The BBC World Service is broadcasting a series of four programmes on the rice cultures of Asia, called Rice Bowl Tales. Starts 28 February, but if you miss it, it seems like the series has already aired on Radio National, and if you follow the link I’ve just given, you should be able to listen online or download audio files.
More on CWRs
I’ve gone back to my blog a few days back on crop wild relatives and expanded it somewhat. In particular, I’ve added links to several more recent papers on the subject. Should have probably done that in the first place. Sorry.
Bent Skovmand
Professionals in the world of agricultural biodiversity will know the name of Bent Skovmand, and will have been saddened to learn of his death last week. The rest of you, pop on over to the New York Times or the Minneapolis Star Tribune and read the obituaries of this remarkable, inspiring man.
Starch grains and the origins of agriculture
A couple of papers discussed here and here (among other places: the chili pepper story in particular has been getting a lot of media coverage) describe how the minute, species-characteristic starch grains found in micro-crevices on stone tools and cooking utensils recovered from archaelogical sites are being used to study the domestication of crops as varied as maize, cassava and chilies in the Americas. The findings are pushing back the timing of domestication and suggesting that wet lowland areas were more important in the process than previously thought. Jeremy blogs on the chili angle at greater length here. No word on the past of cactus cultivation, at least in these papers, but this piece suggests its future may be troubled.
Training on plant genetic resources
Wageningen University in the Netherlands is holding a six-week training programme in the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. Full details are available on the Wageningen web site, and the closing date is 21 April.