An apple a day…

Good question. The answer?

It’s all part of a very nice exhibit at the Museum Koenig in Bonn on biodiversity research.

Great to see agricultural research get a look-in.

But pity there was nothing on genebanks, and indeed no call to action. There’s a whole website in Germany about “edible landscapes” that offers ideas about what to do to help preserve fruit diversity. And also shops in and around Bonn that boast about selling lots of apple varieties, including less well known one.

Brainfood: Food insecurity drivers, Agroecology & fertilizers, Overselling GMOs, Genomic prediction, Striga breeding, Farmers’ preferences, Farmers’ WtP, Diversity metrics

Branfood: Salinity tolerance, Comestibles, Underused species, On farm diversity, Minor cereals, Fragrant millet, Wild yams, Fonio, Winged bean, Giant taro, Nutmeg, Mungbean, Finger millet, Amaranth

RIP Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan

At the International Congress of Genetics in New Delhi in 1983, I stressed the need for a conservation continuum, beginning with revitalizing conservation of domesticated plants by farm families in all countries, and extending to the establishment of an international genetic resource repository maintained under permafrost conditions. Since then, thanks to the spread of participatory breeding and knowledge-management systems involving scientists and local communities, on-farm conservation and gene banks have become integral parts of national biodiversity conservation strategies. For example, there are now over 125,000 genetic strains of rice, of which over 100,000 are in a cryogenic gene bank maintained by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. This gene pool is invaluable for adapting one of the world’s most important cereal grains to the consequences of global climate change.

Si monumentum requiris circumspice.