Genetic erosion

April 18, 2012April 20, 2012

One silly thing is said about agricultural biodiversity every single day

You know, I think communicating about agrobiodiversity is really important. That’s why I contribute to this blog. Among various other things. But when I see the collective communication efforts of the agricultural biodiversity community culminate in the statement, made apparently in all seriousness, that “One crop seed becomes extinct every single day,” I do wonder whether the game is worth the candle. ¹

LATER: Ok, maybe I was too sweeping in my vilification. Let me clarify. I don’t mind an editor crafting an attention-grabbing title for an article aimed at a popular audience. I can perhaps even live with a broad, “not even wrong” generalization about genetic erosion in such a title, if explained further in the text. No, what I really object to is the misuse of the word “seed” for “variety” in this particular context. Because it is unforgivably confusing, and simply not necessary. A seed, as the word is commonly understood, is just not something that goes extinct.

March 26, 2012February 17, 2014

Brainfood: Dietary diversity, Diversity and diseases, Soil IK, Insect symbionts, Rhizobia, Wild lettuce, Tree genetic erosion, Pre-domestication barley, Strampelli

Relating dietary diversity and food variety scores to vegetable production and socio-economic status of women in rural Tanzania. Dietary diversity was all too often alarmingly low, and when it was it was associated with seasonal fluctuations in the production and collecting of vegetables. But a more varied diet need not necessarily be healthier, so more procedural sophistication will be necessary in follow-up studies.
A risk-minimizing argument for traditional crop varietal diversity use to reduce pest and disease damage in agricultural ecosystems of Uganda. For Musa and beans, more varietal diversity meant less damage and less variation in damage.
Exploring farmers’ local knowledge and perceptions of soil fertility and management in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Soils which farmers described as being more fertile were, ahem, more fertile.
Population genetics of beneficial heritable symbionts. Of insects, that is. Important because they can confer protection from natural enemies, among other things. They behave a bit, but not entirely, like beneficial nuclear mutations.
Widespread fitness alignment in the legume–rhizobium symbiosis. There are no cheaters.
Genetic polymorphism in Lactuca aculeata populations and occurrence of natural putative hybrids between L. aculeata and L. serriola. Not much diversity in Israel, surprisingly. But isozymes?
Meta-Analysis of Susceptibility of Woody Plants to Loss of Genetic Diversity through Habitat Fragmentation. The standard story — that trees suffer less genetic erosion because they are long-lived — is apparently wrong, even for wind pollinated trees.
Large-scale cereal processing before domestication during the tenth millennium cal BC in northern Syria. “This was a community dedicated to the systematic production of food from wild cereals.”
Nazareno Strampelli, the ‘Prophet’ of the green revolution. Before Norman, there was Nazareno.
The memory remains: application of historical DNA for scaling biodiversity loss. Historical collections of salmon scales reveal many connections between modern evolutionary significant units (ESUs) in the Columbia River and old ones; but also, intriguingly, some differences.

March 21, 2012March 21, 2012

Nibbles: Small farmers, Wild bananas, Titan arum, Fish for diversity, Tenure, Treaty, Australian genebank, Mexican genebank, Mexican drought, Potato record, Khat and fodder in Ethiopia

On my signal, unleash the potential of small farmers and food producers worldwide. Has a return ring to it.
More than anyone could reasonably want to know about wild banana relatives in Thailand.
Big stinky flower with its own webcam. Must be a wild relative of something.
Better in many ways to catch a diversity of fish species than to focus on one.
Could probably do with some guidelines for access to fisheries, though, right?
International Seed Treaty secretariat knocks ‘em dead down under. “THREE-quarters of the world’s crop biodiversity has been irrevocably lost since 1900.”
Of course it has. Did Dr Bhatti visit this place during his tour of Oz, I wonder? If not, maybe he’ll visit Mexico next and see this place. And speaking of Mexico…
Mexico sneezes, US grain exports catch a cold?
World record potato harvest in Bihar; there’s a lot that’s fishy about this story.
“Khat cultivation in Ethiopia fuels economy, reduces deforestation.” And makes people sick, but who’s counting.
Ah but here’s a possible alternative. Now, if only CIFOR and ILRI would talk together about this.

March 14, 2012March 14, 2012

Nibbles: Communications, Economics, Nutrition, Conservation

What words should we use? “[B]est management practices” or “more casual words like local, family-owned and farmer”.
Words like “farming”. How to make a living “farming” without leaving your armchair. Via.
Hungry work, that. If only I had a slice of acorn-finished pork to finish.
Someone else who would like that: where in the world is Luigi Guarino? Wherever “it is imperative that genetic diversity is maintained for posterity.”

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

Nibbles: New drug, Bees, Blood oranges, Dahi, Melaku speaks, So does Rajiv.

A drug company is almost ready to go with a pain reliever from the Peruvian rainforest, based on Acmella oleracea, “also known as toothache plant”. Clues, wherever you look.
Why biodiverse beehives do better. It’s partly down to biodiverse bacteria.
Producing blood oranges anywhere. I’ll enjoy my Sicilian ones more, now I know why only some are bloody.
A hymn to the diversity of fermented milk products.
Interview with Melaku Worede of Ethiopia; “we are still losing diversity at an alarming rate”.
Rajiv Shah, administrator of USAID, explains what it is all about.