Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

October 1, 2018

In the footsteps of M.S. Swaminathan

The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation is looking for a new Executive Director.

MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) established in 1988 is a not-for-profit trust. MSSRF was envisioned and founded by Professor M S Swaminathan, agriculture scientist with proceeds from the First World Food Prize that he received in 1987. The Foundation aims to accelerate use of modern science for sustainable agricultural and rural development. MSSRF focuses specifically on tribal and rural communities with a pro-poor, pro-women and pro-nature approach. The Foundation applies appropriate science and technology options to address practical problems faced by rural populations in agriculture, food and nutrition.

Important work, important job.

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018

Brainfood: Impact, Dietary guidelines, Diversity & diet, Wild cotton, Wild soybean, Italian rice & apples, Holstein genebank, Sugarcane evaluation, Quinoa boom, Bean landrace double, Brazilian fruits, Habitat restoration, Mixtures & pests

Systematic review of the effects of agricultural interventions on food security in northern Ghana. The effects are minimal in the few cases where they have been measured.
Food and nutrient gaps in rural Northern Ghana: Does production of smallholder farming households support adoption of food-based dietary guidelines? No, especially for vegetables, so another example of the above. Also, diversity of household production positively correlated with food and nutrient coverage but neither with children’s dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy.
Farm-Level Agricultural Biodiversity in the Peruvian Andes Is Associated with Greater Odds of Women Achieving a Minimally Diverse and Micronutrient Adequate Diet. Associated.
Natural Variation in Wild Gossypium Species as a Tool to Broaden the Genetic Base of Cultivated Cotton. Cotton needs an infusion of diversity.
Wild Soybeans: An Opportunistic Resource for Soybean Improvement. As above, but time is running out because the wild relatives are often weedy.
Evolutionary trends and phylogenetic association of key morphological traits in the Italian rice varietal landscape. Again, likely shrinking, but for different reasons.
Genetic characterization of the apple germplasm collection in Central Italy: the value of local varieties. 25 duplicates among 175 accessions from 10 collections. How many are still in orchards?
Value of the Dutch Holstein Friesian germplasm collection to increase genetic variability and improve genetic merit. More useful to increase genetic diversity than value.
Identification and Evaluation of Resistance to Sugarcane Streak Mosaic Virus (SCSMV) and Sorghum Mosaic Virus (SrMV) in Excellent Sugarcane Innovation Germplasms in China. Some are more excellent than others.
The quinoa boom in Peru: Will land competition threaten sustainability in one of the cradles of agriculture? Looks like it.
Recovery of a common bean landrace (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for commercial purposes. Spain’s “Caparrona de Monzón”, to be precise. Interesting, but surely a challenge to scale up. No fear of a Caparrona Boom, I suspect.
The Nutritional Content of Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Landraces in Comparison to Modern Varieties. Some are better. No word on whether the above approach will be tried on these beans in Turkey.
Fruits of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: allying biodiversity conservation and food security. Plinia edulis looks like it might be worth a try, Campomanesia hirsuta maybe not so much.
Restoring to the future: Environmental, cultural, and management trade‐offs in historical versus hybrid restoration of a highly modified ecosystem. Hybrid (native + exotic plants) is better than nothing.
Pest suppression in cultivar mixtures is influenced by neighbor‐specific plant‐plant communication. Volatiles from one barley genotype can lead to aphid suppression on neighbours of a different genotype.

September 26, 2018

Google hosts Food Forever Experience

Crickets, algae and unusual edible plants will be on the menu today as chefs and leaders from business and politics get together to taste the future of food at Google’s office in New York City.

What I’d personally like most to taste is what Pierre Thiam is able to concoct with fonio. How about you?

September 24, 2018September 24, 2018

Brainfood: NUS crackers, Genomic prediction, Chicken double, Wild German celery, Cretan sheep, Boricua papaya, Sorghum breeding, Wheat breeding, Italian carrots, Mining barley, Onion review, Fertilizers

Development of value-added nutritious crackers with high antidiabetic properties from blends of Acha (Digitaria exilis) and blanched Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan). Putting orphan crops to work.
A deep convolutional neural network approach for predicting phenotypes from genotypes. Artificial intelligence applied to genomic selection. Sexy enough for you?
Genomic diversity dynamics in conserved chicken populations are revealed by genome-wide SNPs. Gotta watch those effective population sizes.
Chicken semen cryopreservation and use for the restoration of rare genetic resources. Maybe a way to help with the above?
Patterns of Genetic Diversity and Implications for In Situ Conservation of Wild Celery (Apium graveolens L. ssp. graveolens). 15 Most Appropriate Wild Populations out of 78. Still seems like a lot.
Challenges for local breed management in Mediterranean dairy sheep farming: insights from Central Greece. Conservation through cross-breeding. But how long can it last?
Genetic Diversity of Puerto Rican Farmer-held Papaya (Carica papaya) Using SSR Markers. I wonder how many are left after Maria.
Breeding Sorghum for Diverse End Uses: Genetic Improvement of Grain Sorghum. More germplasm could be used.
Harnessing genetic potential of wheat germplasm banks through impact-oriented-prebreeding for future food and nutritional security. Getting impact from “exotic” germplasm is possible. To be clear, I think that just means wild stuff.
BiodiverSO: A Case Study of Integrated Project to Preserve the Biodiversity of Vegetable Crops in Puglia (Southern Italy). Saving the Polignano carrot.
Genomics Approaches to Mining Barley Germplasm Collections. Management, cores, history. But we knew that.
Allium Genetic Resources. Significant progress in data availability, cryopreservation protocols, health status and levels of evaluation. Maybe acquisition and exchange could be increased?
Review: Taking stock of Africa’s second-generation agricultural input subsidy programs. 80 studies from 7 countries show that helping smallholders obtain fertilisers gives rapid but short-term and lower-than-expected increases in production. One reason is that yields don’t respond to fertilisation as much as they should. Is it because it’s mainly landraces?

September 22, 2018September 23, 2018

First Annual Crop Wild Relatives Week kicks off

That’s thanks to the Crop Science Society of America.

The Crop Science Society of America is proud to host Crop Wild Relatives Week on September 22 – 29, 2018, to celebrate the contribution that these humble and hearty plants have made to increasing food security around the world. The collections of plants; the work being done to collect, conserve, characterize, and use them; and the importance of continuing to do so will be highlighted in blogs, web stories, and infographics. Online resources for anyone interested in learning more crop wild relatives can be found (https://www.crops.org/crop-wild-relative). In addition, new stories and resources will be added to the site on an ongoing basis, including educational materials for educators and parents of K-12 kids, our future scientists.

Let the fun begin!