Massive congratulations to David Lobell for being awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
Brainfood: Adaptation priorities, Sorghum genomics, Rice seed storage, Barley DNA, Nutrition breeding, Variety adoption, Croatian wine, Chinese eggplants, Finger millet breeding, Fruit & veg
- Global Climate Change Adaptation Priorities for Biodiversity and Food Security. Changes in crop suitability + changes in suitability for restricted-range birds = 10 priority areas.
- Whole-genome sequencing reveals untapped genetic potential in Africa’s indigenous cereal crop sorghum. Two domestication events. At least.
- Association analysis of seed longevity in rice under conventional and high-temperature germination conditions. 10 markers on 5 chromosomes explain 10% of the variation in seed longevity. Fascinating, but one wonders if the game is worth the candle.
- Analysis of DNA polymorphism in ancient barley herbarium material: Validation of the KASP SNP genotyping platform. It’s a brave new world we live in.
- DNA evidence for multiple introductions of barley into Europe following dispersed domestications in Western Asia. European Neolithic barley falls into 3 distinct groups which originated in different places in the Near East and entered Europe via different routes at different times. And they didn’t even look at herbarium material.
- Plant breeding for nutrition-sensitive agriculture: an appraisal of developments in plant breeding. Pick your target, bring in complementary expertise, and don’t rely on the commercial sector.
- Impact of Improved Seeds on Small Farmers Productivity, Income and Livelihood in Umruwaba Locality of North Kordofan, Sudan. Dismal scientists tell farmers to adopt improved peanuts based on bunch of clever maths. What could possibly go wrong?
- Classification of Croatian wine varieties using multivariate analysis of data obtained by high resolution ICP-MS analysis. 75 of them!
- Analysis of genetic diversity and structure of eggplant populations (Solanum melongena L.) in China using simple sequence repeat markers. 92 accessions, 7 geographic ares, 4 clades. As ever, “(t)he results will be useful for eggplant germplasm management and will lead to more efficient use of germplasm in eggplant breeding.” Riiiiiight.
- Heritability, variance components and genetic advance of some yield and yield related traits in Ethiopian collections of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) genotypes. Some simple selection could improve yields.
- Feasibility of Using a Community-Supported Agriculture Program to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Inventories and Consumption in an Underresourced Urban Community. In smallish randomized controlled trial, 5 educational sessions and a box of fresh produce for 16 weeks results in more diverse foods in the house, and maybe even more fruit and veg consumption, compared to households which got nothing. Which is good, but the comparison doesn’t seem fair, somehow.
Nibbles: Chickens, Markets x 2, Bananas, Cover crops, Pyramid foods, Beans, Maize, Austrian diversity, Tuberous legume, Natural wine, Figs and mulberries, Meetings x 3, Purple sweet potatoes, Bambusetum
- Backyard chickens too much hassle? We have the solution for you.
- Supplies go up, prices go down. Those pesky speculators had nothing to do with it.
- Prices go up … The story for India’s agrciultural labourers.
- Colombia’s loss will Ecuador’s gain. Predictions for bananas in the 2060s.
- Conventional farmer loves cover crops. Shurely shome mishtake.
- Building the pyramids. It’s a tough job, but at least you eat well.
- Beans with benefits. On the road with a breeder in Rwanda.
- Chinese maize diversity explored, a bit.
- Massive diversity of all sorts of thing, in German.
- Rhizowen has another favourite underutilised legume crop: Amphicarpaea bracteata subsp edgeworthii.
- It’s vino, but is it natural?
- How is a fig like a mulberry? The Botanist in the Kitchen explains.
- Capturing wild relative and landrace diversity for crop improvement. A conference, in June 2014.
- Agricultural Biodiversity Community @ Work. A conference, in June 2013. PENHA was there.
- Preparations are underway for Kew’s Great Seed Swap. Call me dumb, but I cannot see a date anywhere there.
- Purple sweet potatoes to dye for.
- Oh boy! A regional genebank for bamboo. A bambusetum, no less.
Nibbles: ICRAF meet, Genome meet, Websites redux, Breadfruit video, Livestock project, Data, Kansas wheat, Chief scientists pontificate, Medieval melons, Peruvian foodiness, Whiskey
- ICRAF are having their Science Week. Follow it on Twitter. And let us know if you’re there and want to write about anything agrobiodiversity related that comes up.
- Plant Genome Evolution 2013 has been and gone, alas, but Chris Pires has storified the whole thing, pretty much. Lots of crops in there. But it’s disappeared now, of course.
- Bioversity and FAO redesign their websites. Tell them what you think.
- Diane Ragone talks breadfruit. With video goodness.
- Aussie researcher talks about landing Gates grant to improve African livestock. Hopefully some conservation in there somewhere.
- Decentralizing data: to empower communities; and to empower geeks.
- Data, you said? Here’s data on why Kansas needs wheat breeders.
- The world’s chief agriculture scientists want to share genetic resources. Good of them.
- Europe used to have more melons.
- Enough with the Peruvian superfoods meme, please.
- I may have said this before, but it’s still valid: I need a drink.
Brainfood: Pests & CC, Germplasm pix, Latvian legume rescue, Estonian potatoes, NZ genebanks, Yam polyploids, Tree evaluation, Ethiopian veggie, European seed law, Zulu sheep, Celosia management
- Crop pests and pathogens move polewards in a warming world. At 3 km/year.
- Systems for making NIAS Core Collections, single-seed-derived germplasm, and plant photo images available to the research community. The next level in genetic resources documentation?
- Recovering Genetic Resources of Some Legume Species of Latvian Origin by Plant Tissue Culture. You have to work at it.
- Overview of in vitro Preservation of Potato and Use of the Gene Bank Material in Estonia. They like coloured potatoes in Estonia.
- The key roles of seed banks in plant biodiversity management in New Zealand. Are many and varied.
- Microsatellite and flow cytometry analysis to help understand the origin of Dioscorea alata polyploids. Unreduced gametes did it.
- Genetic variation in progenies of Jacaranda cuspidifolia Mart using the fan systematic design. Yon can measure genetic variation and evaluate performance under different spacings at the same time, which is important in a tree.
- Diversity analysis in Plectranthus edulis (Vatke) Agnew collection in Ethiopia. As ever, a considerable amount of variability was found. Oh hum.
- The European seed legislation on conservation varieties: focus, implementation, present and future impact on landrace on farm conservation. There should be more landraces in the Common Catalogue.
- Characterization of Zulu sheep production system: Implications for conservation and improvement. If they’re so drought tolerant, why is drought threatening them? Well, there’s drought, and then there’s drought.
- Effects of paraquat on genetic diversity and protein profiles of six varieties of Celosia in South-Western Nigeria. That would be a tasty and diverse local leafy green. Well, before the paraquat anyway.