You of course heard it here first, but the potentially tragic situation unfolding at VIR’s Pavlovsk Station has now made it into the pages of New Scientist. Let’s hope this has some effect.
Crop genebanks taken for granted, again
The Crop Science Society of America suggests that in order to adapt agriculture to climate change we will need to
Genotype the major crop germplasm collections to facilitate identification of gene treasures for breeding and genetics research and deployment of superior genes into adapted germplasm around the globe.
Which is all well and good, but it does rather assume that “the major crop collections” will be there to genotyped in the first place. ((It also assumes that Genebank Database Hell will freeze over, somehow, but that’s another story.))
‘Twas ever thus with genebanks. It’s just assumed that they will always be there, ready, willing and able to provide breeders and geneticists with the material they need, forever, no matter what. It’s really scary to realize that, actually, such an assumption is unjustified. Somebody should tell CSSA that.
Nibbles: Haiti, India, Maize, Research
- Monsanto’s seeds in Haiti. “Let the farmers decide,” says Anastasia
- Indian stamps celebrate biodiversity. No pictures, so we can’t comment.
- Is maize becoming more tolerant to heat and drought? Maybe not.
- Olivier de Schutter says investment in agriculture is destroying the world’s peasantry. Responsibly.
Nibbles: Wild coffee in Uganda, Grasspea, Land Institute, Biopiracy, Frog endangered by tea
- Conservation project fails to work. But lessons are learned.
- The archaeology of grasspea. Mainly Aegean, as it turns out.
- Artificial selection can help fill gaps left by other kind.
- Nestlé accused of stealing roiboos.
- Tea or frog?
Nibbles: Nuts, Ug99, Mexican pollinator project, Maize in Africa, Cerrado fruit
- Going nuts in Kyrgyzstan. Ok, sorry, that should read growing. And something similar from Brazil.
- And the bad Ug99 news just keeps on coming. When is wheat gonna catch a break?
- The Campesino a Campesino Pollinator Project. I just love that title.
- Study says “drought tolerant maize will greatly benefit African farmers.” Still no cure for cancer.
- Araticum, Buriti, Pequi, Cagaita, Gueroba, Babassu, Baru: Which one is the next kiwi?