Threats

May 19, 2022May 19, 2022

Ukraine national genebank endures

If you’re worried about the Ukraine genebank, the latest news is that it’s still ok. Here’s the official (maybe?) statement:

Важливо. Щодо "новини", що в Харкові знищили весь вітчизняний генетичний банк рослин (160 тис. сортів і гібридів рослин зі всього світу) див. тред: Національний Центр генетичних ресурсів рослин України діє на базі Інституту Юр'єва (Інститут рослинництва імені Юр'єва) (1/4)

— @XAPKIB (@XAPKIB) May 17, 2022

Due to the shelling by Russian troops of the Juriev Institute’s premises, the part of the specimens that were being prepared for regeneration were destroyed. The main collection is unharmed.

And Newsweek has done the factchecking.

May 16, 2022May 13, 2022

Brainfood: Landrace gaps, Musa gaps, Teff use, Wheat evolution, NUS services, Phenotyping, Harappan residues, Food trade

State of ex situ conservation of landrace groups of 25 major crops. Two thirds done, on average, at least by this measure, with these data.
Phylogeography and conservation gaps of Musa balbisiana Colla genetic diversity revealed by microsatellite markers. But of course there are always other ways of doing it.
Value of teff (Eragrostis tef) genetic resources to support breeding for conventional and smallholder farming: a review. An example of why doing the above for all crops is important.
Evolution and origin of bread wheat. Another example. But the B genome remains elusive.
Diversity and Diversification: Ecosystem Services Derived From Underutilized Crops and Their Co-benefits for Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes and Resilient Food Systems in Africa. So many services. And yet…
Crop phenotyping in a context of global change: What to measure and how to do it. So many toys.
Integrating Lipid and Starch Grain Analyses From Pottery Vessels to Explore Prehistoric Foodways in Northern Gujarat, India. And more toys. They made biodiverse stews in the Indus Valley Civilization.
International food trade benefits biodiversity and food security in low-income countries. Low-income, very biodiverse countries are importing more food, which is somehow good for biodiversity. No word on its effect on agrobiodiversity.

May 11, 2022May 12, 2022

How to prevent the next crop pandemic

He suggests creating a global “fire brigade” of 3,000 experts scattered around the world, recruited for skills ranging from epidemiology and genetics, through drug and vaccine development and computer modelling, to diplomacy. This outfit, which would probably work under the auspices of the World Health Organisation, would remain on permanent standby, ready to respond to any detected outbreak.

That’s Bill Gates in his new book on How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, according to a review in The Economist. Which should remind us all that something similar has been mooted for crop diseases. What with the International Day of Plant Health coming up, it would be good to know where we are with that idea now.

LATER: I had something to say about the International Day of Plant Health over at work.

May 9, 2022May 9, 2022

Brainfood: Insect biodiversity, Pollinator conservation, Sustaining protected areas, Tea gardens, Sustainable meat hunting, Eating weeds in Crete, Organic ag in Sweden, New wine grape varieties, Genomic crop improvement, Anthocyanins in crops, Amaranthus core collection, Bere barley

Agriculture and climate change are reshaping insect biodiversity worldwide. Does that mean there won’t be enough of them for us to eat? Well, and to pollinate stuff I guess.
From science to society: implementing effective strategies to improve wild pollinator health. It’s the indirect drivers that will get them in the end.
Sustainable protected areas: Synergies between biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic development. Empower communities and management, you fools!
Tea–vegetable gardens in Longsheng Nationalities Autonomous County: temporal and spatial distribution, agrobiodiversity and social–ecological values. Communities and management were presumably fully empowered.
WILDMEAT interventions database: A new database of interventions addressing unsustainable wild meat hunting, consumption and trade. Very empowering, I’m sure. Unclear whether edible insects are included though.
Chorta (Wild Greens) in Central Crete: The Bio-Cultural Heritage of a Hidden and Resilient Ingredient of the Mediterranean Diet. Well, frankly, who needs insects when you have weeds?
Relative yield of food and efficiency of land-use in organic agriculture – A regional study. If the best bits of Sweden went fully organic, 130% more land would be needed. Unclear whether eating either weeds or insects was factored into the calculations.
Advancing designer crops for climate resilience through an integrated genomics approach. Forget eating weeds, protecting pollinators and empowering this or that, thrown everything at crop improvement.
Developing Germplasm and Promoting Consumption of Anthocyanin-Rich Grains for Health Benefits. Especially crops with coloured grains.
The World Vegetable Center Amaranthus germplasm collection: Core collection development and evaluation of agronomic and nutritional traits. Well, and vegetables, presumably.
Consumer acceptance of fungus-resistant grape wines: Evidence from Italy, the UK, and the USA. Ah yes, but whether consumers like the idea of grape vines improved through interspecific hybridization depends on what exactly you tell them. So much for empowerment.
The evolutionary relationship between bere barley and other types of cultivated barley. Unfortunately this paper did not come out in time for the inclusion of a subplot on the introduction of Viking barley to the Orkneys in the current blockbuster The Northman. But I hear there’s stuff in there about empowerment.

May 5, 2022May 5, 2022

Nibbles: New Indian genebank, Bremji Kul conservation, Ugandan cassava, Chicago heirloom tomato guy, Malawi root & tuber value chains, Wild harvested plants report, Indigenous oyster harvesting, The Recipes Project

Maharashtra to set up a genebank, but definitely NOT the nation’s first.
Meanwhile, in Kashmir…
Let them eat cassava cake.
Minor roots and tubers not so minor in Malawi. Cassava unavailable for comment.
Area man shares heirloom tomatoes. Not many people hurt.
How to make the most, sustainably, of 12 wild-harvested plant species. According to FAO.
Indigenous peoples have been harvesting oysters sustainably for millennia.
The wonderful Plant Humanities Initiative does recipes.