- Rubber is running out.
- Hand pollination is better than fertilisers etc. for cacao yields.
- When all is said and done, agriculture is a third of emissions.
- A wild Mexican yam is behind the Pill.
- The cultural history of plants.
Brainfood: Post 2020 indicators double, Protected areas, Infraspecific variation, SeedExtractor, Processing, Regenerating spuds, Gut microbiota, Plant microbiome, Citrus greening, Rusts never sleep, Bee competition, Pollinator decline, Genomic selection, Pig diversity
- An analysis of genetic diversity actions, indicators and targets in 114 National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is not well done, but the authors were surprised to see it done at all.
- Essential indicators for measuring site‐based conservation effectiveness in the post‐2020 global biodiversity framework. Remote sensing will save us. But see above.
- Pervasive cropland in protected areas highlight trade-offs between conservation and food security. Remote sensing (et al.) in action.
- Conserving intraspecific variation for nature’s contributions to people. Well, yeah. But can remote sensing help?
- SeedExtractor: An Open-Source GUI for Seed Image Analysis. Somebody mention intraspecific variation? Here’s a way to cope with seed variation.
- The processed food revolution in African food systems and the double burden of malnutrition. There’s bad processing, and good processing, even the bad processing has some upsides, but really we should try to have only good processing.
- Expression of internal reproductive barriers in a germplasm bank accession of the wild potato Solanum chacoense Bitter in three ex situ regeneration cycles. Ne < N.
- Effects of Iron and Zinc Biofortified Foods on Gut Microbiota In Vivo (Gallus gallus): A Systematic Review. Biofortified foods are good for gut health. In chickens.
- Experimental evidence of microbial inheritance in plants and transmission routes from seed to phyllosphere and root. Plants get their microbiome from the seeds whence they came, not just the environment.
- A stable antimicrobial peptide with dual functions of treating and preventing citrus Huanglongbing. From a wild relative, natch.
- Wheat rust epidemics damage Ethiopian wheat production: A decade of field disease surveillance reveals national-scale trends in past outbreaks. Boom-and-bust is alive and well.
- Honey bee hives decrease wild bee abundance, species richness, and fruit count on farms regardless of wildflower strips. And the good news just keeps on coming.
- Pollination strategies in the face of pollinator decline. The really good news is that plants may adapt to pollinator decline.
- Genomic Selection for Any Dairy Breeding Program via Optimized Investment in Phenotyping and Genotyping. You don’t need more money, you just need to reallocate some of the phenotyping money to genotyping, genotypers say.
- Runs of homozygosity provide a genome landscape picture of inbreeding and genetic history of European autochthonous and commercial pig breeds. Local breeds around Europe have similar genetic structures.
Brainfood: Corona, Restoration, Georeferencing, Bee decline, Mustard breeding, Banana seeds, Micronutrient decline, Potato micronutrients, GWAS, Trade, Deforestation alerts, Review method
- Rapid assessments of the impact of COVID-19 on the availability of quality seed to farmers: Advocating immediate practical, remedial and preventative action. Structural weaknesses ruthlessly exposed.
- Initial Investment in Diversity Is the Efficient Thing to Do for Resilient Forest Landscape Restoration. Spend the money on securing diverse seeds up front, you cheapskates. No word on what the effect of the pandemic.
- Ten golden rules for reforestation to optimize carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery and livelihood benefits. Right seeds, right species, right place, the right way. But save forests first.
- The impact of near-real-time deforestation alerts across the tropics. Getting alerts saves forests, especially in protected areas, but only in Africa.
- Integration of georeferenced and genetic data for the management of biodiversity in sheep genetic resources in Brazil. Travel 300 km for a genetically different sheep. I wonder if it’s the same for trees.
- Worldwide occurrence records suggest a global decline in bee species richness. 25% fewer species in GBIF in past 25 years. Yeah but there may be alternative explanations for that, as a bee taxonomist points out. Non-Twitter link available too.
- Investigating genetic relationship of Brassica juncea with B. nigra via virtual allopolyploidy and hexaploidy strategy. Wild relative could be used to synthesize some really cool mustards.
- Seed storage behavior of Musa balbisiana Colla, a wild progenitor of bananas and plantains – Implications for ex situ germplasm conservation. Orthodox, but difficult to regenerate.
- Mineral nutrient composition of vegetables, fruits and grains: The context of reports of apparent historical declines. No evidence for systematic declines in micronutrient concentrations.
- A Study on the Biodiversity of Pigmented Andean Potatoes: Nutritional Profile and Phenolic Composition. Lots of diversity in micronutrients in traditional landraces. No word on temporal changes.
- Status and prospects of genome‐wide association studies in plants. Dissecting complex traits has never been easier, and is getting easier. It says here.
- A review of the interactions between biodiversity, agriculture, climate change, and international trade: research and policy priorities. Policy priorities? Increased recognition of international trade in biodiversity targets, goals, and policy; and increased communication of the impacts of food on biodiversity.
- The Impact of Diversified Farming Practices on Terrestrial Biodiversity Outcomes and Agricultural Yield Worldwide: A Systematic Review Protocol. Looking forward to this one.
Nibbles: Duck breeding, Native American seeds, Climate change & wildlife
- A better Peking duck.
- Cherokee Nation makes heirloom seeds available.
- “Every degree of warming avoided prevents the loss of one in ten species from the world’s tropical and Mediterranean climates.”
Brainfood: Pollinator decline, Diet diversity, Collectors, CBD indicators, Herbaria, Fusarium wilt, Genomic breeding, Niche markets, Study design, American CWR, Domestication limits
- No buzz for bees: Media coverage of pollinator decline. Nobody cares. Unless it’s linked to climate change.
- Climate impacts associated with reduced diet diversity in children across nineteen countries. Something else that’s linked to climate change and too few care about.
- People are essential to linking biodiversity data. Seriously, get an ORCID ID.
- Why European biodiversity reporting is not reliable. It’s the free indicator choice in CBD reporting is what it is. Also, not enough attention to genetic diversity. Now, where have I heard that before?
- Reversing extinction trends: new uses of (old) herbarium specimens to accelerate conservation action on threatened species. Not just useful in generating new knowledge (including on genetic diversity), can also be used as seed sources and in public awareness.
- Ex Ante Assessment of Returns on Research Investments to Address the Impact of Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 on Global Banana Production. Conventional breeding for resistance could lift almost a million people out of poverty. That would be quite the indicator.
- Genomic resources in plant breeding for sustainable agriculture. Would help with the above.
- Can Niche Markets for Local Cacao Varieties Benefit Smallholders in Peru and Mexico? Maybe. Read it, it’s not that long.
- Quantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences. Everyone should use randomised designs and controlled observational designs with pre-intervention sampling. No, you did not just waste your time reading the above.
- Crop wild relatives of the United States require urgent conservation action. 60% of 600 native taxa need urgent help.
- Limits and constraints to crop domestication. Most of the world’s 2000 crops are not fully domesticated, for reasons such as trait architecture, lack of diversity in domestication traits, accumulation of genetic load and gene flow from the above. But something can be done about it.