- Ipomoea aquatica in the news.
- DNA extraction made fun.
- Samoa launches breadfruit beer.
- Gin maker protects his livelihood.
- The Treaty goes to Green Week.
Brainfood: Diversity in restoration, Niche model validation, Dutch diets, Markets in conservation, Genomics for stress, Protected agroecosystems, Cocksfoot diversity, Tree breeding, Organic in India, Coconut origins, Dope diversity
- Application of genetic diversity–ecosystem function research to ecological restoration. Cultivars vs local populations vs genetic diversity approaches in restoration reviewed. More research needed, natch, but genetic diversity should not be dismissed out of hand in a bid for rapid establishment or long-term persistence, as it may well be best for ecosystem functioning.
- Application of consensus theory to formalize expert evaluations of plant species distribution models. Given arm-twisting, experts like models.
- Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns. The Dutch should eat less meat. No word on beer.
- Market-based mechanisms for biodiversity conservation: a review of existing schemes and an outline for a global mechanism. You can’t monetize what you can’t measure.
- Genomic resources for breeding crops with enhanced abiotic stress tolerance. You still need the phenotyping.
- Perceptual distinctiveness in Native American maize (Zea mays L.) landraces has practical implications. Kernel colour diversity is a marker for other, more interesting, kinds of diversity.
- Can agro-ecosystems efficiently complement protected area networks? Yes, but only in combination with expansion of protected natural habitats. For birds in Israel, that is.
- Indicators for genetic and phenotypic diversity of Dactylis glomerata in Swiss permanent grassland. Management alters both genotype and phenotype.
- A ‘Reality Check’ in the Management of Tree Breeding Programmes. Have come far, but still a ways to go, in particular with regard to the balance between DNA-based vs conventional breeding and genetic gain vs genetic preservation.
- Yield and Economic Performance of Organic and Conventional Cotton-Based Farming Systems — Results from a Field Trial in India. Organic soybean may be a viable long-term option. Cotton and wheat, jury still out. But early days yet, these rotation trials take a long time to get going.
- Long-distance dispersal of the coconut palm by migration within the coral atoll ecosystem. Hugh Harries, one of the authors, in a recent email to us: “Recent reviews have blown dust from old reports of pre-Colombian coconuts in Panama and demonstrated how the rate of germination distinguishes the naturally selected wild coconut from the domestically selected sort. This review formulates a hypothesis which could identify a previously unconsidered route along which the primordial coconut might travel between the South American and Indian tectonic plates without being indigenous on either.” That is, atoll-hopping.
- Differentiation between fiber and drug types of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) from a collection of wild and domesticated accessions. Must have been fun doing the evaluation.
Nibbles: Wild veg, Cleome, Barberries, Alley-cropped wheat, Bison, Seed potatoes, Veg database, IPR of PGRFA
- Wild veg are very much in the news today. Teresa Borelli and Danny Hunter are unlocking their potential.
- Meanwhile, Eileen Omosa actually has unlocked their potential. Here’s her take on Cleome gynandra (smoked out by Luigi’s photo of same).
- And then there are barberries, scourge of rust-susceptible wheat.
- Some trees, though, properly deployed, can be good for wheat. My head’s spinning with all that complexity.
- Saddest story you’ll read all day? Or most hopeful? A timeline of the status of the bison in North America.
- Seed degeneration to be studied. And about time too. Course, they don’t mean true seed. That never degenerates, not even in the
- World Vegetable Center’s spiffy genebank, whose database contains 438 species. As odd a way to advertise the database as any.
- And here’s a thought to strike terror into the hearts of genebank curators everywhere: plant genetic resources may not all be public goods after all, says noted expert Michael Halewood.
Brainfood: Urban diets in Cameroon, Teak diversity in Brazil, Iranian wheat taxonomy, Mexican homegardens, Australian suburban landscapes, Food sovereignty, Sturgeon identification, Malaysian fruit, Amazon deforestation, Food processing & storage
- Wild Food, Prices, Diets and Development: Sustainability and Food Security in Urban Cameroon. Local wild foods are better, imported processed foods are cheaper.
- Genetic diversity of teak (Tectona grandis L.F.) from different provenances using microsatellite markers. In Brazil, that is. Lower than expected, therefore future breeding programmes should make more use of the most distinct provenances. But what about bringing some new ones in? Too damn difficult?
- Taxonomic identity of the Iranian diploid Triticum as evidenced by nrDNA ITS. Splitters were right.
- Plant management and biodiversity conservation in Nahuatl homegardens of the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico. Most diverse homegardens located near least diverse natural forest.
- Amenity enhancement and biodiversity conservation in Australian suburbia: moving towards maintaining indigenous plants on private residential land. It would need better laws.
- Food sovereignty: an alternative paradigm for poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation in Latin America. Economic poverty does not necessarily lead to biodiversity loss. But biodiversity loss does often lead to economic poverty.
- Species and hybrid identification of sturgeon caviar: a new molecular approach to detect illegal trade. SNPs can detect the low value, hybrid, aquacultured stuff with great accuracy. In other news, there are sturgeon hybrids.
- Malaysian Species of Plants with Edible Fruits or Seeds and Their Valuation. Over 500, of which about half wild.
- The impact of commodity price and conservation policy scenarios on deforestation and agricultural land use in a frontier area within the Amazon. Weak enforcement leads to more deforestation. And you need fancy maths to figure that out?
- Production and processing of foods as core aspects of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and sustainable diets. It’s no good producing diverse foods if you can’t store and process them.
Nibbles: Innovative farmers, Feed resources, Sweet potato biscuits, Vegetable pests & gardens, Rooting for tubers, Kew collecting, Seed systems, Jess Fanzo, Blogging, Wild foods, Perennial crops, Ghana cacao, Sugar book review
- Oh, bloody hell, you mean there’s an International Farmer Innovation Day, and it was yesterday? I suppose agroecology is a form of farmer innovation? And here you can hear the very voices of innovative farmers.
- Sometimes farmers don’t innovate enough.
- And sometimes they need a helping hand from the media. Or ACIAR. Or WFP.
- Sometimes, though, they just go it alone, ploughing a lonely furrow like Rhizowen Radix.
- Kew seed bankers visit the Caribbean. Nice gig if you can get it. Any CWR?
- Wonder if they’ve read CTA’s new dossier on seed systems. Start here.
- The Jess & Jeremy Show goes on the road. All food security and nutrition, all the time.
- Is this why Jess blogs?
- I wonder if Jess would agree with Jo Robinson on wild foods. Probably.
- Whatever, as long as it’s perennial!
- CIAT gets its climate-smart cacao work in Ghana into The Economist.
- Well of course you need sugar in your cocoa.