Climate change

September 17, 2011September 19, 2011

Climate change in Italy?

A routine trip to the local plant nursery — and a very good nursery it is too — was enlivened by some fairly manky-looking small trees. They seemed quite out of place among the bedding plants and tender annuals, so off I went to investigate. And, boy! was I surprised. Macadamia, Haas Avocado, Litchi, Cherimoya, Guayabay (Guava, but not sure whether it is Psidium or one of the others.) and two kinds of Mango, Kent and Osteen. Now, I know it has been hot here, but will any of these fruit reliably in Italy? Osteen is apparently grown commercially in Spain, but what about the others?

Anyway, I only had my mobile phone with me, but here are some pictures.

Exotic fruit trees — Ratty-looking row of trees.

Young mango leaves; rather pretty, really.

Mango tree label — A label, if proof were needed.

September 16, 2011September 16, 2011

Nibbles: Coffee lupins, Supply and demand, ICT, Cacao, Malnutrition

Remember that lupin coffee? Mike H provides an update.
Complex and scary: Resources Research picks over the USDA’s supply and demand figures after the heat and drought.
USD1 million for ICT in East Africa. Hope they’ll be visiting us.
USDA finds ancient cacao variety at altitude in Peru; chocolatiers delighted.
“We’ve got a gap between evidence and policy.” Guess the field. No, really, I dare you. Venture a guess as to what he’s talking about here. Yep, could be anything.

September 13, 2011March 23, 2012

Nibbles: Gardens, Food/nutrition jargon, Photos, Pacific livestock, Durian descriptors, Oysters, Thai breeders, Meat-reducing, Gender, Chinese fortification, G20

Community veggie gardens in Cape Town.
BNSP? WTF?
AoB adds botanical picture search. Will nothing stop these guys? And meanwhile… Sheesh, is there something in the air today?
How can Pacific livestock adapt to climate change? And don’t say they should learn to swim.
How NOT to describe a durian.
The continuously imminent demise of the Chesapeake Bay oyster.
Plant breeders go on the rampage in Thailand.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall turns out not to be a made-up name. Pity.
Kenya’s agriculture increasingly depends on women. MIL unavailable for comment.
“…because our idea of “adding more” has shaped the way we treat micronutrient deficiencies through food fortification globally, trying to integrate this in China is turning out to be problematic.” I bet it is.
Montpellier G20 meeting looking for “effective and innovative research partnerships for development and better impact of research from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.” I hope they brought their pyjamas.

September 12, 2011September 13, 2011

Brainfood: Millet diversity, Maize landraces and hybrids, Potato carotenoids, Wheat domestication, Value chains, Population modeling, Rhizobium diversity, Yeast diversity, Core collection, Wild Zea, Cotton geneflow, Forest fires, Forest diseases

Identification of trait-specific germplasm and developing a mini core collection for efficient use of foxtail millet genetic resources in crop improvement. All the goodness of Setaria italica diversity in just 35 accessions.
Farmers’ adoption of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids and the persistence of landraces in Southwest China: implications for policy and breeding. There are pros and cons to both hybrids and landraces, and participatory plant breeding could bring together the pros and get rid of the cons.
Carotenoid concentrations of native Andean potatoes as affected by cooking. Some carotenoids were decreased by boiling, others not so much.
Domestication evolution, genetics and genomics in wheat. A big summary of what we know so far and what we might learn by sequencing some wild wheat relatives.
Research Principles for Developing Country Food Value Chains. Multidimensional demands by consumers demand multidimensional research by scientists. I think.
Range shift promotes the formation of stable range edges. Species can move for reasons other than climate change.
Genetic diversity of rhizobia associated with indigenous legumes in different regions of Flanders (Belgium). A new genus? In Flanders?
Assessment of yeast diversity in soils under different management regimes. Type of management and vegetation has an effect. Yeah, well, you had to be there.
Efficiency of PowerCore in core set development using amplified fragment length polymorphic markers in mungbean. Software for making core collections seems to work.
Three new teosintes (Zea spp., Poaceae) from México. New entities, apparently. Species? Subspecies? More study needed, natch.
Recent long-distance transgene flow into wild populations conforms to historical patterns of gene flow in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) at its centre of origin. Four out of eight populations have transgenes.
Effectiveness of strict vs. multiple use protected areas in reducing tropical forest fires: A global analysis using matching methods. Indigenous areas and multiple use are best.
The sudden emergence of pathogenicity in insect–fungus symbioses threatens naive forest ecosystems. It can happen anywhere, any time.

September 10, 2011

Nibbles: Biodiversity fund, Mexican maize landraces, Przewalski’s horse

Dutch biodiversity fund to pay dividend in cheese. Gouda, presumably.
Landraces save farmers from climate change, yada yada.
Horse wild relative wilder than originally thought.