- The hidden treasure of Colombian potatoes. In a lad mag, no less.
- Umbrian olive terraces get UN status, no less.
- Maize furniture, no less.
- New wild tea species found. In protected areas, no less.
- Saving the dreadlocked Suri alpaca of Peru through spinning.
- Saving the banana through lots of things.
- Seed banks for restoration, but also so much more.
- Even in space. No less.
- But don’t forget to safety duplicate .
- Seed Treaty scores important first, explained. I hope.
Brainfood: Rye genus, Purple carrots, Breed conservation contracts, Livestock breeding, USDA sweetpotatoes, Apple breeding, Olive breeding, Landrace nutrition, Trade and SDG 2.5, Medicinal legumes, Tea in China, Non-rhizobia, Fungal cryo, Barcoding NUS
- Phylogeny and genetic structure in the genus Secale. The perennial species is different from the annuals, which are divided into an Asian and a non-Asia group and show all kinds of introgression.
- Consumers’ acceptance of a local landrace: the case of purple carrots. Sure, if produced locally.
- Saving the breeds: German Farmers’ preferences for Endangered Dairy Breed conservation programs. Sure, if they get paid.
- Analysing innovations among cattle smallholders to evaluate the adequacy of breeding programs. Intensification will need more than selection within the local breed. But it’s a start.
- Genetic diversity and population structure of the USDA sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) germplasm collection using GBSpoly. 4 clusters: Central American, North American, South American, and others.
- Updated review of potential medicinal genetic resources in the USDA, ARS, PGRCU industrial and legume crop germplasm collections. 22 species have potential.
- Apple (Malus spp.) Breeding: Present and Future. It’s bright, apparently.
- Strategies for Olive (Olea europaea L.) Breeding: Cultivated Genetic Resources and Crossbreeding. There’s an International Olive Council, and it has a Network of Germplasm Banks.
- Genetic flow among olive populations within the Mediterranean basin. Separate Syrian and Algerian genepools.
- Traditional farmers’ varieties: a valuable source of genetic variability for biofortification programs. Back to the future.
- SDG 2.5: How Policies Affecting Trade and Markets Can Help Maintain Genetic Diversity. It’s possible, but not automatic.
- Concept and protection of traditional knowledges in agricultural heritage system: a case study of Pu’er Traditional Tea Agrosystem. Based on 269 pieces of traditional knowledge, and in trouble.
- Mining alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) nodules for salinity tolerant non-rhizobial bacteria to improve growth of alfalfa under salinity stress. They work even on their own.
- Frozen fungi: cryogenic storage is an effective method to store Fusarium cultures for the long‐term. I guess will also work on the above?
- DNA barcoding to promote social awareness and identity of neglected, underutilized plant species having valuable nutritional properties. Familiarity breeds contentment.
The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation beyond 2020: A survey
From Botanic Gardens Conservation International:
As you may be aware, a conference of the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 28-30 August. This will be followed by a meeting of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Liaison Group, convened by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
These meetings will bring together plant conservation scientists, policy makers and practitioners from across the world to consider the future of plant conservation, and in particular to develop ideas for a global plant conservation strategy for the post-2020 period.
In preparation for the meeting, a survey, available in English and French, is being carried out to invite views on the nature and content of a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation beyond 2020 and how it might be integrated into the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
We would be grateful if you could take part in this brief survey, and encourage your partners, colleagues and networks to do the same.
For those interested in attending the GPPC Conference, more information is available here. Please note that the deadline for registration is 27 July and the early bird registration rate ends on 15 July.
How to implement the ITPGRFA
A few days ago we posted about a decision-making tool for germplasm users to work out what access and benefit sharing arrangements are likely to be relevant to them. Today, from Bioversity and partners, comes a tool that addresses the other side of the ABS equation: what do countries need to do to implement the provisions of the International Treaty? Here are the specific questions it addresses:
- Who is responsible for promoting and coordinating national implementation?
- What is facilitated access to PGRFA under the multilateral system and who has the right to facilitated access?
- Who may authorize access to PGRFA under the multilateral system?
- What processes and criteria should be followed to consider requests for PGRFA included in the multilateral system?
- How to deal with requests for purposes that are (or may be) beyond the scope of the multilateral system?
- What PGRFA are automatically included in the multilateral system?
- How to encourage voluntary inclusions by natural and legal persons?
- How to ensure legal space for the implementation of the multilateral system?
- How to address benefit-sharing?
- How to deal with reporting obligations regarding transfers and sales?
- Who monitors the use of PGRFA under the multilateral system and enforces the multilateral system’s terms and conditions?
Now there really is no excuse for ignorance.
Brainfood: Ecology of domestication, Citizen soybeans, Silkworm domestication, Barley spread, Indigenous management, Maize domestication, Temperate maize, Nutrient yields, Amazon history double, Women & diets, Online classification, Charred breadcrumbs, Wheat drought
- Crop domestication: anthropogenic effects on insect–plant interactions in agroecosystems. Domestication can upset trophic webs. Poor dears.
- The soybean experiment ‘1000 Gardens’: a case study of citizen science for research, education, and beyond. 2492 gardens, in fact.
- The evolutionary road from wild moth to domestic silkworm. Domestication in China, followed by multiple independent spreads and differentiation.
- Barley heads east: Genetic analyses reveal routes of spread through diverse Eurasian landscapes. 3 taxa, 8 genepools, multiple routes for spread. A bit like silkworm but in the opposite direction.
- A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation. 40% of all terrestrial protected areas.
- Maize domestication and gene interaction. More than just the headline 5 genes.
- Hallauer’s Tusón: a decade of selection for tropical-to-temperate phenological adaptation in maize. Need to go back to tropical germplasm for adaptation to temperate conditions.
- Moving beyond calories and protein: Micronutrient assessment of UK diets and land use. Roots, tubers and vegetables are the most land-efficient producers of 23 nutrients.
- The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon. It is still with us.
- Direct archaeological evidence for Southwestern Amazonia as an early plant domestication and food production centre. And not just in the east.
- Does women’s time in domestic work and agriculture affect women’s and children’s dietary diversity? Evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique. Yes, but varies with socioeconomic status.
- Remap: An online remote sensing application for land cover classification and monitoring. Use your training set to detect habitat type(s) in Google Earth.
- Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the origins of bread 14,400 years ago in northeastern Jordan. Before domestication.
- Drought tolerance during reproductive development is important for increasing wheat yield potential under climate change in Europe. The good news is that germplasm close to the optimized ideotype for 2050 is already out there.