That’s quite a few genebanks in the way of Irma, with Jose to come.
Stay safe, everyone.
Sin maíz no hay país
Town by town, I looked for these seeds, studying where they might be located. I started driving to many states in Mexico trying to find them, but there were none. It was so disappointing. One by one, I had people telling me that their grandparents planted them, but not anymore, and they lost the seeds awhile ago… I visited a very old lady who recalled planting them herself, but there was a big frost many years ago that caused her to lose all her seeds. After that, she started buying tortillas.
That’s Rafael Mier on maize in Mexico. But in how many places around the world, and for how many crops, is something similar happening? Perhaps the worst thing about genetic erosion is that we don’t know what we don’t know. But then again, maybe it doesn’t matter, if there are people out there like Rafael doing something about it.
…he was eventually able to find the popcorn seed he needed from a farmer in Mexico state—after planting, it’ll be part of his 2017 personal harvest as well as the first harvest of this variety in 60 years, Mier believes.
Mier believes.
Featured: Snap pea history
Was Calvin Lamborn the Father of the Snap Pea, or not? Pea lover thinks so, on balance:
He was well aware that heirloom varieties of Snap Pea had existed for years. However, it was HIS tireless efforts to introduce this “new vegetable” to chefs and food writers in the 70’s that began the journey to introduce the Snap Pea to the general public. I think with all of that, it is fair for him to claim the title of the “Father of the Snap Pea”.
Always tricky to pin any scientific breakthrough on a single person, but hell, why not?
GPGR4 busy distracting genebanks in Giessen
The 4th International Symposium on Genomics of Plant Genetic Resources is off and running in Giessen, Germany, with a packed programme of cool examples of the application of the latest gizmos and fancy maths to the conservation and use of crop diversity. And yes, there’s a hashtag. As ever, if you’re there, and would like to blog the proceedings for us, the door is open, drop us a line.
Bhuwon Sthapit RIP
Very sad to hear a few days ago that Dr Bhuwon Sthapit, a tireless champion of the role of local communities in agrobiodiversity conservation, has died. There’s a lovely tribute on the Bioversity website. And a more formal obituary in the Himalayan Times. Bhuwon was a great guy and an inspirational scientist who leaves behind a massive legacy and a myriad heartbroken friends and colleagues all over the world.