Neglected species

Nibbles: Breeding, Frankincense and myrrh, Roman pills, Chinese botanic garden, NPGS, Green red bush tea, Old banyan, Terroir, Botanic gardens and invaders, AnGR

National Organic Coalition suggests USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture separate conventional and participatory breeding from anything involving DNA in considering projects for support.
Second-guessing the Three Wise Men.
Yet more on attempts to deconstruct ancient Roman medicines using DNA from tablets found in a shipwreck. Real Indiana Jones stuff.
Botanic garden and genebank for drought-resistant plants to be established “in Asia’s largest wild fruit forest.” That would be in China. I really don’t know what to make of this. Really need to find out more. But why am I talking to myself?
Brown (rice) is beautiful.
Feedback from a genebank user. Kinda.
Rooibos gets itself certified.
The oldest cultivated tree on record.
The taste of Massachusetts.
“…strongly conservation-minded botanic gardens appear to be in the minority.” Easy, tiger. Will that new one in China (see above) feature in this minority?
ILRI on an Aussie TV program on conserving local livestock breeds in Africa.

A Cuban tells us what he thinks is wrong with Cuban agriculture.
Rahul Goswami has two long, thoughtful articles, on how India’s next five year plan is not realistic about either food or urbanisation.
And what’s worse in the US today, drought, or heat? Do we have to choose?
Less than 1% of Amazonia is made of Terra Preta. Is that enough? I dunno, how about you?
Wanna buy some rice? I wonder if African rice, heirlooms and endophytes will get a look-in.
Better bread from minor African grains. Digitaria, that is.
Dairy Shorthorn in trouble in the UK.

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…

IRRI explains its rice genebank. Is this new? Why are so many pages on the internets undated?
Owen takes his Andean roots and tubers to another county. NatGeo not interested.
FAO recognizes two Satoyama sites as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, making eight in total.
Sub-Saharan Foresty Funding from the 2011 Abdou-Salam Ouédraogo fellowship.