Fruits and nuts

July 9, 2011July 8, 2011

A call for information on threatened Italian vineyards

I suppose there’s some poetic meaning to the coincidence that it is while I’m travelling in the oldest wine-producing region of the world that I notice on Facebook a call from Slow Food Italia for information on vineyards threatened with destruction. Be that as it may, it will be interesting to see what response Slow Food get, and what use they make of it. We have blogged here on various occasions about the desirability of an early warning system for genetic erosion, and how one might go about setting one up. This might have the makings of one, at least for grapevine in Italy.

July 4, 2011June 30, 2011

Brainfood: Medic systematics, Fruit wine, Alfa paper, Marula diversity, Cardamon pollination, Protein, Ants, Peanuts, Truffles, Ethiopian barley, Citrus diversity, Biofuel trees, Honeybush, Czech garlic

Genetic similarity based on isoenzyme banding pattern among fifty species of Medicago representing eight sections (Fabaceae). People are still using isozymes? I find that oddly endearing.
Preparation and evaluation of antioxidant capacity of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) wine and its protective role against radiation induced DNA damage. In other news, you can make wine from jackfruit.
Pulping and papermaking properties of Tunisian Alfa stems (Stipa tenacissima)—Effects of refining process. Yep, a paper on paper.
Phenotypic variations in fruits and selection potential in Sclerocarya birrea subsp. birrea. There’s a lot of it.
Pollination studies in large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) of Sikkim Himalayan region of India. It needs a native bumblebee.
Effect of proteins from different sources on body composition. Hard to be sure, but probably no difference between animal and plant protein. If you’re trying to lose weight, that is.
Ants as biological control agents in agricultural cropping systems. More common than you think, but can’t be taken for granted.
Origin of triploid Arachis pintoi (Leguminosae) by autopolyploidy evidenced by FISH and meiotic behaviour. Maybe that was they key step on the road to the edible peanut.
The biochemistry and biological properties of the world’s most expensive underground edible mushroom: Truffles. Not just a pretty smell.
Ethnobotany, diverse food uses, claimed health benefits and implications on conservation of barley landraces in North Eastern Ethiopia highlands. Landraces “just” liked for culinary qualities are having a hard time.
Comparative analysis of genetic diversity in Citrus germplasm collection using AFLP, SSAP, SAMPL and SSR markers. Boys with toys.
Tree legumes as feedstock for sustainable biofuel production: Opportunities and challenges. Pongamia pinnata is the thing, apparently, but it’ll need research. NIMBY!
Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.): From local cottage industry to global markets — The catalytic and supporting role of research. South African bush tea a blueprint for the development of a neglected/underutilized species? Yeah, why not.
Diversity of S-alk(en)yl cysteine sulphoxide content within a collection of garlic (Allium sativum L.) and its association with the morphological and genetic background assessed by AFLP. Czech genebank follows up Brassica genetic diversity study with one on garlic. SACS is an important end-use trait, and varies among genetic groups.

July 1, 2011July 1, 2011

Nibbles: Aberdeen, Sahelian agroforestry, Seed companies, Haiti seed donation, Seaweed, Taste, Books, Logging, Cheese boycott

100 years of agricultural research in Idaho. Includes genebank since 1988.
A Great Green Wall to go with Africa’s Green Revolution.
Selling seed from the back of a car. Jacob unavailable for comment.
Latest on that Haitian seed story.
Seaweed farming in Zanzibar. Nice gig if you can get it.
Taste is a complicated thing.
Gorge on brainfood. Lots of botanical science books made available by Smithsonian.
DNA fingerprinting to identify illegal logs?
Cottage cheese isn’t “just” cottage cheese, say Israeli activists.

June 30, 2011June 30, 2011

Nibbles: Parliamentary buzz, Weeds, Malthus, Suceava genebank, Fukushima farmers, Mangifera, Fermentation, Macaws, Biodiversity banks, Asses

EU parliament, and others, urged “to improve conditions for pollinators in Europe”.
Weeds. A book from Richard Mabey, now published and reviewed in the US.
Ismail Serageldin will present the 2nd annual Malthus Lecture on 14 July at IFPRI. I’ll be staying late to follow the webcast.
The Romanian genebank at Suceava seems to have a kind of progress report.
They’re making a film about the organic farmers of Fukushima.
Mango diversity picture goodness.
Turns out making ginger beer doesn’t involve ginger. What it does involve is a weird agrobiodiversity symbiosis, but you had me at beer.
Ancient Chacoans bred macaws. And why not.
Biodiversity offsets are a huge market. What I want to know is if any of than money could go to genebanks.
Ethiopian donkey power.

June 27, 2011June 23, 2011

Brainfood: Benin diversity, Catalan diversity, Serbian sorghum, Flowering in barley and sunflower, Potato nutritional quality, Cacao genebank management, Potato genebank management, Caribbean cattle, Venezuelan CWR, Ecogeographic surveys, Refugia, Vegetation change, Fisheries, Botanic gardens, Crop diversity patterns, Old trees

Diversity, geographical, and consumption patterns of traditional vegetables in sociolinguistic communities in Benin: Implications for domestication and utilization. 245 species, from 62 families, 80% wild-harvested.
Landraces in situ conservation: A case study in high-mountain home gardens in Vall Fosca, Catalan Pyrenees, Iberian Peninsula. 39 landraces of 31 species, disappearing fast.
Origin, history, morphology, production, improvement, and utilization of broomcorn [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] in Serbia. Summarizes 60 years of experience.
The timing of flowering in barley and sunflower dissected. In the former, variation in photoperiod sensitivity occurred both pre- and post-domestication. In the latter, variation is clinal.
Cultivated and wild Solanum species as potential sources for health-promoting quality traits. Some of the latter are pretty good.
Microsatellite fingerprinting in the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad: accession and plot homogeneity information for germplasm management. A quarter of plots were mixtures. Well that’s no good. Huge amount of stuff in this issue of PGR-CU.
Construction of an integrated microsatellite and key morphological characteristic database of potato varieties on the EU common catalogue. So that the above doesn’t happen.
Footprints of selection in the ancestral admixture of a New World Creole cattle breed. Lots of African and zebu blood in Guadeloupe cattle.
Inventory of related wild species of priority crops in Venezuela. Basically a big list.
Potential of herbarium records to sequence phenological pattern: a case study of Aconitum heterophyllum in the Himalaya. Could be used to flesh out the above kind of thing.
Refugia: identifying and understanding safe havens for biodiversity under climate change. How to spot refugia past and future, which would be useful for the above-but-one kind of thing.
Modelling biome shifts and tree cover change for 2050 in West Africa. Climate change leads to greening, human impact to browning.
Comparison of modern and historical fish catches (AD 750–1400) to inform goals for marine protected areas and sustainable fisheries. Along the Kenyan coast. Amazingly, comparisons are possible, and they show a deterioration in quality and quantity.
The biodiversity benefits of botanic gardens. They are there, despite their history with invasives, but gardens need to get their act together. Which they are doing.
Domesticated crop richness in human subsistence cultivation systems: a test of macroecological and economic determinants. Number of crop species grown depends on latitude, habitat heterogeneity and commitment to agriculture (as opposed to foraging, herding and exchange). Can’t make up my mind if this is interesting or predictable. Maybe it is both. Would be great to apply same method to infraspecific diversity too.
The age of monumental olive trees (Olea europaea) in northeastern Spain. Maybe over 600 years.