- The Economist discovers food deserts. Money quote: “some Americans simply do not care to eat a balanced diet, while others, increasingly, cannot afford to”.
- William Woys Weaver on garlics, and America, and garlic in America.
- Agricultural Communication for Development conference. Sure. But 12 days long?
- Breeding a better bee. And why not?
- Kenya Agricultural research Institute to release three new high-yielding finger millets.
- Too many sweet potato seedlings. What’s a poor breeder to do?
- A visual history of California botanizing.
- Ah, to have lived at a time when a man got most of his calories from beer! No, wait…
Amazonian ethnobotany from the beginning
The main rubber tree, which the British took to Malaysia, was the basis of all plantations. There are nine other plants in that same group from which the Indians once got rubber. But the plantations had started to supply the world with better and cheaper rubber than the Indians had been producing under terrible — almost slave — conditions. So the Indians had three or four generations when they hadn’t tapped wild rubber, and we were sent into the various countries to try to stimulate this for the war effort. I had been in the Amazon of Colombia, so I went right back among my Indians, and I worked on that during the war.
That’s the Father of Modern Ethnobotany, Richard Schultes, in part of a long interview he gave in 1990 for something called the Academy of Achievement. You can read it, listen to it, or watch videos of it. Fascinating.
Brainfood: Medic systematics, Fruit wine, Alfa paper, Marula diversity, Cardamon pollination, Protein, Ants, Peanuts, Truffles, Ethiopian barley, Citrus diversity, Biofuel trees, Honeybush, Czech garlic
- Genetic similarity based on isoenzyme banding pattern among fifty species of Medicago representing eight sections (Fabaceae). People are still using isozymes? I find that oddly endearing.
- Preparation and evaluation of antioxidant capacity of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) wine and its protective role against radiation induced DNA damage. In other news, you can make wine from jackfruit.
- Pulping and papermaking properties of Tunisian Alfa stems (Stipa tenacissima)—Effects of refining process. Yep, a paper on paper.
- Phenotypic variations in fruits and selection potential in Sclerocarya birrea subsp. birrea. There’s a lot of it.
- Pollination studies in large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) of Sikkim Himalayan region of India. It needs a native bumblebee.
- Effect of proteins from different sources on body composition. Hard to be sure, but probably no difference between animal and plant protein. If you’re trying to lose weight, that is.
- Ants as biological control agents in agricultural cropping systems. More common than you think, but can’t be taken for granted.
- Origin of triploid Arachis pintoi (Leguminosae) by autopolyploidy evidenced by FISH and meiotic behaviour. Maybe that was they key step on the road to the edible peanut.
- The biochemistry and biological properties of the world’s most expensive underground edible mushroom: Truffles. Not just a pretty smell.
- Ethnobotany, diverse food uses, claimed health benefits and implications on conservation of barley landraces in North Eastern Ethiopia highlands. Landraces “just” liked for culinary qualities are having a hard time.
- Comparative analysis of genetic diversity in Citrus germplasm collection using AFLP, SSAP, SAMPL and SSR markers. Boys with toys.
- Tree legumes as feedstock for sustainable biofuel production: Opportunities and challenges. Pongamia pinnata is the thing, apparently, but it’ll need research. NIMBY!
- Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.): From local cottage industry to global markets — The catalytic and supporting role of research. South African bush tea a blueprint for the development of a neglected/underutilized species? Yeah, why not.
- Diversity of S-alk(en)yl cysteine sulphoxide content within a collection of garlic (Allium sativum L.) and its association with the morphological and genetic background assessed by AFLP. Czech genebank follows up Brassica genetic diversity study with one on garlic. SACS is an important end-use trait, and varies among genetic groups.
Nibbles: Beautiful models, Beautiful bank, Organic FAO, Eskimo diet, Indian medicinals, Maya nut studentship, Fishy infographics
- Official confirmation of the need for better crop growth models.
- More on CIP’s high-tech spud bank. In other news, CIP also has banks of other Andean roots/tubers, but don’t get me started on that one.
- “FAO has relegated organic agriculture to a footnote in the discussion of food security in the long run.” Fighting talk. Wonder if that will change with the new DG.
- Cook like an Inuit.
- Cultivating medicinal plants in India. Let’s see how that goes.
- Wanna study the Maya nut?
- More great Guardian infographics, aquatic edition.
- “This one tastes like cotton candy.” Breeding strawberries the hard way.
Making the most of bitter gourd diversity at AVRDC
Another interesting agrobiodiversity piece in AVRDC’s newletter today:
The AVRDC Nutrition group is locked in a struggle with a cucurbit – and so far, warty Momordica charantia appears to be winning! As part of the project “A better bitter gourd: exploiting bitter gourd to increase incomes, manage type 2 diabetes, and promote health in developing countries,” researchers have begun preparing samples of the vegetable for later laboratory analysis.
Interested? “Like” the project’s Facebook page then!