History

Nibbles: Tomato diversity, Coffee trial, Basque genetics, Water and ag, Heirlooms galore, 3 trillion trees, Agroforestry, Old oats, IP in ag, Food companies and CC, Wheat Initiative, Crop game, Eggplant breeding, E African drought

One crazy French guy, 1134 tomato varieties.
The World Coffee Research International Multi Location Variety Trial really gets off the grounds. See what I did there?
The Basques descend from Neolithic farmers.
Ancient Sri Lankan irrigation systems. Which Bangladesh doesn’t need.
National Heirloom Expo is on.
Did we link to this three-trillion-tree story yet? I don’t think so. How many are edible fruit trees, I wonder?
…or indeed agroforestry and fertilizer trees. Always worth listening to Jules Pretty.
So much for the Paleolithic Diet.
In agricultural innovation, “optimal IPR use depends on the technology itself as well as on market conditions.”
Multinational food companies found to be short-sighted shock.
The global impacts of UK food consumption.
The Wheat Initiative has an agenda.
Can you recognize these crops? ‘Course you can.
Eggplant pre-breeding project involving wild relatives makes mainstream media. Faith in humanity restored. Until you see what else is on that page.
Drought hits Ethiopia. Let them eat sweet potatoes?

In praise of common names. Meh. You won’t see a Latin name in this whole Nibbles. See how you like it.
Building a tomato. In Spanish.
Tracking a tomato.
The dark side of tomatoes.
Amaranth to rescue Mexicans from obesity.
Seeds of contention.
Finding the lost Least Lettuce.
Indigo goes back to the future.
What if the monsoon fails? MS Swaminathan has some answers.
Nice chocolate infographic from FAO.
A diverse microbial community in and around roots helps plants thrive. The Science article is behind a paywall, but there’s a helpful infographic on Twitter.
The US has a National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration. Vision? The right seed in the right place at the right time. Wish I’d thought of that.
When otherwise useful trees attack. Ah, the irony of this coming right after the previous one.
UK’s Global Food Security programme says extreme weather events are increasing and we must adapt agriculture. Good to know.
And today’s Five Plants That Will Save the World are…
Maybe add pawpaw to that?
Japanese rice farmers: change gonna come.
Nice coffee museum in Brazil.
Early agriculture in the Caribbean: Cuba and Trinidad.
The babaçu breakers of Maranhão are under threat. What’s babaçu? Yeah, well, look it up.
“Seed banking began about 30 years ago as an improvement to individual farmers storing and using their own seeds.” Riiiiight.
That Vilsak is a card.

Why aren’t there more crops among the orchids?
This pepper is not so much a crop as a weapon of mass destruction.
Now here’s a crop. New tomato has taste, storability, looks. But I think it’s dating.
Maize with cool amino acids reaches Ethiopia. Must have walked there.
Really old squash seeds.
Cary Fowler on the Weather Channel. You heard me.
Quakers have an opinion on the right to food and climate change. Well, why shouldn’t they? They also have a UN office, but that’s another story. No word on whether they made the Weather Channel.
Ok, so apparently the answer is data. Says a data company. And open data at that. Quakers nonplussed.
Botanizing in N or S America? There’s an app for that.
The rise and rise of gin. And I certainly need one.

A very happy birthday to MS Swaminathan, Father of the Green Revolution in India. How many people get a hashtag on their birthday?