Category: Vegetables

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Nibbles: USDA Pullman genebank, Another Indonesian genebank, Somali community seedbank, Garlic moves genebanks, Enset conservation, Opportunity crop genebanks

  1. A primer on the USDA genebank in Pullman.
  2. Possible genebank in Indonesia. I could have sworn there was one already.
  3. Community genebank in Somalia. Surely not the only one.
  4. Garlic moves between genebanks. I’m sure there’s a reason.
  5. New enset products and processing methods are great, but is there a comprehensive genebank? I wish I could be sure.
  6. That goes for other “opportunity crops” and “forgotten foods” too.
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Nibbles: Impact assessment, Kenyan veggies, African veggie genebank, Madd fruit, Moroccan fruits, Date palm, DOGE at USDA

  1. Modelling adoption of biofortified crops is no substitute for empirical field surveys. Kind of obvious, but I guess needed saying.
  2. Kenyans may not need biofortified crops, though. Assuming they are actually eating their traditional vegetables.
  3. There’s a whole genebank for Africa’s vegetables.
  4. Saba senegalensis is also naturally biofortified.
  5. The High Atlas Foundation is also on a fruit tree mission
  6. Is the date palm the most important fruit tree in the world, though?
  7. I wonder what will happen to USDA’s fruit tree collections.
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Nibbles: COUSIN project, Breeding chat, Aardaker, Alternative beans, Grain amaranth, Iraqi seeds, Genebanks in peril

  1. The COUSIN project aims to conserve (trans situ, no less) and use crop wild relatives in Europe.
  2. That “use” part can be tough.
  3. But that doesn’t stop the fine people at Aardaia. At least where aardaker (Lathyrus tuberosus) is concerned.
  4. From alternative potatoes in the Netherlands to alternative beans in Indonesia. All in the cause of diversification.
  5. No need to find an alternative to amaranth in the American SW. Not with devoted chefs on the job.
  6. The Iraqi Seed Collective is taking seeds from American genebanks to that country’s diaspora in the US, and eventually back to Iraq itself. Maybe chefs will help.
  7. Good thing there are genebank backups, eh?
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Nibbles: Maize history, Maize in Tanzania, WorldVeg feature, Pigeonpea speed breeding, Valuing nature in food, GIAHS, Ancient Egyptian brewing redux

  1. The history of maize — according to Pioneer.
  2. The importance of maize — according to Dr Mujuni Sospeter Kabululu, Curator, National Plant Genetic Resources Centre—Tanzania.
  3. The future of vegetables — according to WorldVeg.
  4. The future of pigeonpea — according to ICRISAT.
  5. How should we value nature in our food systems? By true cost accounting — according to TABLE.
  6. A good way to value nature in our food systems is through recognizing Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems — according to FAO.
  7. How strong was ancient Egyptian beer? Not very — according to ethnoarcheobotanists. But it’s still worth trying to reproduce it — according to me. Seneb!
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Brainfood: Complementarity, Temporality, Communality, Fonio trifecta, Atriplex domestication, Egyptian clover in India, Genebank information systems