- Breeding crop plants with deep roots: their role in sustainable carbon, nutrient and water sequestration. Good for soil structure, good for C sequestration, good for yields. What’s not to like?
- Ethnopharmacology, food production, nutrition and biodiversity conservation: Towards a sustainable future for indigenous peoples. Ethnopharmacologists need to think more generally about nutrition, and a lot more about conservation. And a view on the whole “wonder herb” thing from two botanical garden boffins who protest way too much as far as I’m concerned.
- Modelling predicts that heat stress, not drought, will increase vulnerability of wheat in Europe. It’s the heat, not the humidity. But maybe wild relatives can help.
- The Virtuous Manioc and the Horny Barbasco: Sublime and Grotesque Modes of Transformation in the Origin of Yanesha Plant Life. Maize is the result of a virgin birth, chili peppers of a fart. I’ll buy that.
- Is there a forest transition outside forests? Trajectories of farm trees and effects on ecosystem services in an agricultural landscape in Eastern Germany. Yes, but.
- Biodiversity and socioeconomic factors supporting farmers’ choice of wild edible trees in the agroforestry systems of Benin (West Africa). Those factors are: how important the trees are for food and medicine and how accessible they are. Still no cure for cancer. Anyway, here’s what ICRAF thinks should come next: domestication, natch.
- Pome fruit viruses at the Canadian Clonal Genebank and molecular characterization of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus isolates. There’s a lot of them. Well that can’t be good, can it?
- A long-term view of rare plant reintroduction. A previous review is way too pessimistic.
Nibbles: Drought, Babylonian gardens, Armenian flora, Urban veggies
- NASA says there has not been a drought-driven decline in plant productivity after all. Yeah but where’s my jet-pack, guys?
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon had date palms and tamarisk. At least.
- Edible wild Armenian plants.
- AVRDC on how to grow vegetables in all sorts of different containers.
Nibbles: Kiss apple, Cryptic variation, Brewing yeast history, Sandalwood genebank, Large chile, Red dye, Grassland, Fish eco-labeling, Radiation
- Koreans breed bite-sized apple for breath-freshening. Why can’t I find a picture?
- Climate change bad for genetic diversity too. Tell that to taro in Cameroon.
- Lager yeast came from South America. Thank you, Argentina! And more on long-distance microbe movement.
- Field Gene Bank of Threatened Plants from the Western Ghats threatened.
- Man’s 16-inch chili may be a record. Get your mind out of the gutter.
- The source of Turkish Red.
- “The proper use of native grasslands is to use them as grasslands…”
- Something fishy about eco-labeling.
- Japanese boffins trying to breed radiation-tolerant rice. Maybe they should look at this map in their search for parents for their crossing programme.
Nibbles: Mongolian pastoralists, Kenya pastoralists, UK meadows, Specialty crops, Adaptation
- And we’re back: Desertification threatening Mongolia. Will Biden talk about that on his 6-hour visit today? No, I don’t think so either. Fortunately some people are trying to do something.
- Life not great for pastoralists in Kenya either. But some people are looking to camel milk to see them through. Alas, the latest effort to boost food security research in E. Africa doesn’t have much for livestock-keepers.
- Kew tries to reform UK native grassland seed business. Hope they are taking latest figures on species migration speeds into account.
- Specialty Crops for Pacific Islands book out. Alas, it includes coffee.
- But don’t worry, adapting to climate change is easy.
Brainfood: Two organic wheats, No-till wheat, Mexican maize, High-value maize, Beer
- Collaborative Plant Breeding for Organic Agricultural Systems in Developed Countries. Neither researcher-led nor farmer-led but truly collaborative.
- Structuring an Efficient Organic Wheat Breeding Program. Don’t use data from conventional breeding to select your lines.
- Adaptability of Wheat Cultivars to a Late-Planted No-Till Fallow Production System. don’t use varieties selected for current regimes.
- Assessing the vulnerability of traditional maize seed systems in Mexico to climate change. Not too bad, except maybe in the highlands.
- High-Value Agricultural Products and Poverty Reduction: Smallholder Farmer Access to Maize Markets. There are obstacles to selling sweetcorn, baby corn and green corn.
- Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status of Pre-School Children from Musa-Dependent Households in Gitega (Burundi) and Butembo (Democratic Republic of Congo). Status is bad, and diets are not diverse, but there is no statistically significant association between the two.
- Free iron in pale, dark and alcohol-free commercial lager beers. My preferred beer is better for me.