Threats

June 24, 2021

PestNet launches new website

PestNet is a network that helps people worldwide obtain rapid advice and information on crop protection, including the identification and management of plant pests. It started in 1999. Anyone with an interest in plant protection is welcome to join. PestNet is free and is moderated, ensuring that messages are confined to plant protection.
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You can become a PestNet member at no cost either via the online app or the Android mobile app. Once joined you can post pest diagnostic requests, seek advice on any other plant protection matter, respond to requests from other members, and access new articles relevant to plant protection via the apps. You can access both the online version of PestNet as well as the Mobile (Android) version via the drop down menu under “Resources”.

And now it’s got a brand new website, with some really interesting additional resources. One of these is a long but fascinating read from Grahame Jackson, the driving force behind PestNet, describing his role in the fight against Taro Leaf Blight in the Pacific. If you’re interested in how crop genetic diversity can be used to combat pests and diseases, you’ll love Grahame’s story.

June 21, 2021June 18, 2021

Brainfood: Insurance, Maize roots, Grass strips, Banana nutrients, Fish nutrients, Wild potatoes, Apple genes, Wheat resistance, Killer tomatoes

Biodiversity as insurance: from concept to measurement and application. It’s important to draw a distinction between the effect of biodiversity on mean and on variance of ecosystem properties.
Reproductive resilience but not root architecture underpins yield improvement under drought in maize (Zea mays L.). Which presents an opportunity.
Functional traits driving pollinator and predator responses to newly established grassland strips in agricultural landscapes. Biodiversity takes its time.
Genetic diversity in fresh fruit pulp mineral profile of 100 Indian Musa accessions. Plenty of diversity, though different micronutrients are correlated, and 100 g contributes only 5-10% of daily mineral requirements.
Declining diversity of wild-caught species puts dietary nutrient supplies at risk. Let them eat bananas. More nuance.
A Metric for Species Representation in the US Potato Genebank. Sort of like a core collection, but across species.
Pyramiding resistance genes and widening the genetic base of the apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) crop. From 36 cultivars, via 110 cross combinations, to 7,876 offsprings, to 2,969 after screening, to 75 genotypes each with 2-3 of the 20 Rvi6 genes. Hard row to hoe.
Resistance to diseases in samples of rare wheat species from the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources. Very hard row to hoe. Septoria nodorum blotch seems to be particularly tricky.
Alien introgression and morpho‑agronomic characterization of diploid progenies of Solanum lycopersicoides monosomic alien addition lines (MAALs) toward pre‑breeding applications in tomato (S. lycopersicum). I particularly like the bit where it bursts through John Hurt’s chest.

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021

Nibbles: Apples, Millets, Miniatures, Transhumance, Ag origins, Seeds

Rescuing apples in Appalachia.
Rescuing millets in India.
Painting mangoes in India. I suspect they don’t need rescuing.
Transhumance in Georgia.
It was the need for clothes, not food, that caused all the above.
And yes, seeds are alive.

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021

Brainfood: Agroecology, Bioinformatics, Brazilian cassava, Cypriot wine, Swiss poppies, Pollinators, Groundnut breeding, Sorghum pangenome, Crop origins, Sparing vs sharing, Language diversity, Watermelon origins

Crop origins explain variation in global agricultural relevance. What explains which crops are most important globally? For seeds, an origin in seasonally dry regions. For root, leaf and herbaceous fruit crops, an origin in the aseasonal tropics. But if you account for all that, basically age.
Linguistic diversity and conservation opportunities at UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. There’s a correlation between linguistic and biological diversity. Has anyone done crop diversity and languages?
Sparing or sharing land? Views from agricultural scientists. If you look at synergies between nature and nurture (as it were), and beyond crop yield, you realize it’s the wrong question.
Can agroecology improve food security and nutrition? A review. Yes, in 78% of 55 cases. But will it scale? And does it need to? Anyway, at least it’s looking beyond yield.
Global effects of land-use intensity on local pollinator biodiversity. Intensification is bad for pollinator biodiversity for most land uses, but cropland intensification is only bad in the tropics. Can’t help thinking this needs to be mashed up with the above.
Crop breeding for a changing climate: integrating phenomics and genomics with bioinformatics. In particular, integrating the phenomics and genomics of landraces and wild relatives at the extremes of habitable ranges. Well, there’s a lot more to it than that, but this is what stuck with me.
Comprehensive genotyping of a Brazilian cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) germplasm bank: insights into diversification and domestication. 54% duplicates out of 3354 clones, the remaining 1536 arranged in 5 ecoregional ancestral groups.
A chromosome-level genome of a Kordofan melon illuminates the origin of domesticated watermelons. Not from southern Africa after all. Nice bit of work.
Preliminary investigation of potent thiols in Cypriot wines made from indigenous grape varieties Xynisteri, Maratheftiko and Giannoudhi. Cypriot grapes are more drought tolerant than varieties grown in Australia, but produce the tastes Aussie wine drinkers really like.
A morphometric approach to track opium poppy domestication. Fancy math says Swiss Neolithic farmers were involved in the domestication of the opium poppy. Enough to drive one to drink.
Registration of GA-BatSten1 and GA-MagSten1, two induced allotetraploids derived from peanut wild relatives with superior resistance to leaf spots, rust, and root-knot nematode. Sequencing paying off.
Extensive variation within the pan-genome of cultivated and wild sorghum. Sorghum next?

June 4, 2021

Nibbles: Small farms, DivSeek, Wheat gene atlas, Tannin synthesis, Pest/diseases, Food/feed, Korean vault

Small farms are not just beautiful. Yes, the original paper was in Brainfood back in March, but this website seems to be new.
DivSeek has a new strategic plan to “improve the generation and sharing of information about global plant genetic resources”: accelerate, add value, educate. Small farms unavailable for comment.
Speaking of sharing information on global PGR, we need to do that for wheat genes, wheat gene scientists say.
Probably for tannins too, come to think of it.
FAO says climate change will make pests and diseases worse.
FAO also says that livestock are not as bad as many people think.
The sincerest for of flattery on display in South Korea.