Mainstream

November 24, 2006November 24, 2006

Virgil on orthodox seed storage

Whether it was really about growing crops, rearing livestock and keeping bees or not, Virgil’s Georgics has some wonderfully evocative – and didactic, of course – passages about agriculture. Here’s what lines 197-204 have to say about genebanks (at least in this translation):

I have observed that seeds stored away for a long time, however thoroughly they are looked after still deteriorate, unless the greatest possible human effort is used in selecting the best individually by hand each year. In the same way all things go to the bad, lose their power and slip backwards – it is nature’s law. It’s exactly like when a sculler is trying his utmost to propel his boat up a river with his oars. If he happens to relax his arms for a moment, the current sweeps him away headlong downstream.

November 23, 2006November 27, 2006

Tea threatened?

Will the disappearance of the traditional Chinese tea-house lead to a decline in tea diversity? I’m not sure to what extent the diversity of teas we see in supermarkets and specialty shops is due to differences in provenance and processing as opposed to genetic differences among cultivars. No doubt a bit of both.

Flickr photograph by emily_mason_boyd used under a Creative Commons License.

November 23, 2006June 16, 2009

World crop capitals?

The post a couple of days back about horseradish got me thinking about the whole “Capital of the World” thing. And of course it turns out Wikipedia has a long list of cities that call themselves the world capital of something or other. Here are the ones for crops (and one domesticated animal):

Almond Capital of the World – Sacramento, California, Chico, California, USA
Apple Capital of the World – Wenatchee, Washington, USA
Apricot Capital of the World – Patterson, California, USA
Artichoke Center of the World – Castroville, California, USA
Avocado Capital of the World – Fallbrook, California, USA
Blueberry Capital of the World – Oxford, Nova Scotia, Canada
Broccoli Capital of the World – Greenfield, California, USA
Carrot Capital of the World – Ohakune, New Zealand
Cherry Capital of the World – Traverse City, Michigan, USA
Date Capital of the World – Indio, California, USA
Garlic Capital of the World – Gilroy, California, USA
Grape Capital of the World – Lodi, California, USA
Horseradish Capital of the World – Tulelake, California, USA
Kiwifruit Capital of the world – Te Puke, New Zealand
Mule Capital of the World – Columbia, Tennessee, USA
Pear Capital of the World – Kelseyville, California
Raisin Capital of the World – Selma, California, Fresno, California, USA
Strawberry Capital of the World – Oxnard, California, USA
Winter Strawberry Capital of the World – Plant City, Florida, USA

You’ll notice something of a disagreement over horseradish! Anyway, unsurprisingly perhaps, most of these places are in the US, and indeed California. So I was thinking: what would be the real Avocado Capital of the World, for example? I would vote for Antigua in Guatemala, where a couple of important varieties originated. The California Avocado Society (I think) put a plaque in the central plaza some years back commemorating the contribution of the area to the California avocado industry. The famous plant explorer Wilson Popenoe had a house there. Here’s a history of the avocado. And here’s an interesting account of avocado collecting in Guatemala. Any other ideas? What would naming a city a world capital for a crop do for the conservation of that crop?

November 22, 2006November 22, 2006

Lupins against hunger

Bread enriched with lupin flour left people feeling fuller than ordinary wheat bread, according to a recent report. This could be good news for people who would otherwise be taking anti-obesity pills, and even better news for Australia’s lupin farmers. That’s where the research was carried out. I didn’t know that lupin is already widely used in baked goods because it can replace (more expensive?) eggs and butter. Edible lupins are a common snack in Italy. They also periodically crop up as “neglected” species that could solve world hunger given half a chance. Whether this latest news will reinvigorate that effort is anybody’s guess.

November 22, 2006November 22, 2006

Welsh wood promoted

From Wales, no less, that hotbed of biodiversity, comes a report on the use of wood to fuel power stations. Not exactly novel, the arguments are nevertheless entertaining.

“With a guaranteed outlet for the wood it makes sense to manage woodlands. If we take care when working the woodland it can also benefit biodiversity. By using a local product instead of imported oil we can support local businesses and use local labour.”