- An ethnobotanical perspective on traditional fermented plant foods and beverages in Eastern Europe. 116 taxa, with a preponderance of Rosaceae.
- Estimating species diversity and distribution in the era of Big Data: to what extent can we trust public databases? Trust, but verify.
- Genetic diversity of nutritionally important carotenoids in 94 pea and 121 chickpea accessions. There’s carotenoid diversity in the Canadian collections.
- Role of conventional and biotechnological approaches in genetic improvement of castor (Ricinus communis L.). We have the technology. What we don’t have is results.
- Phaseolus from Cerén—A Late Classic Maya Site. The wilds were also eaten.
- The Potential Role of Neglected and Underutilised Crop Species as Future Crops under Water Scarce Conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some neglected species may be somewhat adapted to low water conditions, perhaps.
- The wild relatives of grape in China: Diversity, conservation gaps and impact of climate change. 15 of 39 species need help, especially as the range of many is expected to be reduced by climate change.
Nibbles: Savannah diversity, Omani banana, Truffle dogs, Taro & reef, Organic returns, Interspecific hybrids, Silk worm DNA, Indian diversity, American-Indian diversity, Aquaculture, Edge of Extinction, Inga key, Mexican forests, Mexican genebank, Beer, Spanish wheat, Commodities & SDGs
- Metabarcoding of poop reveals secret of large herbivore diversity in African savannahs.
- Unique Omani banana fights pests.
- Truffle dogs: “Il cane, le corna non te le mette mai…”
- Traditional taro cultivation protects Hawaiian reef.
- Organic farming pays.
- Climate change favouring offspring of interspecies hybridization. Also in crops? Like brassicas maybe?
- Domestication of silk worm probed molecularly. Is that even a word?
- Video explains Baranaja. Spoiler alert: it’s the diversity, stupid.
- And along the same lines: rare seeds go home.
- Brazil wants to be among the top 5 fish producers in the world. What could possibly go wrong.
- Extracts from Jules Pretty’s book on what we can all learn from more nature-loving societies.
- The key to Inga conservation. Is keys.
- Community-based forest management in the Yucatan: “Future generations have the right to know them.” And not just the trees, bees too.
- Since we’re in Mexico: a visit to the genebank.
- The women of beer. None of them using cassava, though, alas.
- “El mercado tiene sus normas y los científicos no las conocemos”.
- Agro-commodity traders can be good for you. Somebody mention the market?
Nibbles: Cuban heritage, Old food, Forest restoration, Botany in trouble, Community genebanks, Seed book, Beer genomes, Old wheat, Fowler/Naylor, Veggie kiosks, Breeding & data
- Cuba recognizes traditional medicine.
- Your grandma’s cooking was not that great.
- Using genetics to guide teak restoration.
- Botany dying in the US.
- Brazil sets up lots of community seedbanks.
- Aren’t seeds just great?
- The 1000 beer genomes project is as great as it sounds.
- Palestinians freekeh out.
- Interview with Cary Fowler: about Svalbard, and much more.
- Mama boga in trouble. Bastards.
- Nature calls for crop improvement.
Nibbles: Lovely bunch of coconuts, Svalbard backlash backlash, ADAPTS, British food history, Artisanal backlash, NASA maps soils, Rock bee art
- Kinda random SciDevNet piece about threats to coconut germplasm collections in Asia which doesn’t even mention Bogia. Star of the piece is the Philippines collection, which nobody suggests is threatened.
- Speaking of threatened collections, Mike Jackson rounds up comments on the recent Guardian piece on Svalbard.
- Native Seed/SEARCH gets a new interface.
- How the war changed British agriculture. Fish and chips has always been there though, right?
- The farm-to-table backlash begins. And more along the same lines: “eating natural and artisanal is ahistorical.”
- Mapping soil moisture from space.
- Rocking African bee art.
Nibbles: Beer from fog, Ecoagriculture, Slow oil, Greek diet, Livestock history, Biofortified millet, Zambian crops, Wild tomatoes, Trees & drought, Global genebanks, Saving coconuts, Industrial crops
- Fogcatcher ale? Oh I think so!
- Greenpeace guides donors on ecological farming. Booklet on the preservation of historical monuments to follow.
- Slow Food launches olive oil presidium. Presidium?
- The ancient Greeks had wine for breakfast. Explains a lot.
- Livestock size changes through the ages.
- The sainted Lawrence Haddad on that biofortified pearl millet story from yesterday. Remember that variety can be traced back to a genebank. But not only millet.
- Zambians told to look to their neglected traditional crops. By their government. Which is surely complicit in their neglect. Maybe biofortify them first?
- Collecting tomato wild relatives.
- July drought stops pine trees growing in the SW US.
- Building a global genebank system. And again.
- Saving the PNG coconut collection from Bogia disease. We need a Svalbard for coconuts is what we need.
- Industrial crops and food security in sub-Saharan Africa: mainly complementary, but…