Nibbles – Page 421 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

April 18, 2008April 18, 2008

Nibbles: Apples, training, opinion

Rebsie and the tasty Tewkesbury Baron.
Rothamsted offers training opportunities for African scientists. Via.
Hold the phone! “Food crop diversity is key to sustainability,” says Monty Jones.

April 17, 2008April 18, 2008

Nibbles: Tangled Bank, wild boar, food miles

It’s that time again. Tangled Bank 103. Don’t miss the comments!
Italian cinghiale different from wild boar north of Alps, not involved in domestication.
Book traces plate of curry, trousers back to source. Weirdly, Bangladesh in both cases.

April 15, 2008April 15, 2008

Nibbles: Crabs, barley, IAASTD, wine, vegetables

Why fisheries management is so often a failure.
Climate change threatens beer. Luigi appalled. Via.
IIED to answer questions raised by IAASTD. Chef comments, “Your alphabet soup is ready now.”
Not enough Sangiovese in Brunello di Montalcino. Jeremy appalled.
People in the burbs really into growing vegetablesÂ all of a sudden.

April 14, 2008April 14, 2008

Nibbles: Barley, mangoes, erosion

Boffins say wild barley “a treasure trove.” Lay up not your treasures on Earth.
Boffins say Florida mangoes “unique.” As is the mother, so is her daughter.
Boffins say rice genetic diversity being eroded in the Philippines. They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.

April 12, 2008April 12, 2008

Nibbles: Irrigation, drought

Latest Rice Today map: irrigation around the world. Thanks, Robert.
Coincidentally, there’s a Science article on the genetics of how plants cope with drought, but it’s behind a paywall.

1. Ancient farmers didn’t have to wait for the genetic diversity that made domestication possible. They selected from variation already present in wild plants, including the ancestors of rice and maize. Domestication was as much about spotting (or happening upon) useful differences as creating new ones.
2. English colonists in America called Indigenous dogs “wolves,” revealing as much about colonial perceptions as about the animals themselves. This history of Indigenous dogs shows how unfamiliar animals were classified through peculiarly European ideas about wildness.
3. Austria is bringing forgotten apple varieties back to life. Saving old varieties in genebanks is one thing: getting people to grow, sell and eat them is another, but it can be done. Or at least tried.
4. Jordan’s olive-oil heritage centres on traditional varieties such as Nabali and ancient Rumi trees, but most production is consumed locally, leaving exports limited and making provenance, cultivar and harvest date important indicators for buyers. Compare and contrast with Austrian apples.
5. Small island developing states have distinctive food cultures and ingredients, but face particular challenges in building sustainable and resilient food systems. FAO’s A Taste of SIDS explores the connections between island food, biodiversity and culinary heritage. Nice to see diversity within crops considered, though a few local variety names would have been nice.
Published on October 21, 2026