia, Ribes, Phenotypes, Silkworms, Yam propagation
- Eating Bushmeat Improves Food Security in a Biodiversity and Infectious Disease “Hotspot”. What could possibly go wrong.
- Potential of multi-species livestock farming to improve the sustainability of livestock farms: A review. Depends on management, in particular stocking rate.
- Genotyping on the ark: A synthesis of genetic resources available for species in zoos. Use genomics to improve conservation.
- Dairy cows: in the age of the genotype, #phenotypeisking. “If I were a dairy or beef farmer, I would genotype all my animals and farm phenotypes for sale.”
- Enhancing African orphan crops with genomics. Use genomics to improve use.
- Strategies for Effective Use of Genomic Information in Crop Breeding Programs Serving Africa and South Asia. Use genomic selection to use genomics to improve use.
- The Vavilov Institute’s (VIR) contribution to the survey and study of Vavilovia formosa (Fabaceae). More seeds needed.
- ‘Gabreta’ saved from the ruins of oblivion. That’s a forgotten red currant from the Sudetenland.
- Genetic and genomic analysis for cocoon yield traits in silkworm. Even the wild species could contribute to higher yields.
- Propagation of lusala (Dioscorea hirtiflora), a wild yam, for in situ and ex situ conservation and potential domestication. Lots of options.