Nibbles – Page 492 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

Documenting field data

From LEISA, methodologies and experiences in documenting field data.

Maple syrup forever

Never mind about peanuts and potatoes, maple syrup trees are even more threatened by climate change.

June 5, 2007June 5, 2007

How rhizobia work

Another attempt to persuade non-leguminous plants to enter into a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with rhizobia.

June 5, 2007June 5, 2007

Orange cauliflower gene

The gene for orange cauliflowers promotes storage, not manufacture, of carotenes. A new approach to enhancing nutrition?

June 4, 2007June 4, 2007

Guinea pigs

As well as feeding Andean peoples for centuries, guinea pigs have helped win twenty-three Nobel Prizes.

1. The COUSIN project aims to conserve (trans situ, no less) and use crop wild relatives in Europe.
2. That “use” part can be tough.
3. But that doesn’t stop the fine people at Aardaia. At least where aardaker (Lathyrus tuberosus) is concerned.
4. From alternative potatoes in the Netherlands to alternative beans in Indonesia. All in the cause of diversification.
5. No need to find an alternative to amaranth in the American SW. Not with devoted chefs on the job.
6. The Iraqi Seed Collective is taking seeds from American genebanks to that country’s diaspora in the US, and eventually back to Iraq itself. Maybe chefs will help.
7. Good thing there are genebank backups, eh?
Published on July 9, 2025