Genebanks

May 31, 2013July 1, 2013

Conserving forages for 30 years

That’s what the genebank at ILRI has been doing. Under the stewardship first of Jean Hanson and then Alexandra Jorge, both of whom you can see in the photo reproduced below from ILRI’s Flickr stream. Jean is the one on the right. Happy birthday, and keep up the good work!

ILRI genebank managers present and past
(photo credit: ILRI\Zerihun Sewunet)

May 31, 2013May 31, 2013

Nibbles: New genebank, Modelling change, Non-GMO tomato, Greenhouse gases, Fruit diversity, Chickpea genomes

The Australians have turned the sod on a new genebank. Can’t have too many genebanks.
Climate change model reveals the differences between coffee and mango. Can’t have too many models. Or mangoes.
GMO tomato that is not GMO and is purple could result in healthier, cheaper tomatoes. Can’t have too much confusion.
Fantastically interesting infographic on where greenhouse gases come from. Can’t have too many good infographics.
Among which I include Pop Chart Lab’s new taxonomic poster of The Various Varieties of Fruits. Fruit is good for you. And tomato is not a fruit
A late addition: chickpea genome sequenced — twice. Can’t have too many chickpea genomes, as Nigel Chaffey explains.

May 27, 2013May 29, 2013

Brainfood: Urban German grassland, Urban Flemish gardens, Totally wild beans, Inter-specific Vigna crosses, Vietnamese cattle, Sustainable intensification, Gender, Oak seeds

Urban land use types contribute to grassland conservation: The example of Berlin. And perhaps also to CWR conservation?
Garden management and soil fertility in Flemish domestic gardens. Little about their diversity, though, alas.
Drought Tolerance in Wild Plant Populations: The Case of Common Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Greater ecological amplitude than the domesticate.
Introgression of productivity and other desirable traits from ricebean (Vigna umbellata) into black gram (Vigna mungo). It ain’t easy, but may be worth the effort.
Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Vietnamese indigenous cattle populations by microsatellites. Some traditionally recognized breeds are close enough genetically to be conserved as a group.
Ecogeographic survey and gap analysis of Lathyrus L. species. Only 6 of 36 species are adequately represented in genebanks.
To close the yield-gap while saving biodiversity will require multiple locally relevant strategies. Location, location, location.
Co-evolution of landscape patterns and agricultural intensification: An example of dairy farming in a traditional Dutch landscape. And here’s an example.
Gender and Agricultural Innovation in Peasant Production of Native Potatoes in the Central Andes of Peru. And I suppose this is another, in a way.
Ecological significance of seed desiccation sensitivity in Quercus ilex. Drying causes mortality. Could be used to predict response to climate change. In other news, oak seeds are recalcitrant.

May 26, 2013May 25, 2013

Getting past that 75%

China has lost 90% of the wheat varieties it had 60 years ago. The US has lost over 90% of the fruit tree and vegetable varieties it had at the start of the 20th century. Mexico has lost 80% of its corn varieties, India 90% of its rice varieties. In Spain, the number of melon varieties has gone down from nearly 400 in the early 1970s to a dozen.

What, not 75%? Anyway, too bad there are no references, but the Indian figure may come from the sources we discussed a while back. And of course “lost” is too dramatic. Some varieties may no longer be grown by farmers, but could still be in genebanks. But it is good to see a trope that’s well past its sell-by date being avoided for once.

May 25, 2013May 26, 2013

Nibbles: Germany edition

Why blogging has been light this week. And also, which resulted in this. Thirsty work …
Which is why I love our new hosts (see above).
There’s gotta be some of these around here.
I know there’s a lot of these. And I have to say I prefer the beer.
And as for the sort of things this guy made…
I wonder how many crop wild relatives there are around here though.
Or salmon.
Ok, that’s all from here for now, but see you again soon.