Nibbles

Nibbles: Roses, Stripe Rust, Cuba, Carnival, India, GCARD, Urban ag, Genetic diversity and herbivory, Biocultural diversity

The wages of Kenyan rose growers increase 22% — to $59 a month. Sinful.
Wheat stripe rust uses sex to break down barriers.
Q&A with Cuban whiz Humberto Ríos.
Latest Carnival of Evolution is up; we’re the only ag, alas.
Proposed agricultural biodiversity heritage sites in India. (Is this new?)
Investing in Underutilised Crops to Achieve Food Security. A report from the CGARD conference in March.
The Hanging Gardens of Kenya.
Living in genetic mixtures helps plants against herbivores. No, really.
“Restoring human cultures to the web of life.”

Gene controlling rice architecture may hold promise for increased yield. Unless, of course, it doesn’t.
Attempts to control a deadly cassava virus in central Africa. I hope someone is conserving those susceptible varieties. They may be useless now, but who knows what the future will bring? And more questions.
And following the Kibale post, more on non-timber forest products and their trade.

Rust boffins meet in St Petersburg. Good luck to them: sounds like they’ll need it.
Did 3000-year-old rice really sprout in Vietnam? Nah.
Indian farmers queue up for old rice seeds. Not old as in the Vietnam case above though.
And more rice. Did the Chinese really use the sticky kind in mortar 1500 years ago? Yep.
More ancient technology. This time Mayan rubber.
“…a major leap forward in species-area relationship fitting…”: where will future habitat loss wreak the most havoc on plant species? And on crop wild relatives?
The pulses of Africa. Well, a couple of them.

Cacao beer. What’s not to like?
CABI blog deconstructs pesticidal plants.
Worldwatch blog on how “livestock can improve food security and preserve and rebuild communities.”
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park tries to diversify.