Vegetables

August 3, 2015August 6, 2015

Ghana to develop vegetables, but which ones?

A new regional laboratory in Ghana is seeking to develop the vegetable industry through research, development and innovation to improve food and nutritional security in West Africa. It will do this through increased use of indigenous vegetables…

Well, that’s interesting. But which indigenous vegetables? Garden egg? Bitterleaf? There are plenty, and they’re really important in the preparation of Ghanaian dishes.

Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, director of WACCI, says the laboratory will develop framework for accelerating the development of the tomato and vegetable industry in Ghana and West African sub-region.

Ah, ok. As you were.

August 3, 2015August 3, 2015

Brainfood: Vavilov then & now & always, Helmeted fowl diversity, MLND resistance, Sorghum diversity, Facilitation, Rice yields, Biodiversity services, Wild tomato diversity, Date diversity

In the Footsteps of Vavilov: Plant Diversity Then and Now. The Pamiri Highlands of Tajikistan, the Ethiopian Highlands, and the Colorado Plateau of Southwestern North America compared at time of Vavilov and now: “Localities that have retained diversity have suffered the least.”
Vavilovian Centers of Plant Diversity: Implications and Impacts. “His concept of specific centers of origin for crop plants was not an isolated aphorism but has directed breeders, on their study and reflection, to the continued improvement and economic development of plants for humanity.”
Mitochondrial DNA variation of Nigerian domestic helmeted guinea fowl. Recent domestication, and lots of intermixing mean not much diversity, and what there is doesn’t have structure.
Genome-wide association and genomic prediction of resistance to maize lethal necrosis disease in tropical maize germplasm. That’s when two viruses attack synergistically. Resistance is from multiple loci with smallish effects, and there are some promising markers.
Genome-environment associations in sorghum landraces predict adaptive traits. Genotype predicts drought tolerance.
Facilitation and sustainable agriculture: a mechanistic approach to reconciling crop production and conservation. Understanding facilitative plant–plant interactions (intercropping, varietal mixtures) in crops leads to more sustainable farming practices. Or it could.
The relative contribution of climate and cultivar renewal to shaping rice yields in China since 1981. Mainly new varieties. Climate change has actually helped, but for how long?
Biodiversity inhibits parasites: Broad evidence for the dilution effect. Meta-analysis shows biodiversity decreases parasitism and herbivory.
Using genomic repeats for phylogenomics: a case study in wild tomatoes (Solanum section Lycopersicon: Solanaceae). Data that are usually thrown away turn out to be useful for something after all.
Genetic structure of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in the Old World reveals a strong differentiation between eastern and western populations. Asian and African genepools, with geneflow E to W.

July 29, 2015July 29, 2015

Nibbles: Malagasy double, Sandwich photos, Middle way, NUS comms, Fishpocalypse, Cali palms, Home on the range, Heirloom rice, Potato genomes, Old watermelons

Madagascar: Vintage photos, not-so-vintage photos.
More photos, this time of state sandwiches. Yes, sandwiches.
“The solutions to the problem of feeding people and protecting the planet are endlessly and irredeemably gray.” Pretty much the same argument I made recently, not quite so rudely.
Training course on communicating the awesomeness of neglected species. How difficult can it be though, right?
Keeping cats happy has a cost.
Nifty vintage photos of California palms. The trees, people, the trees.
Cowboys ain’t what they used to be. But only just.
Gleaning deconstructed.
IRRI opens exhibit on heirloom seeds, no doubt through gritted teeth.
Ten potato genomes in the offing. Wait, doesn’t rice have like 3,000? Get it together, potato people.
Renaissance watermelons looked really crappy. Probably tasted of something, though.

July 28, 2015July 28, 2015

“Tomatillos silvestres, tomatillos silvestres!”

A short Smithsonian.com piece by Barry Estabrook does a really outstanding job of describing — no, explaining — the conservation and use of crop wild relatives to a lay audience. It’s all there. The value to crop breeders of genes from wild relatives. The history of germplasm exploration, and how it has resulted in the establishment of large collections. The need for, and urgency of, further collecting. The use of information from genebanks to guide future exploration. The challenges that such work faces, including on the policy side. And the euphoria that it can generate when you do overcome those challenges. All in a couple of pages, using a single wild species as an example. And if, once you finish reading the story, you want to know more about what Estabrook was chasing in Peru, it’s (probably) this.

July 22, 2015

Nibbles: Oz vineyard apocalypse, California vineyards redux, Ethiopian genebank, Maya collapse revisionism, SunBlack tomato, Nutritious staples, Citrus endowment, Sheep pix

In Australia, they’re ripping up vineyards.
Whereas in California, they’re going to breed 10,000 new grape varieties and make a new wine. Go figure.
Interview with the director of the Ethiopian national genebank, Dr Gemedo Dalle.
Deforestation et al. not responsible for Maya collapse after all. Jared Diamond unavailable for comment.
Black tomato a hit in Italy. Looks crap on pizza though.
The case for biofortification.
University of Florida sets up endowment to protect its research groves in face of citrus greening.
Googlesheepview. Nuff said.