- Food as a daily art: ideas for its use as a method in development practice. Food can bring traditional and scientific knowledge together in an smorgasbord of ideas.
- Maize seed systems in different agro-ecosystems; what works and what does not work for smallholder farmers. Sure, purchasing hybrids from the formal sector seed system is gaining ground in Malawi, Zambia, and Chiapas, but not for home consumption, and only in high potential areas.
- Genome sequence of Jatropha curcas L., a non‐edible biodiesel plant, provides a resource to improve seed‐related traits. Is Jatropha even still a thing?
- Comparing genetic diversity and demographic history in co-distributed wild South American camelids. Vicuña (alpaca wild relative) display lower genetic diversity within populations than guanaco (llama) but more structure across Peru; strong bottlenecks happened at different times, but in both cases much later than domestication and before Spanish conquest.
- The Global Nutrient Database: availability of macronutrients and micronutrients in 195 countries from 1980 to 2013. Supply of micronutrients has increased during the period globally and across levels of development.
- Effects of Food Prices on Poverty: The Case of Paraguay, a Food Exporter and a Non-Fully Urbanized Country. Food price hikes are, overall, bad for everyone, but least bad for the poorest and richest.
- A western Sahara centre of domestication inferred from pearl millet genomes. Harlan’s non-centre not found. Free-to-read.
- Molecular basis of African yam domestication: analyses of selection point to root development, starch biosynthesis, and photosynthesis related genes. Domestication of wild yams was all about learning to grow in full sunlight, and it involved losing 30% of their diversity. But remember current wild yams are not all that wild.
- No net loss for people and biodiversity. How to ensure that people really are no worse off after an offset intervention.
- Identification of a novel interspecific hybrid yeast from a metagenomic open fermentation sample using Hi-C. Doesn’t work on its own, though.
- Length variations within the Merle retrotransposon of canine PMEL: correlating genotype with phenotype. Mobile DNA gets everywhere.
- Widespread sampling biases in herbaria revealed from large‐scale digitization. Blame mega-collectors.
- Nitrogen fixation in a landrace of maize is supported by a mucilage-associated diazotrophic microbiota. In aerial roots, no less.
Nibbles: Lad spuds, Assisi olives, Amazing maize art, Wild tea, Peruvian alpaca, TR4, Seed banks, Space Seed Force, Embrapa sweetpotato, ITPGRFA
- The hidden treasure of Colombian potatoes. In a lad mag, no less.
- Umbrian olive terraces get UN status, no less.
- Maize furniture, no less.
- New wild tea species found. In protected areas, no less.
- Saving the dreadlocked Suri alpaca of Peru through spinning.
- Saving the banana through lots of things.
- Seed banks for restoration, but also so much more.
- Even in space. No less.
- But don’t forget to safety duplicate .
- Seed Treaty scores important first, explained. I hope.
Nibbles: Cordillera rice, Farmer seed, Toddy audio essay, Eat This Newsletter, Coconut conservation, Australian genebank, Sweet potato diversification, Mungbean income, NERICA impact, Bing cherry, TFP, Conservation evidence, NordGen matters
- Conserving heirloom rice in the Philippines.
- A seed production company run by farmers.
- Tapping toddy. With audio goodness.
- Lots of goodness in Jeremy’s latest newsletter.
- Australia gets serious about coconut conservation in the Pacific and beyond.
- Australia’s own genebanks are very serious. Oh yes indeedy.
- Will sweet potatoes get young people into farming in Kenya? If my nephews are anything to go by, the answer, alas, is no.
- Maybe they should try mungbeans.
- Or NERICA.
- The Bing cherry didn’t help Ah Bing much though.
- Whatever the crop, it’s total factor productivity that you have to watch for.
- And then don’t forget to include whatever intervention you come up with in subject-wide evidence synthesis.
- Prize for best title of the week: “Nordic cooperation on genetic resources – what’s the point?” Nice video.
Nibbles: Phenotyping drones, Citrus history, Potato museum, Mango database, Florilege, Endicott Pear, Landrace booze, Neolithic Revolution, Easy mapping
- Breeding grass while high. Probably not what you’re thinking.
- When life gives you ancient lemons.
- Potato Museum gets new website.
- Mango gets a database.
- So do France’s genebanks.
- The oldest living cultivated fruit tree in North America? I think not, but interesting nevertheless.
- Whiskey goes heirloom.
- Excerpt from Spencer Wells’ Pandora’s Seed on the Neolithic Revolution.
- Our occasional contributor Robert Hijmans sings the praises of mapping with R.
Nibbles: Konzo double, ANI, ICRISAT genebank, World Potato Congress, Coffee sequence, Food Forever job
- The fascinating story of konzo, nicely told.
- You’ll remember my take on that, of course.
- Speaking of my take, on the release of the Access to Nutrition Index I ask: cui bono genebanks?
- Somebody mention genebanks? Yes, ICRISAT.
- Consider the beauty of the humble potato.
- Nobody ever calls coffee humble.
- Wanna tell the world about any of the above?