- Grains of Wisdom: Insights into the Minds of Top Chefs—A Synthesis of Expert Interviews and Literature. A good chef can make even quinoa palatable.
- Citizen science informs demand-driven breeding of opportunity crops. I wonder if tricot can make quinoa palatable. Never mind, it’s good for a lot of other things.
- Recurrent evolution of cryptic triploids in cultivated enset increases yield. Unclear if triploid enset is any more palatable than the diploid. Interesting that traditional knowledge picks up ploidy.
- Is there unrecognized potential in neglected livestock species in Sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review of four selected species. The benefits include sustainability, nutrition and income, but not higher palatability apparently.
- Enhancing Nutrition and Cost Efficiency in Kenyan School Meals Using Neglected and Underutilized Species and Linear Programming: A Case Study from an Informal Settlement. Better palatability was not included in the linear programming, alongside such staples (geddit?) as cost and nutritional value. But it could be, right?
- Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott) genetic resources and breeding: a review of 50 years of research efforts. Unclear if enhanced palatability is a breeding aim. But it should be.
- Strengthening the millet economy: lessons from a South Indian case study. Palatability is not an issue. Drudgery is.
- The traditional knowledge about the biodiversity of edible Brazilian fruits and their pollinators: an integrative review. Presumably includes data on palatability? And ploidy :)
- Wild edible fruit utilization patterns in Garhwal himalaya (Uttarakhand, India): a multi-decadal perspective. Reasons for decline in consumption include limited traditional knowledge transfer, time constraints, migration, generation gap, and hygiene concerns. But not, apparently, palatability.
Nibbles: Agrobiodiversity, HealthyDiets4Africa, Warwick genebank, NPGS trifecta, Florida potatoes, On farm, Guatemalan community seed banks, Welsh black oats, WorldVeg genebank, Turkish olive genebank, Citrus genebank, Orchard of Flavours, Piper diversity, Ancient Egyptian food, Chocolate & world history, Ancient DNA & breeding
- What has agrobiodiversity ever done for us? Kent Nnadozie of the Plant Treaty lays it out.
- Michael Frei of the HealthyDiets4Africa project doesn’t need it laid out.
- Neither do the people who awarded a prize to Charlotte Allender of the UK Vegetable Genebank.
- What has the US National Plant Germplasm System ever done for anyone? The Guardian, the NY Times and NPR News lay it out. I guess someone in D.C. needs it laid out, but will it make any difference?
- Everyone: Potatoes in Florida! Breeders: No problem. NPGS: You called?
- Here’s The Guardian again, but this time thinking it is making the case for not putting seeds in the fridge, whereas in fact it’s making the case for the complementarity of ex situ and on-farm conservation.
- Speaking of on-farm conservation, here’s a couple of pieces on community seed banks in Guatemala.
- Speaking of on-farm conservation, here’s the heart-warming story of Welsh organic farmer Gerald Miles.
- Meanwhile, the World Vegetable Centre opens a new genebank.
- And Türkiye hosts an international, no less, olive genebank.
- And genebanks can be so beautiful, like works of art. Former Tate Modern director Vicente Todolí lays out his citrus samples. I wonder what he could do with olives.
- Botanic gardens are beautiful and often act a little bit like crop genebanks. Here’s an example from Portugal I stumbled onto recently, I forget how.
- You know what I’d like to see? An international pepper genebank, that’s what. No, not the kind that might be in those Guatemalan community seedbanks or the WorldVeg genebank. This sort of pepper. Piper pepper.
- I bet the ancient Egyptians had pepper. Egyptian archaeologist Mennat-Allah El Dorry lays out what else they had.
- Maybe you could lay out world history using pepper. You can definitely do so using cacao and chocolate.
- No, not using ancient DNA, but actually…
Brainfood: Ag and CC, Improved varieties, Yield growth, Food system transformation, CGIAR maize, Genetic erosion, NBSAPs, Technology & conservation, Cattle breeding
- Conventional agriculture increases global warming while decreasing system sustainability. The global warming potential of conventional grain agriculture has increased x8 from 1961-2020, whereas sustainability index has decreased x3. Whatever are we to do?
- Adoption of improved crop varieties limited biodiversity losses, terrestrial carbon emissions, and cropland expansion in the tropics. Crop improvements from 1961–2015 resulted in less cropland expansion, lower greenhouse gas emissions and fewer extinctions. Right, so what we need is more of the same?
- Yield growth patterns of food commodities: Insights and challenges. “The same” has meant that yield growth for dozens of crops is not slowing down. At least in the global aggregate. At least for now. At least for calories. So no resting on laurels out there!
- Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030. Especially as regards governance and resilience.
- Poverty and yield effects of CGIAR maize varieties in smallholder farming systems of Zambia. CGIAR breeders are definitely not resting on their laurels, but it looks like that won’t be enough.
- Global meta-analysis shows action is needed to halt genetic diversity loss. CGIAR and other breeders are going to need that genetic diversity that is being lost. Whatever are we to do?
- How can biodiversity strategy and action plans incorporate genetic diversity and align with global commitments? We could make better, more inclusive biodiversity conservation plans, for one thing. Which include agricultural biodiversity.
- Exploring the role of technology in the trade-off between biodiversity and poverty alleviation across countries. It would be good if those better plans included technology adoption.
- Liberalization of animal genetic resources trade and local animal productivity outcomes: A natural experiment. And yes, genetic diversity is a technology. Sort of.
Brainfood: Climate change & health, Cassava disease treble, Solanaceae disease, Parasitoid variation, Cucurbita diseases, Orange disease, Chestnut disease
- Climate change and nutrition-associated diseases. Climate change is going to be bad for human health. To help us cope with the heavier burden of disease, crops will need to be able to cope better with pests and diseases themselves…
- Genome-wide association study of cassava brown streak disease resistance in cassava germplasm conserved in South America. …and studying genebank collections will help us help them do just that…
- Candidate genes for field resistance to cassava brown streak disease revealed through the analysis of multiple data sources. …though that’s only the first step…
- Comparing fresh root yield and quality of certified and farmer-saved cassava seed. …to getting quality seeds into farmers’ fields.
- Breeding for resistance to bacterial wilt in Solanaceae crops: lessons learned and ways forward for Gboma eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon L.), a traditional African vegetable. You’ll want some disease-resistant vegetables to go with your disease-resistant cassava. And for that you need to understand genetic variation in both the crops and their pests.
- The influence of genetic variation on pre-oviposition processes for host-parasitoid co-evolution. And indeed in the enemies of the pests.
- Breeding and genetics of resistance to major diseases in Cucurbita—A review. Pumpkin and squash have plenty of pests and diseases, but also diversity.
- The Rediscovery of ‘Donaldson’ Sweet Orange, a Variety That Has Potential for Use in Orange Juice. Rummaging through that diversity can take time, but (s)he that seeketh findeth. And the game is worth the candle.
- Resumption of chestnut cultivation in Lombardy: starting from native genetic resources. Worth it indeed.
Nibbles: Genebanks in the US, CIAT, Egypt, Cambridge Botanic Garden, Chilean wild tomato, Kenyan veggies, PNG diet, PGRFA course
- The USDA genebank is in the news. But will that save it?
- The CIAT genebank in on a podcast. Can’t hurt, I guess.
- The Egyptian genebank is in the news. And on a new website, apparently.
- Good to see botanic gardens in the news too.
- I wonder which genebank or botanic gardens this apparently re-discovered endemic Chilean wild tomato will end up in. If any.
- But genebanks are not enough. You need vegetable fairs too.
- Because vegetables are good for you. And not just in Kenya, also in Papua New Guinea.
- Want to learn about all of the above? Check out the resources from the Entry-Level Training School on Plant Genetic Resources in 2023.