- Livestock diversity in the hands of FAO. No comment.
- Let them eat fruit!
- AoB breaks down International Botanical Congress 18 for us.
- Species-poor tree plantations could be good for conservation of rare tree found in remnant forest patches in Chile because they encourage pollinators to move on. Agriculture, on other hand, is bad because it lures generalist pollinators into staying. Nature, don’t you just love it?
- Climate-proofing the Solomon Islands to include “the isolation of crop species tolerant of high salinity, high rainfall, and drought.” Strewth.
- Marine diversity. (Only kidding.)
- Good advice on home seed saving from Suzanne Ashworth. She wrote the (a?) book.
Brainfood: Tomato erosion, Cassava starch, Landscape diversity, American chestnut, Niche models, Dormancy genes, Herbarium collections, Indian livestock breeding, Banana breeding, Pollinators, Shattering gene, Participatory research
- The risks of success in quality vegetable markets: Possible genetic erosion in Marmande tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and consumer dissatisfaction. Market takes the fun out of landraces.
- Genetic variability of root peel thickness and its influence in extractable starch from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) roots. Starch content depends on dry matter content and peel thickness. About 1500 accessions from CIAT evaluated for the latter, so lots to play around with.
- A meta-analysis of crop pest and natural enemy response to landscape complexity. More landscape complexity means more natural enemies. Still no cure for cancer.
- American Chestnut past and future: Implications of restoration for resource pulses and consumer populations of eastern U.S. forests. Reintroduction of blight-resistant chestnut may have some weird effects on other species.
- Keep collecting: accurate species distribution modelling requires more collections than previously thought. Oh damn.
- Variation in seed dormancy quantitative trait loci in Arabidopsis thaliana originating from one site. Is due to two QTLs. Also flowering time. But no, I don’t understand that “In contrast…” at the end of the abstract either.
- Tracking origins of invasive herbivores through herbaria and archival DNA: the case of the horse-chestnut leaf miner. Another use for old herbarium specimens: finding evidence of pests.
- Animal breeding in India – a time for reflection, and action. The reflection is that genetic improvement has stagnated, so the action needed includes better phenotypic record keeping, more attention to local diversity and community-breeding programmes.
- Performance of micropropagation-induced off-type of East African highland banana (Musa AAA – East Africa). A promising avenue for improvement, the off-types yield more better bananas, a month later.
- Pollination services in the UK: How important are honeybees? Not as important as you might think!
- The same regulatory point mutation changed seed-dispersal structures in evolution and domestication. Cabbage-family fruit development and rice shattering share the same single point mutation.
- Participatory research and on-farm management of agricultural biodiversity in Europe. By Michel “Pimpert”. That should be Pimbert. Old news, but worth mentioning.
Nibbles: Orissa genebank, Cornish bees, Andean Roots & Tubers, Ag at WCSJ
- Not content with its seed mothers, or a national or international genebank, the state of Orissa in India wants its own genebank.
- Bee biodiversity.
- Andean root and tuber crops. And none of them a potato!
- Some ag-related reporting from the World Conference of Science Journalists. It isn’t pretty.
Nibbles: Seed mothers, Bees, Strawberry, Chilli collection, Talk on agrobiodiversity
- Need seed? Ask a bihana-maa, at least if you are in Orissa.
- Decline in UK honeybees reveals that crops not so dependent on them after all. Huh?
- A new strawberry for aesthetically-minded home gardeners.
- Wild Chilli group of Europe to visit Experimental Garden and Genebank of the Radboud University of Nijmegen. Send us a report?
- A free talk about the importance of perpetuating food plant resources for the future on Thursday, July 14. Oh, it’s on Hawaii. Send us a report?
Brainfood: Medic systematics, Fruit wine, Alfa paper, Marula diversity, Cardamon pollination, Protein, Ants, Peanuts, Truffles, Ethiopian barley, Citrus diversity, Biofuel trees, Honeybush, Czech garlic
- Genetic similarity based on isoenzyme banding pattern among fifty species of Medicago representing eight sections (Fabaceae). People are still using isozymes? I find that oddly endearing.
- Preparation and evaluation of antioxidant capacity of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) wine and its protective role against radiation induced DNA damage. In other news, you can make wine from jackfruit.
- Pulping and papermaking properties of Tunisian Alfa stems (Stipa tenacissima)—Effects of refining process. Yep, a paper on paper.
- Phenotypic variations in fruits and selection potential in Sclerocarya birrea subsp. birrea. There’s a lot of it.
- Pollination studies in large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) of Sikkim Himalayan region of India. It needs a native bumblebee.
- Effect of proteins from different sources on body composition. Hard to be sure, but probably no difference between animal and plant protein. If you’re trying to lose weight, that is.
- Ants as biological control agents in agricultural cropping systems. More common than you think, but can’t be taken for granted.
- Origin of triploid Arachis pintoi (Leguminosae) by autopolyploidy evidenced by FISH and meiotic behaviour. Maybe that was they key step on the road to the edible peanut.
- The biochemistry and biological properties of the world’s most expensive underground edible mushroom: Truffles. Not just a pretty smell.
- Ethnobotany, diverse food uses, claimed health benefits and implications on conservation of barley landraces in North Eastern Ethiopia highlands. Landraces “just” liked for culinary qualities are having a hard time.
- Comparative analysis of genetic diversity in Citrus germplasm collection using AFLP, SSAP, SAMPL and SSR markers. Boys with toys.
- Tree legumes as feedstock for sustainable biofuel production: Opportunities and challenges. Pongamia pinnata is the thing, apparently, but it’ll need research. NIMBY!
- Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.): From local cottage industry to global markets — The catalytic and supporting role of research. South African bush tea a blueprint for the development of a neglected/underutilized species? Yeah, why not.
- Diversity of S-alk(en)yl cysteine sulphoxide content within a collection of garlic (Allium sativum L.) and its association with the morphological and genetic background assessed by AFLP. Czech genebank follows up Brassica genetic diversity study with one on garlic. SACS is an important end-use trait, and varies among genetic groups.