- “Can corn be taught to fix its own nitrogen?” Probably not.
- Many saffron clones identical shock.
- New Agriculturist on agrobiodiversity conservation and use in the Pacific in general and Pohnpei in particular. Go Local!
- An idiosyncratic take on carrot diversity and history.
- The Indigenous Food Systems Network has a new website. h/t PAR
- Landscape of Quarantine, an exhibition that addresses, among other things, the spread of pests and diseases.
- Semillas Sagradas — Sacred Seeds.
Nibbles: Rabbit, Evolution, Water purification, Micronutrients, Report, Diversification, Pest epidemic, Drylands
The ins and outs of accessing bugs
“We didn’t get the permit” to export the wasp, said Fabian Haas, head of the Biosystematics Support Unit at the Kenya-based International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology.
He was trying to bring the wasps from Sri Lanka to Kenya to fight the fruit flies which made the same journey accidentally in 2003 and are now ravaging mangoes in Africa. Seems unfair. Maybe the CBD’s meeting in Japan in October will sort it all out. Or maybe not.
Wacky idea to fight UG99 available
We had a nice response to a recent post about UG99 from someone called Paul.
With reference to UG99 wheat mould – would anyone consider using far-out & whacky ideas to overcome this problem or are our scientists and universities more interested in getting funding for research from the large companies that make chemical sprays etc?
I suspect that the long-term solution to these resistant strains is not more chemicals or gene alteration (mutation) that can be patented and unable to be used by poor countries. We have too much of that already.
If you know anyone who is doing research into UG99, I would like to contribute my whacky idea that costs nothing!
To which we can only say, if it won’t cost anything, why not just broadcast it — we’ll give you a platform here if you need one — and let people see if they want to give it a try. Alternatively, if any readers are working on UG99 and want to get in touch with Paul, use the Contact Form and we’ll forward your message.
Nibbles: Climate, Shitstorm, Fish, Food, Biotech, Talk, Drought, Bananas
- Community-based adaptation to climate change. A book from IIED.
- This really is outrageous. Manure is now a pollutant in the world’s most wasteful economy. h/t Ethicurean.
- Where have all the fishes gone, gone to flowers every one.
- Dept. of Uh-huh: Innovation in traditional foodstuffs could harm their image.
- Dept. of Uh-huh Pt 2: An over-dependence on genetically modified organisms to boost agricultural production eclipses other biotechnologies and their potential to benefit poor farmers in developing countries.
- Adam Forbes is giving a talk about his seed-searching travels, March 22, Princeton, NJ. Go! Report!
- Malawi’s miracle laid low by drought?
- IITA leads seven African nations against banana diseases.