Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

November 1, 2011August 28, 2012

What’s the Greek bank worth?

Among 18 new projects funded by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation is Valuation of the Greek Gene Bank. The project summary makes fascinating reading. Here’s a snip:

[R]esources of the Greek Gene Bank are under imminent threat, linked to financial pressures, with risk of loss affecting as much as 50% of the Collections …

Do you suppose that 50% might be an under- or over-estimate? Either way, the announcement creates all sorts of temptations to speculate on links between the health of genebanks and that of central banks. Just a thought, but wouldn’t it be a great idea to have a European Central Genebank to, like, remove the temptation for countries to neglect their national genebanks and fib about accessions, viability levels, distribution and so on?

Still, the project report should make interesting reading for genebank managers and their friends everywhere.

November 1, 2011November 1, 2011

Berry go Round hits new heights

Mike over at the Slugyard has created an absolute tour de force for the latest Berry go Round, the monthly botanical carnival. What is it? Lets just say that if you hybridised a long dead poet (geddit?) and a bunch of botanical bloggers, you would have his special Halloween edition. I’m just glad it was already All Saints Day here so I could read it in bright sunshine.

Seriously, highly recommended.

Next month is hosted by Nature Hermit, so go ahead and submit something.

p.s. Pat Heslop-Harrison’s equally forceful tour of Halloween botany was too late for this month’s carnival, but is equally worthwhile.

October 31, 2011October 31, 2011

A RING to rule them all

The CIARD Routemap to Information Nodes and Gateways (RING) is a project implemented within the Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD) initiative and is led by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR).

The RING is a global registry of web-based services that give access to any kind of information pertaining to agricultural research for development (ARD). It is the principal tool created through the CIARD initiative to allow information providers to register their services in various categories and so facilitate the discovery of sources of agriculture-related information across the world. The RING aims to provide an infrastructure to improve the accessibility of the outputs of agricultural research and of information relevant to ARD management.

But what, no germplasm databases? ¹ No Genesys? No WIEWS? Get registering, genebanks (and others)!

October 31, 2011October 31, 2011

Featured: Naked Oat Dreams

The naked oats farmer explains his vision:

What I want to see is that this grain in a number of years is grown by farmers large and small around the world as a replacement for a lot of the rice that is currently grown. The biggest advantage that Cavena Nuda has is as a replacement for rice that can be grown on dry land without irrigation like rice. … I tell people I want to see in 10-20 years is that a small farmer in a place like India for instance where the rainfall is less all the time due to climate change can stop flooding a rice paddy and drink the precious fresh water instead and grow Cavena Nuda instead of rice. When he or she harvests the Cavena Nuda in the morning, they can cook it for a noon meal for their family-it is ready to eat right off the field with no processing needed like rice or oats-in the afternoon the farmer can take it to the city to relatives to sell some of it and come home with some money in their pocket and a house full of healthy kids.

October 31, 2011October 29, 2011

Brainfood: Broomcorn millet, Domestication, Stand diversity, South African ornamentals, Rice wild relatives, Agriculture under climate change, Wheat domestication

Genetic diversity and phylogeography of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) across Eurasia. One origin or two? Moving east or west? We still don’t know, but crop wild relatives may tell us.
Next-generation sequencing for understanding and accelerating crop domestication. Those who understand history may be able to repeat it.
Competition among loblolly pine trees: Does genetic variability of the trees in a stand matter? Can’t really say either way.
The potential of South African indigenous plants for the international cut flower trade. Could do better.
Genetic variability of banana with ornamental potential. The Embrapa Musa collection has some really cool-looking plants.
Cytological Behavior of Hybridization Barriers Between Oryza sativa and Oryza officinalis. I guess that’s why they call it the tertiary genepool.
Ancient lipids reveal continuity in culinary practices across the transition to agriculture in Northern Europe. Crap on 6000-year-old ceramic vessels shows people in the Western Baltic continued to eat fish and clams even after agriculture arrived. Well do you blame them?
Options for support to agriculture and food security under climate change. Show ’em yer multi-pronged strategies, that’ll get their attention.
N.I. Vavilov’s Theory of Centres of Diversity in the Light of Current Understanding of Wheat Diversity, Domestication and Evolution. When genes flow from centre of origin, that centre will not coincide with centre of diversity.