Threats

November 21, 2011November 21, 2011

Who knows what about cassava brown streak disease

We asked why the CGIAR has apparently been so silent on Cassava Brown Streak Disease. Glenn pointed out that maybe we’re just ignorant.

There is probably more going on, we just don’t know about it. One key question is whether genebanks have been thoroughly screened for CBSD resistence.

Well, have they?

Glenn makes another good point.

In theory, CG reform should be able to tackle a problem like this more efficiently. The roots and tuber program should be promoting more interaction between IITA and CIAT, interaction that would bring together the researchers mostly closely working on CBSD with others that might have solutions … maybe someone who know more about this can comment.

Well, can they?

But caught up in the frenzy, Glenn cannot help but post a little something on CBSD himself, thus finally breaking that CGIAR silence. Our next question? Why doesn’t FARM-Africa mention the disease in their post, also today, on their cassava work in Western Kenya? The disease is just across the border in Tanzania, after all, according to Glenn’s maps.

November 21, 2011November 21, 2011

Nibbles: New cassava, CBSD maps, Research, Pest management, Banana research

Farm-Africa celebrates its new cassava successes … but are they resistant to Brown Streak disease?
Meanwhile, Glenn maps the possible extent of the looming CBSD problem.
Rothamsted has a new Science Strategy. And it includes breeding for better nutrition.
Can insect biodiversity help potato farmers in a warming climate? It’s complicated …
Philippine banana industry wants government money to protect its production.

November 19, 2011November 19, 2011

The strange silence of the CGIAR on CBSD

Good to see CABI reacting to a slew of recent press reports on Cassava Brown Streak Disease in East Africa with a blog post summarizing what they and others have been doing about that very worrying problem lately. Interesting also that the best they can do as far as linking to what the CGIAR is doing is an IITA story from 2010, though they do nick IITA’s photo. I couldn’t find any reaction from the CGIAR on the CBSD story, which is surprising because the FAO press release which seems to have sparked the whole thing off does mention new IITA varieties that could help solve the problem. The best the CG seems to have been able to produce is a tweet and a blog post referring to a rapid multiplication technique which quoted an IITA video from 2009. Relevant, yes, but neither the tweet nor the post refers to the FAO story. Why is the CG not getting involved in this discussion more actively? What am I missing?

November 18, 2011January 27, 2014

Nibbles: Cassava bad and good news, Soybean domestication, Bitter gourd, Drought, Agrobiodiversity job, Heirloom turkey, Eurisco, Artisanal wheat, MSB, Food culture

FAO really very worried about cassava. Does it know that the CGIAR has the technology?
In today’s “crop X domesticated earlier than usually thought” story, X = soybean.
The Deccan Chronicle discovers the Bitter Gourd Project and likes what it sees.
How to drought phenotype crops.
The Christensen Fund has a position open for a Program Associate – Agrobiodiversity and Biocultural Landscapes. Damn, that sounds interesting.
“But, miraculously, the Ghost Turkey survives.”
Eurisco has a new website!
Artisanal wheat on the rise. I love the quip in the caption.
Vancouver ♥ Millennium Seed Bank, and fawns over faux royalty.
Amaranth and pizza offer entreés to culture and politics.

November 14, 2011November 11, 2011

Brainfood: Beans, Tree erosion, Climate space, Ecosystem services, Conservation, Pest management, Phenomics, Oca, Biodiversity research

Seed Morphobiometry of Wild and Cultivated Taxa of Phaseolus L. (Fabaceae). Measurements confirm taxonomy; three big groups.
Meta-Analysis of Susceptibility of Woody Plants to Loss of Genetic Diversity through Habitat Fragmentation. Pollination mechanism makes little difference.
Running Out of Climate Space. Commentary on two paper in the same issue of Science; now, someone do the same for crops.
The Future of Payments for Environmental Services. Any ag? Only in a negative way.
Land, Food, and Biodiversity. Palm oil, pollution, pristine environments, population pressure.
Avian Conservation Practices Strengthen Ecosystem Services in California Vineyards. Birds eat insects shock.
Phenomics – technologies to relieve the phenotyping bottleneck. Just what we need for mo’ better characterization and evaluation.
Diversification of the American bulb-bearing Oxalis (Oxalidaceae): Dispersal to North America and modification of the tristylous breeding system. Oca fans everywhere are agog.
Global biodiversity research during 1900–2009: a bibliometric analysis. Somebody tell us; any ag?

Don’t forget the open Mendeley group for the papers we link to here.