Category: Wild relatives

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The Indonesian fires and crop wild relatives

I know what you’re wondering. You’re wondering whether those fires in Indonesia which are causing so much trouble with haze in Singapore and other neighbouring places are also endangering any crop wild relatives back home. Well, thanks to the following Twitter exchange with the GIS people at Kew, I now know (or have been reminded, actually) that NASA makes available global data on active fires:

We can of course mash that up in Google Earth with, say, the distribution of wild rice (Oryza spp) from Genesys. That would be the little pale blue circles in the map reproduced below.

wild rice indonesia

Which does suggest that at least some of the Indonesian fires may be occurring in wild rice habitats. They may actually be beneficial to some of the weedier species, though, for all I know. Anyway, as ever, it’s nice to have the data. And, just as importantly, be able to play with it.

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Nibbles: CePaCT aroids, Chinese pigs, Vanuatu banana processing, Yam meeting, AAB meeting, Araucaria, Aquaculture, Malting barley, CIRAD baobab videos, US wine, Ancient grains, Barcode centre

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Brainfood: Leafy greens, Korean rice, Molecular breeding, Poultry conservation, Tree genomes, Pathogen genetics, Grazers and CC, Sustainable rangelands, Available land, Ecosystem services

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Nibbles: Ug99, Heirloom & wild tomatoes, Opium, Healthy flavours, Quinoa descriptors, Wild yak community conservation, Phenotyping facility, Tree app, ABS & EU, C4, Barley in Ethiopia, Chinese coffee

  • Not totally wild genes protect wheat from Ug99.
  • Not really wild Texas Wild tomato brings Texan back to gardening. These in Peru are wild though.
  • Speaking of gardening, here’s Michael Pollan on his struggles with opium.
  • Wild, healthy fruit flavours becoming more popular on the soft drink market, but not clear to what extent they will come from actual plants, wild or otherwise. You know, plants with yield variation and other inconveniences. Plants that some people rely on for nutrition, by the way.
  • Descriptors for quinoa, including the wild species. And more, much more.
  • I wonder if there are descriptors for wild yaks.
  • New UK facility for phenotyping plants, including wild ones, I’m sure.
  • And if those wild UK plants are trees, you can use this app to identify them, before phenotyping them. Assuming you can dig them up and squeeze them into the new facility. Anyway, maybe one of them will be European Tree of the Year.
  • Of course, if you wanted access to the genetic resources of such trees, you’d have to deal with the Nagoya Protocol, which the EU is getting to grips with, don’t worry.
  • Not many C4 species among UK trees, I guess.
  • Teff is C4, but that isn’t stopping people trying to replace it with barley in injira.
  • Next thing you know the Chinese will be swapping tea for coffee. No, wait.
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Nibbles: Cornell & Stanford videos, Harbarium data, Urban food, Wine and conservation, Gujarat community seedbanks, Big Shots, Davis breeding