Nibbles – Page 422 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

April 11, 2008April 11, 2008

Nibbles: Collards, Genebanks

USDA goes hunting for long-lost heirloom collard greens: Indiana Jones unavailable for comment.
USDA leader of genetic resources explains why genebanks matter: Indiana Jones laps it up.

April 9, 2008April 9, 2008

Nibbles: Alabama genebank, sunflower, fruit dispersal, IAASTD

Seed bank saves Alabama heirloom varieties, y’all.
Retrotransposons go wild in sunflower. Kansas to the rescue.
Avocados and gomphotheres. Apples and bears. Welcome back, Evil Fruit Lord!
More about the IAASTD and its paradigm shift thing.

April 8, 2008April 10, 2008

Nibbles: Bananas, health, IAASTD, Israeli genebank

IITA blankets Ghana with micro-propagated bananas. How many varieties?
Hey, yesterday was Biodiversity and World Health Day. Who knew? (Agriculture not relevant.)
IAASTD says agriculture needs “…a new paradigm…” Discuss.
Israeli genebank has to fight for cash. Jeremy comments: alert the media.

April 7, 2008April 7, 2008

Nibbles: IITA, Bats, GBIF, Avocado disease

IITA’s Hartmann on the BBC.
Bats protect coffee plants from insect pests.
GBIF grants awards, pollinators well covered.
New fungal disease threatens avocado production.

April 4, 2008April 5, 2008

Nibbles: Donkeys, UG99, fruit GI, negected species, Spore

Cypriot wild donkeys in trouble.
Gates Foundation tackles wheat rust UG99. Phew!
Malaysians measure fruit glycemic indices, no mention of varieties.
English exposed to neglected species.
Sorry, missed the redesigned Spore.

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