History

March 2, 2009January 24, 2022

Wallacean agrobiodiversity overlooked?

There was an International Conference on Alfred Russel Wallace and the Wallacea in Makassar last December. Wallacea is of course one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, a link between the Sahul and Sunda landmasses. I was only able to find a sketchy programme on the internet, so I don’t really know in detail what was covered. In particular, was agricultural biodiversity included in the discussions? There have been fleeting mentions of “Long-term biodiversity monitoring including that of the Anoa dwarf buffalos on Buton (Phillip Wheeler, University of Hull)” as one of the papers. ((Why was this thing never domesticated?)) But what about spices, for example? Does anyone know?

Incidentally, while looking into this I came across some great pictures of the house where Wallace lived on Ternate. Another site to add to the list for our long-planned tour of the Spice Islands, Robert?

February 27, 2009August 24, 2011

Millennial beans

Nice enough beans, ((And thanks to Bisse for letting me use her flickr pic.)) but is the story circulating about them really true?

The story of Anasazi beans varies, depending on who is telling it. In popular mythology, the beans were uncovered by an anthropologist, who discovered a 1,500 year old tightly sealed jar of the beans at a dig in New Mexico. Some of the beans germinated, and the new variety of bean entered cultivation again.

I tried to track the story down, and the closest I got to paydirt, I think, was a passage in Beans: A History by Ken Albala. But even that is pretty vague really. Archaeologists from UCLA somewhere in the midwest in the 1980s, or maybe 1950s, uncover a clay pot sealed with pine tar which they carbon date to 500 BCE. Some of the beans sprout and an intrepid businessman markets them. Yeah, right. To go back to the source of the previous quote:

Since most botanists agree that most beans are unable to germinate after approximately 50 years, it is more probable that the beans remained in constant cultivation in the Southwest, probably in Native American gardens, and that they were picked up by companies looking for new “boutique beans.”

There are plenty of companies marketing Anasazi beans now. But actually it is not impossible for legume seeds to keep their viability for more than 50 years — that’s what genebanks are for. And the dry, relatively cool conditions of an Arizona cave might just be good enough to ensure the survival of a few beans for centuries.

February 25, 2009February 25, 2009

Nibbles: Berries, Women, Marsh Arabs, Maple, Sorghum, Nuts, Conference, Banana

Let the berry wars commence. Thanks to Hannes for taking sides.
Women active in African agriculture. Well I never.
Iraq’s marshes in trouble again. This time it’s drought.
Gorosoe in Korea: “…it soothes my stomach after a hangover.”
Vavilov set right on sorghum in China.
Protected pine forest threatened by logging in Russia. Nuts!
1st International IFOAM Conference on Organic Animal and Plant Breeding.
International Banana Symposium: Global Perspectives on Asian Challenges.

February 20, 2009February 20, 2009

Nibbles: Indigenous knowledge, Buffalo, Wheat rust, Cassava, New Green Revolution, Environmentalism, Millennium Seedbank, USDA, Pig

India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library a bulwark against piracy. Ahoy me mateys!
Oh give me a home, where the buffalo-cow hybrid roamed.
“We’ve found one of the most important disease resistance genes in wheat.”
Cassava on its way to being a complete meal. Oh joy.
Usual suspects debate GM.
The history of the American wilderness movement deconstructed.
Australia’s Northern Territory needs more collectors.
“USDA People’s Garden announced today will eliminate 1,250 square feet of unnecessary paved surface at the USDA headquarters and return the landscape to grass.” Michelle likes it.
Pig domestication, for Vavilov and now.

February 19, 2009February 19, 2009

Nibbles: Easter Island, Quail, Kimchi, Assisted migration, Solar, Training materials, Ancient wine squared, Economics, Wild food

People of Rapa Nui innovated as they collapsed.
“Extinct” Bird Seen, Eaten. Sorry, National Geographic, but I can’t better that headline. Worthy of Fark.
Kimchi madness.
Coming to a protected are near you: moving species to save them from climate change. CWR, anyone?
Shrinking the C footprint of traditional peanut processing. Via.
15 Evolutionary Gems: alas, nothing from crops, livestock. Surely domestication could have made it in there.
“Bulgarian wine cellars have already announced that they will plant vines with the mysterious and newly recovered variety of grapes near the Orpheus tomb.”
And more ancient wine, this time from Malta.
Bioversity International wises up on dismal science, launches new economics webpages.
Wild forest foods big hit at FAO booth at Lao and International Food Festival last weekend in Vientiane.