- How the truffle got its mate: insights from genetic structure in spontaneous and planted Mediterranean populations of Tuber melanosporum. More outbreeding in plantations, but strong structure still.
- Comparing genetic diversity of pig populations on the US mainland, Pacific Islands and China: Y chromosome evaluation. 16 breeds, 5 haplotypes, 10 breeds with only 1.
- What we use is not what we know: environmental predictors in plant distribution models. Edaphic factors are being ignored. ‘Twas ever thus.
Nibbles: Illicit ag, Illicit stats, Irish folk meds, Medieval farming, Zoo methods, Date collection, Apple breeding, Ancient cannabis, Old yeast
- Sorry about slow blogging lately. Life caught up with us. Slowly getting back in the saddle…
- ISIS benefitting from agricultural production as much as oil.
- Why we should drop “statistically significant.”
- Irish folk medicine being used. Again. Or still.
- Back to the future of farms, medieval edition: it’s the faldage, stupid.
- Botanical art in history.
- Applying zoo methods to plant conservation. Maybe should be the other way too?
- The future of dates is in the US?
- History of the Honeycrisp apple, for all you Red Delicious haters out there.
- Ancient stash found. Down to seeds and stems.
- Keep warm with some nice Latin American drinks.
- Or beer made from old yeast from a shipwreck.
Brainfood: SE Asia archaeobotany, Avocado cryo, Farm diversity & revenue, DOC cheese, Kenyan agrobiodiversity, Perennial pigeonpea, Algerian sheep diversity, Basil rankings, Wild sunflower
- Rice, beans and trade crops on the early maritime Silk Route in Southeast Asia. At trade crossroads, crops had to audition for inclusion in the local menu.
- Cryopreservation of somatic embryos for avocado germplasm conservation. Still needs work.
- Soil fertility, crop biodiversity, and farmers’ revenues: Evidence from Italy. Diverse farms are more profitable, and can make up for poor soils.
- Native and Non-Native Sheep Breed Differences in Canestrato Pugliese Cheese Quality: a Resource for a Sustainable Pastoral System. Traditional local cheese is better when made with milk from traditional local breeds.
- Agrobiodiversity conservation enhances food security in subsistence-based farming systems of Eastern Kenya. But correlation is not causation.
- Estimating demand for perennial pigeon pea in Malawi using choice experiments. It won’t be liked everywhere.
- Genome-wide analysis highlights genetic dilution in Algerian sheep. Two of the 7 local breeds studied are in trouble due to uncontrolled breeding with a third, but may be doing better in neighbouring countries.
- Multicriteria optimization to evaluate the performance of Ocimum basilicum L. varieties. Fancy maths allows you to pick the best basil variety out of 8.
- The challenges of maintaining a collection of wild sunflower (Helianthus) species. Are many and varied…
Nibbles: CATIE genebank, Wine microbiome, Olive history, CGIAR breeding, Yerba mate, Breadfruit, Ambling horses
- It’s been a while since we linked to CATIE’s genebank.
- Boffins take next step in spoiling wine for us all.
- The olive is another thing the Romans have done for us.
- The international germplasm collections are at the root of the CGIAR’s breeding programs.
- Marketing mate.
- Let them eat breadfruit.
- The amble is down to a single medieval mutation.
Nibbles: Better diets trifecta, Arhar, Beer double
- Getting away from the single nutrient approach to healthy diets. Also in Bangladesh.
- But which diet is best for the Earth too?
- Pigeonpea being used as a political jibe in India. But it is good for you? And there are some cool new varieties out there.
- Better beer through better hops and better yeast. Does it go with pigeonpea, though?