Climate change

March 26, 2014March 26, 2014

More on TePuke rice in New Zealand

Attentive readers may remember a post from some years back about the return of TePuke rice from IRRI’s genebank to New Zealand. Via our friends at IRRI, here’s photographic proof from Tony Olsen, a local farmer, that he actually planted that variety at what would be a world record southern latitude for the crop (even further S than Rocha, in Uruguay)…

…and that it actually grew, despite a not very sunny summer.

We wait to see whether there’s a decent harvest.

Incidentally, although IRRI was able to send Tony some seeds of TePuke, he says that:

A friend of mine helped me track down some TePuke Gold Rice seeds from the widow of the gentleman who supplied them to the NZ authorities that forwarded them to your institute in the 1970’s.

Which just goes to confirm that people really like holding on to their seeds.

Anyway, what with dire predictions about what will happen to rice yields in its Asian heartland, it might well be that places like New Zealand and Uruguay, now on the edge of the crop’s range, are going to feature much more prominently in the future. Maybe even parts of Japan, which has a young breed of farmers coming through who I’m sure are just itching to take on such upstarts.

March 22, 2014March 23, 2014

Nibbles: Peanut history, Capsicum history, Sequencing history, Globalized rice, Sustainable salmon, Women & agriculture, Climate change & yields, Forest conservation, Bumblebee conservation

Lots to catch up on, strap yourselves in.
The South’s original peanut is the Carolina African runner, and it is in need of help.
Saudi Aramco World does its usual class number, this time on chili peppers. And, in a similar vein, more than you probably want to know about Tabasco sauce.
The evolution of DNA sequencing. In 76 slides, no less, but worth it.
Japanese rice grown in Uruguay for U.S. hipsters. Gotta love globalization.
Sustainable salmon at long last?
Mind the gender gap.
Latest modelling suggests 2% crop yield decline per decade, assuming modest 2 degree C rise in temperatures by 2050. The original paper. We are so screwed. (Well, Uruguayan rice growers and U.S. hipsters aren’t, not so much.) No, really. No, wait…
You know, if we need supercomputers to tell us that forest corridors are good for seed dispersal, it’s no wonder we can’t stop global warming. Just kidding, I think it’s great that supercomputers get a break from climate models every once in a while. Oh, and isolated trees not entirely useless either.
Native wild bumblebees also in trouble, not just honeybees.
So did you miss us? Even more tomorrow to clear the decks.

March 17, 2014March 23, 2014

Brainfood: Intercropping, Biodiversity loss, Fisheries evolution, Pigeonpea diversity, Upland framing, Alpine agroforestry, Italian core tomatoes, Madagascar adaptation

Is there an associational resistance of winter pea–durum wheat intercrops towards Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris? Yep. Which is important for organic systems, apparently, because they are martyrs to this aphid.
Interactions between climate change and land use change on biodiversity: attribution problems, risks, and opportunities. Interactions make things complicated, but fortunately there are some pretty simple things you can do that address multiple drivers of biodiversity loss. Including for crop wild relatives?
What can selection experiments teach us about fisheries-induced evolution? Harvesting can lead to rapid genetic change and lower fisheries yields.
Genetic Diversity and Demographic History of Cajanus spp. Illustrated from Genome-Wide SNPs. Asia species different to Australian. Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh centres of origin and domestication. More diversity within populations and landraces than between states.
Mixed Grazing Systems Benefit both Upland Biodiversity and Livestock Production. Livestock grazing management on upland farms influences economic outputs, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions, all at once. Mixed upland grazing systems consisting of sheep and cattle is your win-win-win. Heirloom breeds no help, alas. Because they don’t count as biodiversity, I guess.
What plant traits tell us: Consequences of land-use change of a traditional agro-forest system on biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Both abandonment and intensification of traditionally managed larch agroforestry in the Alps are bad.
Genetic diversity in Italian tomato landraces: Implications for the development of a core collection. You may need up to 25% of a southern Italian collection of open-pollinated tomato landraces to get a decent core. But since the collection is only 75 landraces anyway…
Extreme vulnerability of smallholder farmers to agricultural risks and climate change in Madagascar. Main coping strategy seems to be eating less food. And moving from rice to cassava, beans and wild yams. Scary.

March 14, 2014

Nibbles: Clone this, Colombian practices, Nepal biodiversity management, Maasai film-makers

Hey, let’s clone a plant!
Agricultural biodiversity in Colombia. Settle down in the back, this is about sustainable intensification.
They’re at it in Nepal too, using community biodiversity management to, er, manage community biodiversity. Here’s how they restored the Rupa lake watershed.
Now all the Nepalese need is for some award-winning Masaai film-makers to share their expertise.

March 11, 2014

Nibbles: Mango, Money, Holy guacamole

“Top 8 Wonderful Things You Can Do With A Mango.” Kenyan clickbait. I bought it.
“Third Call for Project Proposals under the Treaty’s Benefit-sharing Fund.” Seed Treaty clickbait. I’m not qualified.
“Guacapocalypse” — a headline to reckon with. Here’s the back story to climate change and avocados.