Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

November 10, 2011

Punjab burning

Our pal Neil Palmer was in India recently to see how the farmers there deal with the debris after the rice harvest. The result is a stunning set of pictures. My question: is anybody doing anything to suggest that maybe some of that organic matter could be retained in the soil?

November 9, 2011

Champion goat photo bound to go viral

I KNOW you wanted another photo of that prize-winning Pakistani goat.

November 7, 2011November 7, 2011

Brainfood: Kids and veggies, Common names, Markets, Barley genetic history, Inbreeding depression

Exclusive breastfeeding duration and later intake of vegetables in preschool children. More breastfeeding means more vegetables later on.
Common names of species, the curious case of Capra pyrenaica and the concomitant steps towards the ‘wild-to-domestic’ transformation of a flagship species and its vernacular names. Applying the common name of a domestic species to a wild one can cause problems. Yeah but how do you get across the importance of wild relatives otherwise?
Testing the central market hypothesis: a multivariate analysis of Tanzanian sorghum markets. Lots of fancy maths proves there are basically two sorghum markets in Tanzania. But what does that mean for diversity?
Evolutionary history of barley cultivation in Europe revealed by genetic analysis of extant landraces. Nine geographically-based populations, which go back to the early days of the spread of agriculture. Now, tell me someone, do they correspond with the human genetic data?
Genetic erosion impedes adaptive responses to stressful environments. Stress reduces variability, which reduces ability to respond to stress.

Don’t forget the open Mendeley group for the papers we link to here.

November 5, 2011November 5, 2011

Nutrition boosts productivity boosts nutrition

A new study from IFPRI looks at the link between agricultural productivity and nutrient consumption in Uganda. How does nutrient intake affect productivity? And how does productivity affect nutrient intake?

Using a structural equations model (SEM), estimation results clearly reveal the bidirectional relationship between productivity and nutrient intake. Labor productivity elasticity with respect to nutrient intake varies between 0.04 for vitamin B12 and 0.01 for Iron. Our findings suggest that labor productivity increases agricultural income as one would expect. We also find that nutrient intake as well as labor productivity positively affect agricultural income in Uganda. Overall, results indicate that agricultural productivity in Uganda is likely to be enhanced if nutrients intake is significantly increased.

I think that translates roughly as “win-win”. More than that, I cannot say.

November 3, 2011November 10, 2011

Mea culpa

The best thing about blogs is that they allow an immediate reaction. The worst thing about blogs is that, well, they allow an immediate reaction. So it kind of behooves the blogger to highlight the times when more considered reflection might have been appropriate. There have been two such times recently. So let me set the record straight.

First, those pesky cucumbers. It has been pointed out to me that resistance to Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus (CGMMV) has not in fact yet been found, contrary to what I suggested in my post of a couple of days back. I misinterpreted the results of the evaluation data made available on the CGN website, because I don’t know enough about the subject. So no finder’s fee for me, alas. But on the plus side, I did learn a lot about cucumbers. And also that if you’re going to look for data on cucumbers, it helps to know something about cucumbers.

Second, that SE Asia regional seed bank stuff. There I was guilty of jumping to a conclusion. There were clues in the original article, and also in the official documents I dug up, that should have warned me that we were talking here about a repository of relatively large quantities of high-quality seed of new, modern varieties, not smallish samples of traditional landraces. And indeed I was suspicious, and sent out feelers to various people who I felt sure would know more. Sure, the documents were ambiguous, but if I had just waited until the experts’ replies were in, I could have simply clarified the situation, rather than accusing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation of ignoring their national genebanks and the international collections at their disposal in their rush to establish an arguably unnecessary regional structure. So apologies to them. And thanks for teaching me that a seed bank is not always the same as a genebank.

Ok, but of course none of this means that I won’t shoot from the hip again in future. It’s probably way too late for me to learn that lesson.