Give farmers room to grow
Farmers conserve and improve the crop diversity around them. They have been doing it for millennia. Their livelihoods depend on it. But how much more might they be able to do?
Consider the coconut. Farmers select palms with characteristics they value, but with ordinary open pollination they can choose the mother but not the father. A recent paper proposes relatively simple techniques that would allow farmers to control pollination and thus choose both parents and produce more predictable planting material. It won’t turn them into breeders, but it could help them produce — and maybe even sell — better planting material.
Tamarind presents a different version of the same problem. Much of the African crop still comes from scattered, semi-wild trees. Harvesters know which trees are best, but turning a particularly good tree into a reliable source of planting material is hard. Seedlings don’t necessarily reproduce the parent’s characteristics, and tamarind takes years to mature. Grafting and other forms of vegetative propagation exist, but have not been widely adopted, according to a recent review.
There’s a nice example from southern Africa that gives a glimpse of what might be. Researchers are identifying exceptionally productive wild fruit trees in the miombo woodlands and cloning them through grafting and air-layering. A tree that might otherwise take around a dozen years to fruit can produce within four or five when propagated this way.
But it doesn’t have to be a researcher doing that. A farmer or harvester who knows a particularly productive tree, or one with especially good fruit, could propagate it through cloning rather than relying on whatever seedlings happen to arise.
Coconut and tamarind aren’t the same, and neither are the technologies needed. But the principle is similar. We sometimes think of conserving and improving crop diversity as things done for farmers, whether in a genebank, a breeding programme or a research station. But they already do these things. Sometimes they just need a little room to try doing them a little bit differently.
Source: https://agro.biodiver.se/2026/10/give-farmers-room-to-grow/
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world. Anyone can join. Anyone can contribute. Anyone can become informed about their world. "United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
LION'S MANE PRODUCT
Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules
Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, but it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.
Our Formula includes: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity. Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins. Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system. Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome. Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function. Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules Today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.
| Visits: | 1,835,225,372 |
| Stories: | 8,722,128 |
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
