Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog
Agrobiodiversity is crops, livestock, foodways, microbes, pollinators, wild relatives …
Can’t resist posting this video from my old colleagues at SPC. It ends a bit abruptly, but Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees, and a nice overview of its work.
LATER: This is the full version of the video, without that weird abrupt ending. Some problem with the uploading, apparently.
I really like this diagram of the family tree of the Jazz apple, A New Zealand-bred favourite.
Problem is, I may be breaking some sort of law reproducing it here. The website where I found it, Te Ara, or the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, says, at the bottom of each page, that:
All text licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence unless otherwise stated. Commercial re-use may be allowed on request. All non-text content is subject to specific conditions. © Crown Copyright.
Well, I don’t really want to use the text, certainly not commercially, so that means specific conditions apply. What might they they?
This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.
It also gives an indication of how to cite the item, which I am happy to do: Ross Galbreath. ‘Agricultural and horticultural research — Advances in plant science’, Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 14-Nov-12 URL.
I left comments on the item on two occasions, asking for permission to use the image. No reply. I then emailed the general address provided on the About page. No reply. So, having waited a decent interval, I’m going for it. Let’s see what happens. I hope someone wanting permission to use the apple for breeding purposes finds it more straightforward than accessing the image in which it features.
Alerted by a tweet from Pat Heslop-Harrison, I delved into British Pathé’s new Youtube archive of 85,000 historical films. The following little gem turned up when I searched for wheat.
I shared it with my go-to guy on wheat genetic resources, and he had this to say:
Multi-branched spikes have been investigated by a number of researchers (including Cal Qualset from whom we have germplasm he developed). It’s interesting to see farmers harvesting a variety with the trait. It seems an obvious way to increase yield (make the wheat spike into a sorghum-like inflorescence) but results have not been as encouraging as the morphology suggests.
Have fun searching for your favourite crops.
Since we’re on the subject of agricultural biodiversity and poetry, let’s also deal with that Sumerian ode to beer that featured in another article I linked to recently. It’s called the “Hymn to Ninkasi,” and it was found on a 19th century BC cuneiform tablet. Ninkasi means “lady who fills the mouth,” and was, aptly enough, the goddess of brewing. I found a longer version of the poem online, along with a recipe for the beer it describes, a “light, unhopped, unfiltered barley beer.” There’s some really detailed scholarship on Sumerian beer out there. What I don’t quite understand is why this stanza
While I circle around the abundance of beer,
While I feel wonderful, I feel wonderful,
Drinking beer, in a blissful mood,
Drinking liquor, feeling exhilarated,
With joy in the heart [and] a happy liver—
While my heart full of joy,
[And] [my] happy liver I cover with a
garment fit for a queen!…
which is rather fun, is found in some sources but not in others. Some disagreement among Sumerian poetry experts? I’d like to think so.
Incidentally, there’s a thing called the Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project which has come up with an entirely horrible but endlessly intriguing online resource. It took me like an hour, but I finally figured out what I think is the Old Akkadian cuneiform for Ninkasi.
You’re welcome.