Nibbles – Page 439 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

December 11, 2007

Chestnuts coming back

Chestnuts roasting on open fires again. Bing Crosby unavailable for comment.

December 10, 2007

Vineyards benefit from integrated pest management

In Austraila, Fosters Wine Estates reduces pests by reducing pesticides; Sir Les Patterson unavailable for comment.

December 9, 2007December 9, 2007

Names from the Biodiversity Heritage Library

XML SOAP names are available from the Biodiversity Heritage Library: no geeks available for comment (but I suspect this could be important).

December 3, 2007

Food choice at truck stops

Truckers want healthy foods. Yeah, right.

December 1, 2007December 1, 2007

Profile of Russian genebank

Profile of the Vavilov Institute: Nikolai Ivanovich unavailable for comment.

1. Haga Hideo’s 1950s photos of Fukushima farming rituals are now being used to revive them: ex situ conservation, but for culture.
2. Long before photography, or “pre‑breeding” was a buzzword, Belgian pomologist Jean‑Baptiste Van Mons was running massive pear selection trials and gifting us Beurré Bosc and Doyenné Boussock.
3. As Southern Africa’s miombo woodlands shrinks, scientists are cloning wild trees so the fruit — and food security — outlive the forest. Now for the pre-breeding.
4. Greenpeace Africa’s Seed Project makes the case for indigenous seeds as a route to farmer independence. And you can help.
5. And oh so coincidentally, a network of community seed banks in Kenya is rescuing indigenous seeds so the diversity is still around when opportunity (or crisis) knocks.
6. Also in Kenya, the national genebank’s collectors are racing to secure opportunity crops.
7. Nepal’s indigenous crops and landraces are at the same time more needed than ever, and under threat. So, much like in Kenya.
8. The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT says women are at the center of sustainable food systems; the fine print adds: “as they have always been.”
Published on September 30, 2026