- Floating gardens are a solution.
- Cassava is a solution.
- Eco-fusion is a solution.
- Art is a solution.
- Crop wild relatives are a solution.
- Genebanks are a solution.
- Understanding the effect of agricultural commodities on forests is a solution.
- My agroecology is a solution, but not your agroecology.
- 2021 will be a solution.
- Long-term thinking is the solution.
Nibbles: Goodness edition
- What makes a good seed?
- What makes good seed conservation?
- No, really, what makes good seed conservation?
- What makes better seeds?
- What makes good seed planting?
- What makes a good tree for seed planting?
Nibbles: Breeding conference, Anthropology conference, Ecosystem services, Quality of life, Gates on CGIAR, Cost of diets
- The 10th Annual Cornell Plant Breeding Symposium is coming up in April.
- The Anthropology and Conservation Virtual Conference is coming up in October.
- How much is a farm worth, environmentally speaking? Plant breeders and anthropologists invited to reply.
- How much is nature worth to quality of life?
- How much is the research of CGIAR worth?
- How much does a healthy diet cost?
- The oldest beer factor? Priceless?
Nibbles: Pacific coconuts, Fruit double, NUS, New maize
- Coconuts in test tubes in the Pacific.
- Fruit trees in a nutrition garden in India. And in a medieval town in Russia.
- Orphan crops in the diet in Africa.
- Armyworm resistant maize in the farmers’ fields in Africa.
Brainfood: Corona, Restoration, Georeferencing, Bee decline, Mustard breeding, Banana seeds, Micronutrient decline, Potato micronutrients, GWAS, Trade, Deforestation alerts, Review method
- Rapid assessments of the impact of COVID-19 on the availability of quality seed to farmers: Advocating immediate practical, remedial and preventative action. Structural weaknesses ruthlessly exposed.
- Initial Investment in Diversity Is the Efficient Thing to Do for Resilient Forest Landscape Restoration. Spend the money on securing diverse seeds up front, you cheapskates. No word on what the effect of the pandemic.
- Ten golden rules for reforestation to optimize carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery and livelihood benefits. Right seeds, right species, right place, the right way. But save forests first.
- The impact of near-real-time deforestation alerts across the tropics. Getting alerts saves forests, especially in protected areas, but only in Africa.
- Integration of georeferenced and genetic data for the management of biodiversity in sheep genetic resources in Brazil. Travel 300 km for a genetically different sheep. I wonder if it’s the same for trees.
- Worldwide occurrence records suggest a global decline in bee species richness. 25% fewer species in GBIF in past 25 years. Yeah but there may be alternative explanations for that, as a bee taxonomist points out. Non-Twitter link available too.
- Investigating genetic relationship of Brassica juncea with B. nigra via virtual allopolyploidy and hexaploidy strategy. Wild relative could be used to synthesize some really cool mustards.
- Seed storage behavior of Musa balbisiana Colla, a wild progenitor of bananas and plantains – Implications for ex situ germplasm conservation. Orthodox, but difficult to regenerate.
- Mineral nutrient composition of vegetables, fruits and grains: The context of reports of apparent historical declines. No evidence for systematic declines in micronutrient concentrations.
- A Study on the Biodiversity of Pigmented Andean Potatoes: Nutritional Profile and Phenolic Composition. Lots of diversity in micronutrients in traditional landraces. No word on temporal changes.
- Status and prospects of genome‐wide association studies in plants. Dissecting complex traits has never been easier, and is getting easier. It says here.
- A review of the interactions between biodiversity, agriculture, climate change, and international trade: research and policy priorities. Policy priorities? Increased recognition of international trade in biodiversity targets, goals, and policy; and increased communication of the impacts of food on biodiversity.
- The Impact of Diversified Farming Practices on Terrestrial Biodiversity Outcomes and Agricultural Yield Worldwide: A Systematic Review Protocol. Looking forward to this one.