Neglected species

January 8, 2016January 8, 2016

Underutilized for a reason?

Over on Facebook, I half-facetiously commented on a piece entitled Global food shortage? How advanced breeding could domesticate 50,000 wild, edible plants by saying that if any of those plants were really any good, they would probably have been domesticated already. I’m not entirely sure I believe that, but I liked Rob Wagner’s and Ian Godwin’s reactions, and I hope they don’t mind me sharing them here. There’s more to adding a new crop to our agricultural menu than fancy breeding.

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

Nibbles: Croissant history, Beer threat, Cereals & CC, Wild cereals, Public domain images, Tea history

The croissant explained.
Belgian beer in trouble. That can’t be good.
And not only beer.
Some people held out against agriculture.
NY Public Library shares ton of digital images, including of agriculture.
Still got an hour to spare after that? Check out this podcast on tea in China.

January 5, 2016

Nibbles: Dirty methane, Ag wages, Myrrh, Irish DNA, Oca harvest, Rice domestication, Millets

The US is hiding meaty methane emissions.
What’s an Indian agricultural labourer earn? It depends …
The traditional year-end revisitation of the magic of myrrh.
A year end knees-up argument of whether the Irish are from the Caspian steppes or some other place.
The traditional harvest of odd non-potatoes, oca at year’s end, and oca at year’s beginning.
A convenient year-end summary of crop domestication, mostly rice.
Speaking of which, millets (and Jeremy) hit the big time.

December 11, 2015December 11, 2015

Nibbles: Roots & tubers, Vegetables, Baobab sorbet, Grapevine breeding, Landscapes, CC & ag

Cassava in the spotlight.
Yeah but don’t forget your veggies.
Plus a tasty baobab dessert.
And of course you’ll need a glass of wine to go with such a nicely balanced meal.
Let’s bring all that together, shall we?
Before it’s too late.

December 7, 2015December 4, 2015

Brainfood: Wild rice database, E Asian wheat diversity, Microbial terroir, Sesame breeding, Agrobiodiversity fairs, AnGR conservation, Rye diversity

OryzaGenome: Genome Diversity Database of Wild Oryza Species. Well, only 2 species thus far, but it’s a start.
Evaluation of East Asian landrace wheat revealed by high molecular weight glutenin and maturity period. The Chinese accessions are different to the Japanese-Korean, and 3 of the former have both good gluten composition and early maturity, making them attractive to Korean breeders.
Sequence-based Analysis of the Vitis vinifera L. cv Cabernet Sauvignon Grape Must Mycobiome in Three South African Vineyards Employing Distinct Agronomic Systems. Even microbes contribute to terroir.
Genetic Diversity, Population Structure, and Association Mapping of 10 Agronomic Traits in Sesame. Some markers will be really useful in breeding.
The fairs of agrobiodiversity in the context of participatory plant breeding — Local Agricultural Innovation Program in Cuba. Meaning and impact. Diversity will find a way.
Biobanking genetic resources: Challenges and implementation at the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program. Everything that’s not cattle and swine is a problem.
Geography and end use drive the diversification of worldwide winter rye populations. There may have been multiple domestications, and improvement has not led to decrease in diversity.