Livestock

October 5, 2011February 20, 2014

How to implement the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources

A very useful message on DAD-Net brings us all up to date “on progress in the development of the set of guidelines that FAO is developing to support policy-makers and technical experts in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources…” Here’s the state of play:

Preparation of national strategies and action plans for animal genetic resources in English/French/Russian/Spanish
Breeding strategies for sustainable management of animal genetic resources in English/French/Spanish
Developing the institutional framework for the management of animal genetic resources in English
Surveying and monitoring of animal genetic resources in English

Two observations. The first is that I wish we plant people were so organized. And the second is that surely a place could be found on the FAO or DAD-IS website for such a list.

October 1, 2011October 1, 2011

Nibbles: Cow beauties, Ethnopharmacology etc

UK High Comissioner in Namibia visits big agricultural show, discovers “hundreds of words [for] the markings on a cow“.
CTA Wageningen has a (new?) dossier on Ethnopharmacology, food production, nutrition and biodiversity conservation: Towards a sustainable future for indigenous peoples.

September 26, 2011September 26, 2011

Now that’s what I call a celebration of biodiversity

Viehscheidgirl320
What goes up, must come down. Alpine farmers who take their livestock to higher pastures in the spring bring them down for the winter. The Human Flower Project shares the celebratory mood.

September 26, 2011September 26, 2011

Brainfood: Breeding resistance, Pastures, Wheats, Dates, Conservation, Habitats, Old olives, Spinach selection, Maize breeding

Cytological and Molecular Characterization of Homoeologous Group-1 Chromosomes in Hybrid Derivatives of a Durum Disomic Alien Addition Line. Getting tolerance to Fusarium head blight into durum wheat ain’t easy.
Sustainable, low-input, warm-season, grass–legume grassland mixtures: mission (nearly) impossible? Apparently really difficult to find native North America legume forage species tolerant of both freezing and high temperatures, but people are looking. Gotta wonder if it’s a problem elsewhere too. Ethiopian highlands?
Diversity of different farmer and modern wheat varieties cultivated in contrasting organic farming conditions in western Europe and implications for European seed and variety legislation. Strong selection for uniformity (for regulation) is not reflected in uniformity assessed on farm. And farmer varieties were good outside their region of origin.
Glycaemic index of three Indian rice varieties. All three the same, high, GI. So, “There is an urgent need to study the GI of other commonly consumed rice varieties and to develop rice of a lower GI value”. Er, right.
Glycemic indices of five varieties of dates in healthy and diabetic subjects. All five the same, low, GI and no difference in diabetics.
Agricultural expansion and the fate of global conservation priorities. Conservation needs to think about agriculture.
Which habitats of European importance depend on agricultural practices? 63 of them, mainly through grazing and mowing.
Centennial olive trees as a reservoir of genetic diversity. Only about 10% of old trees matched current cultivars.
Phenotypic Changes in Different Spinach Varieties Grown and Selected under Organic Conditions. There were phenotypic changes after just three seasons of selection, in one case resulting in a “new” variety.
Open-Pollinated vs. Hybrid Maize Cultivars. Hybrids are not the only way to improve maize productivity, apparently.
Plant breeding for harmony between agriculture and the environment. “Plant breeding can be a powerful tool to bring “harmony” between agriculture and the environment, but partnerships between plant breeders, ecologists, urban planners, and policy makers are needed to make this a reality.” I was just going to ask, why can’t we all just get along.

Don’t forget the open Mendeley group for the papers we link to here. Even if you don’t use Mendeley, you can subscribe to the RSS feed from the group and get stuff that way.

September 26, 2011September 26, 2011

Nibbles: Elm disease, Kew genebank, Maize domestication, Wildlife vs livestock, Medieval figs, Alternative food security, Spineless lulo, Mangos for Haiti, Aubergine breeding, Urban ag in Japan, West African research

“Beginning in the late 1990s, Kock travelled throughout Ontario collecting twigs of seemingly healthy mature elms, in what amounted to an elm dating service.”
“…a curated inventory of miscellaneous interestingness” lands on the Millennium Seed Bank. Hilarity ensues.
What do hopscotch, architecture and maize have in common?
Zebras good for cattle.
The fig deconstructed.
“Improve yields through crop diversity…” ??? Who are these people?
Crops for the Future bemoans the loss of “a spineless variety of Solanum quitoense.” Someone, somewhere must still have it, surely.
Mangos: Haiti’s new best friend?
Home-bred eggplants. Or aubergines.
“Urban agriculture in Japan, cultivating sustainability and well being.” Again? Still?
West Africa to get bunch of specialist biotechnology centres for crop improvement. No word on where the existing national genebanks fit in. Nor, ahem, what role IITA, ICRISAT and the other CGIAR Centres are going to play in all this.