Commodity

Nibbles: Tomato diversity, Coffee trial, Basque genetics, Water and ag, Heirlooms galore, 3 trillion trees, Agroforestry, Old oats, IP in ag, Food companies and CC, Wheat Initiative, Crop game, Eggplant breeding, E African drought

One crazy French guy, 1134 tomato varieties.
The World Coffee Research International Multi Location Variety Trial really gets off the grounds. See what I did there?
The Basques descend from Neolithic farmers.
Ancient Sri Lankan irrigation systems. Which Bangladesh doesn’t need.
National Heirloom Expo is on.
Did we link to this three-trillion-tree story yet? I don’t think so. How many are edible fruit trees, I wonder?
…or indeed agroforestry and fertilizer trees. Always worth listening to Jules Pretty.
So much for the Paleolithic Diet.
In agricultural innovation, “optimal IPR use depends on the technology itself as well as on market conditions.”
Multinational food companies found to be short-sighted shock.
The global impacts of UK food consumption.
The Wheat Initiative has an agenda.
Can you recognize these crops? ‘Course you can.
Eggplant pre-breeding project involving wild relatives makes mainstream media. Faith in humanity restored. Until you see what else is on that page.
Drought hits Ethiopia. Let them eat sweet potatoes?

In praise of common names. Meh. You won’t see a Latin name in this whole Nibbles. See how you like it.
Building a tomato. In Spanish.
Tracking a tomato.
The dark side of tomatoes.
Amaranth to rescue Mexicans from obesity.
Seeds of contention.
Finding the lost Least Lettuce.
Indigo goes back to the future.
What if the monsoon fails? MS Swaminathan has some answers.
Nice chocolate infographic from FAO.
A diverse microbial community in and around roots helps plants thrive. The Science article is behind a paywall, but there’s a helpful infographic on Twitter.
The US has a National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration. Vision? The right seed in the right place at the right time. Wish I’d thought of that.
When otherwise useful trees attack. Ah, the irony of this coming right after the previous one.
UK’s Global Food Security programme says extreme weather events are increasing and we must adapt agriculture. Good to know.
And today’s Five Plants That Will Save the World are…
Maybe add pawpaw to that?
Japanese rice farmers: change gonna come.
Nice coffee museum in Brazil.
Early agriculture in the Caribbean: Cuba and Trinidad.
The babaçu breakers of Maranhão are under threat. What’s babaçu? Yeah, well, look it up.
“Seed banking began about 30 years ago as an improvement to individual farmers storing and using their own seeds.” Riiiiight.
That Vilsak is a card.

Ah, summer and its funny medieval holidays.
Making bread in Tajikistan.
Making pizza in Sussex.
Making cheese in (one village in) Sweden.
Diversifying bananas in Queensland.
Diversifying banana products in Kenya.
Diversifying with trees in China.
Better diversify coffee.
I see your responsible soy and raise you responsible oil palm.
Cocks of the walk.
I’m so annoyed the New Scientist article on breeding less bitter veggies is behind a paywall that I won’t even link to it. Google it, if you must.

Secret of barley brittle rachis revealed. In other news, there’s a Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls.
Bramley apple pie filling protected. But from who?
Participatively bred Oaxacan maize finds a market niche.
Have some tequila with that participatively bred Oaxacan maize.
“We can call a government and tell them our data is telling us that a pest is on the way.”
The coolness of seeds.
Yeah but “[g]ood seed in the wrong place is no longer good seed.”

Madagascar: Vintage photos, not-so-vintage photos.
More photos, this time of state sandwiches. Yes, sandwiches.
“The solutions to the problem of feeding people and protecting the planet are endlessly and irredeemably gray.” Pretty much the same argument I made recently, not quite so rudely.
Training course on communicating the awesomeness of neglected species. How difficult can it be though, right?
Keeping cats happy has a cost.
Nifty vintage photos of California palms. The trees, people, the trees.
Cowboys ain’t what they used to be. But only just.
Gleaning deconstructed.
IRRI opens exhibit on heirloom seeds, no doubt through gritted teeth.
Ten potato genomes in the offing. Wait, doesn’t rice have like 3,000? Get it together, potato people.
Renaissance watermelons looked really crappy. Probably tasted of something, though.