The FreshPlaza newsletter is a veritable treasure trove of information on fruit & veg around the world. Yesterday’s issue was particularly rich in agrobiodiversity articles. Among other things, it pointed to pieces about how the British are losing their cherry varieties, and about how a Washington State farmer found a new one. There was also an appreciation from Pakistan of the local fruit known as “jamun“, which is probably Syzygium cumini.
Nibbles: Potatoes, Tortillas, EU agricultural promotion, Human diversity, Children
- Potato fest at the Vavilov Institute next week. Report for us!
- Gary Nabhan on tortillas made of “mesquite pods, the flour of ground, popped amaranth seeds, wheat flour and olive oil.”
- EU to fund promotion of agricultural products, including information campaigns on the EU system of PDO, PGI, TSG, QWPSR et al. Via.
- Diversity good even within individuals.
- Engaging children in Sahelian agriculture and agrobiodiversity.
Climate change and fruit
A long report in the LA Times reminds readers that climate change is not all about droughts and floods. It’s also about winter chill. Many fruit trees absolutely must have a certain number of cold days in the winter to prepare them for spring blossom and summer fruit. Those chill days are declining fast in California’s Central Valley.
“Climate change is not just about sea-level rise and polar bears,” said UC Davis researcher Eike Luedeling, lead author of the study. “It is about our food security. Climate change may make conditions less favorable to grow the crops we need to feed ourselves.”
Can’t argue with that. But are California’s fruit farmers likely to experiment, as the farmers of Kazakhstan have done, with planting different varieties, maybe even seedlings, to see whether any of these are better able to produce under different conditions? Somehow, I doubt it.
HT: The Ethicurean.
Durian galore
Ah, to be in Bukit Gantang for the Festival Jom Makan Durian! Starts tomorrow. If you’re there, let us know.
Nibbles: Camel, Maya forestry, Ancient barley, Cattle diversity, Poisons, Agroforestry Congress, Lactase persistence
- Wild camel genetically distinct from the domesticated kind. Well I never.
- Maya tapped into their “sacred groves” to build temples, which did not end well.
- Boffins extract DNA from ancient barley in Upper Egypt, find it was 2-rowed, but derived from a 6-rowed ancestor. No word on whether it was used to make beer, but my guess is yes.
- Large Y chromosome microsatellite study of Eurasian cattle does “not support the recent hypothesis on the origin of Y1 from the local European hybridization of cattle with male aurochsen.” This could run and run.
- I like this idea: a garden of poisons.
- Agroforestry’s coming-of-age party coming up. You going? Let us know.
- Multiple explanations for lactase persistence.