- PhD student from East Africa wanted to study greenhouse gases, biochar and other cool stuff.
- Weevils eat half the cowpea harvest. Solution in the bag.
- Ecuadorian chocolate experts visit the World Bank. Did they bring samples?
- Lots of ecdysteroids in quinoa. Not clear to me if this is good or bad.
- Yes, Malagasy rice is different.
- Evaluating a Dang Rasimi jackfruit. Looks pretty good to me.
- Crop wild relatives in genebanks help with drought tolerance in wheat.
- Meta-paper on livelihoods diversity in rice-wheat-livestock systems Indo-Gangetic Plains has no room for varietal diversity in rice-wheat.
The agrobiodiversity of Wayanad District in Kerala
An extremely long explanation of the wonderful “‘home garden’ system” 1 of Wayanad District in the south Indian state of Kerala, from the Satoyama savants at UN University. There’s a video, natch, which is very pretty and very informative. One scene of four women pounding what looks like millet looks lovely, dangerous, and unnecessary. Couldn’t they get a mini-mill?
What I don’t get is why the headline says “South Indian agricultural model mimics fragile ecosystem”. Looks to me like the agricultural model is a lot more robust and resilient than the ecosystem. But what do I know?
Nibbles: Bean gap analysis, Protected areas 2.0, NZ livestock, French boar, Taro in Hawaii, UNEP, Moringa, False flax, Hordeum
- Let “The Bean Counters” show you where to collect wild Phaseolus.
- Protected areas get wikified.
- Expensive book published on the heritage breeds of New Zealand.
- Wild boar going crazy in France.
- Another Hawaiian taro festival. And why not.
- Ecosystems for climate change adaptation. No agroecosystems though.
- Moringa! Not just for people.
- Camelina! Not just for Europeans.
- What is it about barley wild relatives lately?
Amaranth: from pigweed to superweed to superfood
A comprehensive account of the many joys of amaranth from Willem Malten, who has done his fair share of putting the plant to good use. His conclusion:
I propose that we adjust our research, technology and diets and start a more wide-spread processing of the mighty amaranth into food. We potentially have millions of acres of it. Amaranth is a gift and we better learn how to use it.
I’ve done my part in the past, growing amaranths for seed and leaves, and eating both. I see it everywhere in Rome, clogging the gutters and pavements of little-used streets. And that’s the problem; delicious as it is, I’m not ready to rescue it from the deposits of diesel particulates and dog droppings.
Nibbles: ABS, Climate change and crops, Beer proteome, Cattle SNPs, Nepal genebank, Sceletium tortuosum, CBD, Weeds, Vitamin A
- Indian academics voice some reservations about CBD ABS regime. Maybe a multilateral approach would be better?
- CIAT warns about climate change effect on crops. Kenyan farmers know all about that. And Koreans too. Oh, and speaking of kimchi…
- Beer proteome means better beer. Fundamental research indeed.
- Cattle breeds are real. And the gaur?
- Nepal inaugurates genebank.
- San benefit from bioprospecting license for medicinal plant.
- Ahmed Djoghlaf says…
- Weeds? Not weeds. Cities as biodiversity hotspots? Oh I give up.
- Orange cassava due to one amino acid.