A presentation given by Bioversity International's Rhiannon Crichton at the International Horticultural Congress, Brisbane, August 2014.
Banana cultivars have been given a multitude of names which is a reflection of both their morphological diversity and of the socio-linguistic diversity of the people naming them in numerous local languages around the world. The many names for banana cultivars, including synonyms and homonyms, in combination with further difficulties in cultivar description and classification means that we cannot accurately quantify such important details as how many cultivars there are and where they are distributed.
We have created the Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars on the ProMusa website to bring the large amount of existing information on banana cultivar names and related relevant information into one easily accessible and searchable resource - http://www.promusa.org/Banana+cultivar+checklist
As of 08 August 2014 the Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars contains 6965 entries, with 4911 unique local names, corresponding to 1940 cultivars, in 39 subgroups, in 15 groups, in 93 locations, with the information being sourced from 38 references. We hope that the checklist will be a valuable resource for the banana community and that it will stimulate efforts to resolve outstanding issues related to the description, nomenclature and classification of the banana cultivars, including arriving at an internationally accepted name for each cultivar and elucidating a well-defined classification system.
Find out more about Rhiannon Crichton here:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/about-us/who-we-are/staff-bios/single-details-bios/crichton-rhiannon/
Presentation given at the workshop 'Integrating genetic diversity considerations into national climate change adaptation plans - Development of guidelines', Rome, 8-9 April organized by the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. It was presented by Michael Halewood, Policy Theme Leader at Bioversity International, on behalf of the CGIAR Research Progam on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
Dietary diversity through biodiversity in food systems - Bruce Cogill, Programme Leader, Diet Diversity for Nutrition and Health, Bioversity International. This presentation is based on one delivered at the Sackler Institute of Nutrition Science Conference, Academy of Sciences, New York on 26 March 2014.
Read more about Bioversity International's work on Diet Diversity for Nutrition and Health - http://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/diet-diversity/
Visit the official conference website here: http://www.nyas.org/Events/Detail.aspx?cid=0bd1adec-c31f-42aa-a09c-3de8d8abd93a
Nutritious foods from Forests Side Event took place at FAO on 11 October, 2013.
Forests harbour a large number of woody plants, climbers, herbs, insects and wild animals that provide nutritious foods, important for the diets of many people in developing countries.
The International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition hosted by FAO in May 2013, highlighted the important role of forests, agroforestry systems and trees on farm for food security and nutrition The side event aims at increasing the understanding of the contribution of forests and trees to sustainable diets by sharing lessons from the field.
In this presentation Bioversity International researcher and 'Beyond Timber' project coordinator discusses the traditional management systems of forest-based foods and a case study from the Congo Basin.
Read more about Bioversity's work in forest foods: http://www.bioversityinternational.org/trees-for-food/
A short booklet that describes how and why Bioversity International carries out research for development in agricultural and tree biodiversity. The booklet gives information about why agricultural and tree biodiversity matters for sustainable development, our strategic initiatives, where we work and our areas of scientific expertise. Find out more on www.bioversityinternational.org
FIGS workshop in Madrid, PGR Secure (9 to 13 January 2012)Dag Endresen
This document discusses trait mining using the Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy (FIGS) approach. FIGS uses climate data to predict which plant accessions are most likely to contain useful genetic traits before conducting field trials. Case studies are presented showing predictive links between climate data and traits like disease resistance in barley and wheat. The document outlines the FIGS methodology and discusses its potential to efficiently select germplasm for evaluation and increase genetic gains in crop breeding.
The document discusses the need for a regional strategy on plant genetic resources in West Asia and North Africa. It notes the important agricultural biodiversity in the region and the threats from climate change. It outlines the existing national plant genetic resource collections in countries of the region. The strategy would involve evaluating collections, strengthening regional collaboration, and conducting joint research on breeding climate-resilient crops and managing genetic diversity in situ and on-farm. Opportunities for collaboration include germplasm management, conservation, movement, capacity building, and research. A recent workshop discussed establishing a new regional plant genetic resources network.
This document discusses the importance of biodiversity conservation and genetic resources, and the role that information and communication technologies (ICT) can play in regional conservation strategies. It outlines ICT challenges and types, as well as conservation activities like surveys, collection, characterization and documentation of genetic resources. The key solution proposed is a sustainable knowledge management modeling tool to capture indigenous knowledge, analyze it, and share it collaboratively. The document describes a centralized database and portal developed by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute's CWANA Regional Office to publish genetic resource data from national programs and facilitate information sharing.
Presentation given at the workshop 'Integrating genetic diversity considerations into national climate change adaptation plans - Development of guidelines', Rome, 8-9 April organized by the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. It was presented by Michael Halewood, Policy Theme Leader at Bioversity International, on behalf of the CGIAR Research Progam on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
Dietary diversity through biodiversity in food systems - Bruce Cogill, Programme Leader, Diet Diversity for Nutrition and Health, Bioversity International. This presentation is based on one delivered at the Sackler Institute of Nutrition Science Conference, Academy of Sciences, New York on 26 March 2014.
Read more about Bioversity International's work on Diet Diversity for Nutrition and Health - http://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/diet-diversity/
Visit the official conference website here: http://www.nyas.org/Events/Detail.aspx?cid=0bd1adec-c31f-42aa-a09c-3de8d8abd93a
Nutritious foods from Forests Side Event took place at FAO on 11 October, 2013.
Forests harbour a large number of woody plants, climbers, herbs, insects and wild animals that provide nutritious foods, important for the diets of many people in developing countries.
The International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition hosted by FAO in May 2013, highlighted the important role of forests, agroforestry systems and trees on farm for food security and nutrition The side event aims at increasing the understanding of the contribution of forests and trees to sustainable diets by sharing lessons from the field.
In this presentation Bioversity International researcher and 'Beyond Timber' project coordinator discusses the traditional management systems of forest-based foods and a case study from the Congo Basin.
Read more about Bioversity's work in forest foods: http://www.bioversityinternational.org/trees-for-food/
A short booklet that describes how and why Bioversity International carries out research for development in agricultural and tree biodiversity. The booklet gives information about why agricultural and tree biodiversity matters for sustainable development, our strategic initiatives, where we work and our areas of scientific expertise. Find out more on www.bioversityinternational.org
FIGS workshop in Madrid, PGR Secure (9 to 13 January 2012)Dag Endresen
This document discusses trait mining using the Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy (FIGS) approach. FIGS uses climate data to predict which plant accessions are most likely to contain useful genetic traits before conducting field trials. Case studies are presented showing predictive links between climate data and traits like disease resistance in barley and wheat. The document outlines the FIGS methodology and discusses its potential to efficiently select germplasm for evaluation and increase genetic gains in crop breeding.
The document discusses the need for a regional strategy on plant genetic resources in West Asia and North Africa. It notes the important agricultural biodiversity in the region and the threats from climate change. It outlines the existing national plant genetic resource collections in countries of the region. The strategy would involve evaluating collections, strengthening regional collaboration, and conducting joint research on breeding climate-resilient crops and managing genetic diversity in situ and on-farm. Opportunities for collaboration include germplasm management, conservation, movement, capacity building, and research. A recent workshop discussed establishing a new regional plant genetic resources network.
This document discusses the importance of biodiversity conservation and genetic resources, and the role that information and communication technologies (ICT) can play in regional conservation strategies. It outlines ICT challenges and types, as well as conservation activities like surveys, collection, characterization and documentation of genetic resources. The key solution proposed is a sustainable knowledge management modeling tool to capture indigenous knowledge, analyze it, and share it collaboratively. The document describes a centralized database and portal developed by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute's CWANA Regional Office to publish genetic resource data from national programs and facilitate information sharing.
THEME – 0 Targeted search for crop germplasm with climate change adaptive tra...ICARDA
This document summarizes an international workshop on applying mathematics, omics technologies, and modeling to discover crop germplasm with adaptive traits for climate change. The workshop brought together researchers, breeders, and stakeholders to discuss challenges of sustaining agriculture in drylands under climate change. Key topics included the impacts of climate change on drylands agriculture, modeling approaches to identify climate-resilient germplasm, and using phenomics and genomics to screen gene banks for traits like drought tolerance. The goal was to develop integrated strategies and targeted projects to discover crop varieties adapted to future conditions and improve food security.
Genetic Resources - R Computing Platform -27JUN2016 - PPTAbdallah Bari
This document summarizes efforts to use mathematical modeling and machine learning algorithms on large genetic and environmental datasets to identify plant traits that could help crops better tolerate future climate conditions. Researchers are analyzing over 7 million plant genetic resource records and climate data to search for relationships between environmental factors and adaptive traits. Successful examples are presented of identifying heat tolerant barley varieties, salt tolerant wheat, and drought tolerant faba bean. A global open-access platform has also been launched to facilitate broader assessment of genetic resources for climate change adaptation.
Predictive association between trait data and eco-geographic data for Nordic ...Dag Endresen
Scientific seminar with presentation of the FIGS method and results from the FIGS study with Nordic Barley landraces for the Vavilov Seminar at IPK Gatersleben (12 May 2010).
Endresen, D.T.F. (2010). Predictive association between trait data and ecogeographic data for Nordic barley landraces. Crop Sci. 50(6):2418-2430. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2010.03.0174
Pondering the (Near) Future: Climate Change and the Genetics of Plant Migrati...nycparksnmd
Dr Julie Etterson, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Presented at the "What is Local? Genetics & Plant Selection in the Urban Context" Symposia. Tuesday, May 23, 2006, American Museum of Natural History
Linda sanders tab consulting resume 16 may 2016linda sanders
Linda Sanders is seeking a challenging leadership role that utilizes her extensive experience in communications, stakeholder management, and strategic leadership across both public and private sectors. She has over 30 years of experience managing media relations, issues, political and community engagement for government agencies, corporations, and community organizations. Her background includes senior communications roles in telecommunications, infrastructure development, and resource management industries.
Seed conservation is an important activity and strategy of preserving, saving and conserving our plant biological resources mostly in the form of seeds both at national and international level. several organizations, agencies, institutes and many are involved in conservation of rare and endangered species realizing their importance in very existence of mankind now and also in future. There are two broad approaches namely in situ conservation and ex situ conservation. Little effort is done to brief some of the techniques to conserve biological resources here in this presentation.
Global Impacts of Climate Change and Potentials for Adaptation and Mitigation...theREDDdesk
This document discusses the impacts of climate change on plants and animals globally. It shows that 52% of over 1,700 species studied have changed their ranges in response to climate change. While some local evolution is occurring, there is no evidence that entire species are evolving quickly enough to adapt. Species dependent on sea ice or living at mountaintops are particularly vulnerable and some have already gone extinct. Restoring native habitats can help species adapt to climate change by providing corridors for migration or new suitable habitats, though conservation laws focus on historical ranges. Examples of successful restoration projects include vernal pools in California and native prairies, which can also help mitigate climate change through carbon storage.
Cryopreservation is a method for long-term preservation of plant genetic resources by storing them at ultra-low temperatures, typically in liquid nitrogen at -196°C. This stops biological activity and slows aging. The document discusses why preservation is important, various preservation methods, and the steps involved in cryopreservation including selection of plant material, addition of cryoprotectants, freezing, storage, thawing, and viability testing. Cryopreservation provides long-term storage of germplasm in a very small space and protects against loss from diseases, climate change, and other threats.
The document discusses the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture and agricultural biodiversity. It states that climate change is increasing global temperatures and altering precipitation patterns, which can negatively impact crop yields. Some crops may benefit from higher CO2 levels but increased heat and drought in certain regions are expected to reduce yields. The document also notes that climate change may alter competitive relationships between crops and weeds. Genetic resources will be important for developing new crop varieties that can adapt to changing conditions.
Participatory assessment of gendered knowledge and preferences for shea ethno...Bioversity International
This document summarizes a study on participatory assessment of local knowledge and preferences for shea tree ethnovarieties in Burkina Faso. The study found that women identified more shea varieties than men, and that men and women had different preferences based on intended use. Preferences also varied by ethnicity and residency status. A gender-responsive participatory approach allowed collection of deeper knowledge. The implications are that interventions to promote shea varieties must consider this local knowledge to benefit different groups including women.
Improving productivity and resilience for the rural poor through enhanced us...Bioversity International
Bioversity International scientist Devra Jarvis presents work carried out in China, Ecuador, Morocco and Uganda on using crop varietal diversity to manage pests and diseases. The presentation highlights how when grown in crop varietal mixtures, pest and disease damage can be reduced.
Find out more: https://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/agricultural-ecosystems/pests-and-diseases/
Crop wild relatives - looking at trends in genetic diversity to inform conser...Bioversity International
Presentation given by Elena Fiorino, Imke Thormann and Ehsan Dullo from Bioversity International on the closing day of the International Horticultural Congress 2014.
In their presentation they tackle questions such as 'Why is in situ conservation of crop wild relatives important?' and 'How can we develop in situ conservation strategies?'
Watch this video to learn more about crop wild relatives and why they are the cornerstone of agriculture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah7RruMZ9CU
Engaging communities for group learning and collective management of native f...Bioversity International
Narasimha Hegde's presentation for the 22nd European Seminar on Extension and Education tells the tale of the men and women of the Western Ghats. Using participatory research methods, in collaboration with Bioversity International researchers, Narasimha has been learning how the local women and men from different caste and age groups use and manage the forest. Narasimha Hegde is part of the Bioversity International Gender Research Fellowship Programme.
Bioversity International’s participatory research on gender and forest genetic resources focuses on women’s and men’s distinct and complementary sets of knowledge, skills, practices and preferences related to forest management and conservation, and on gendered rights to access and benefit from trees and their products. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1KjKkjX
National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), ICAR and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) organized a two day workshop on ‘Impact of capacity building programs under NAIP’ on June 6-7, 2014 at AP Shinde Auditorium, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. The main purpose of the workshop was to present and discuss the findings of the impact evaluation study on capacity building programs under NAIP by IFPRI. The scientists from ICAR and agricultural universities were sent abroad to receive training in specialized research techniques. Post-training, scientists were expected to work on collaborative projects within the ICAR, which would further enrich their knowledge and skills, expand their research network and stimulate them’ to improve their productivity, creativity and quality of their research. The ICAR commissioned with IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute) to undertake an evaluation of these capacity building programs under NAIP in July 2012. The workshop shared the findings on the impact of capacity building programs under NAIP and evolve strategies for future capacity building programs
This document summarizes a project aimed at enhancing conservation and use of crop wild relatives (CWR) in three countries within the Southern African Development Community region. The project's objectives are to enhance scientific capacity for CWR conservation and identify useful traits, and develop national strategic action plans for CWR conservation in the face of climate change. Through training workshops, the project is building capacity for CWR taxonomy, surveying, seed handling, and more. National CWR checklists and priority lists are being developed. The project will identify priority sites for in situ CWR conservation and produce national strategic action plans and a regional CWR assessment to guide conservation efforts.
Camila Oliveira is an environmental analyst at the Ministry of the Environment in Brazil and national manager of the Bioversity International 4-country project 'Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition'. In her presentation for Italian Development Cooperation's Expo 2015 event she brought attention to Brazil's precious agricultural biodiversity and how it can be used for food and nutrition security. Learn more about Bioversity International's participation at Expo 2015: http://bit.ly/1GOimdm
ABSTRACT
Brazil suffers from high rates of malnutrition, with one in three children aged between five and nine overweight. Brazil is also home to a significant amount of the world’s biodiversity much of it edible and nutritious. As part of the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition (BFN) initiative funded by the United Nations, Brazil believes that biodiversity for food and nutrition can help fight its current diet-related problems. As such, the government is adopting three approaches to effectively embed biodiversity into the national food and nutritional security policy framework.
The first approach is to increase knowledge of how diverse underutilized native species can contribute to food security by carrying out a nutritional analysis of 70 edible plant species. Three national programmes are exploiting the nutrition potential of some of these species. These include targeting the national school feeding programme to promote healthy eating habits in schools, a scheme which also ensures that 30% of procurement is from local family farmers.
The second approach has been the revision of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan to comply with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to halt biodiversity loss. One of the reasons for biodiversity loss in Brazil is the limited appreciation of the use of biodiversity for food and nutrition to date.
The third approach is to increase awareness on how biodiversity can contribute to food and nutrition. A weekly farmers’ market has been launched at the Brasilia Botanical Garden and several cultural gastronomic events organized in different cities, with cooking demonstrations and opportunities to taste native and nutritious biodiverse foods.
The role of ex situ crop diversity conservation in adaptation to climate changeLuigi Guarino
Keynote delivered on behalf of Cary Fowler at international conference on Food Security and Climate Change in Dry Areas -- 1-4 February 2010 -- Amman, Jordan. Thanks to Colin Khoury for putting this together.
This document discusses representativeness in genebanks and methods to assess it. It is difficult to fully evaluate representativeness due to the large number of unsampled populations and costs of extensive characterization. Ecogeography, which studies adaptive scenarios based on biotic and abiotic factors, can help map diversity and identify core collections. The Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy uses ecogeographical data to predict traits and select a reduced number of accessions for breeders to evaluate, helping address utilization challenges with large genebank collections. Ecogeographical analyses and FIGS can boost utilization of plant genetic resources.
Presentation given at the session on 'Seeds of Resilience - Novel strategies for using crop diversity in climate change adaptation' at Tropentag 2016, September 21st, Vienna, by Bioversity International scientist Ronnie Vernooy.
Future impacts of climate change are expected to become more pronounced in many parts of the world, forcing farmers to change their practices and causing them to find crops and varieties better adapted to new weather dynamics. Providing farmers with better access to crop and varietal diversity can strengthen their capacity to adapt to climate change. Under supportive policy and socioeconomic conditions, such strengthened capacity could contribute to greater food availability throughout the year, the production of more nutritious and healthy crops, and income generation. This is easier said than done.
How do we design and implement a comprehensive strategy that will allow farmers to access and use plant genetic diversity more effectively in the context of climate change adaptation? This session responded to this question through an interactive introduction to the challenge of enabling farmers to use climate-adapted germplasm (led by Bioversity International), a practical example from the field to bring new diversity to farmers fields (a case study from Uganda), and a “this is how we support crop diversification for climate change adaptation” exchange among a number of experts from government (development cooperation), private sector and civil society.
Find out more:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/tropentag2016/
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/resource-box-for-resilient-seed-systems-handbook/
Sustainable Agriculture: Community based On-farm Conservation of Crop and Var...IFSD14
1. The document summarizes a community-based on-farm conservation project for small millet cropping systems in India. It aimed to conserve crop and varietal diversity through farmer-led research.
2. The methodology involved establishing biodiversity blocks, identifying farmers to conserve local varieties, and conducting participatory varietal selection trials with over 1,400 farmers to identify preferred varieties.
3. The results showed a decline in varietal diversity and the identification of 1-4 additional varieties for each crop in different sites. Productivity increased 15-20% and new varieties entered testing. The project concluded local efforts were effective for conservation of neglected and underutilized species.
This document summarizes banana taxonomy and classification. It discusses:
1) The two original species described by Linnaeus, Musa paradisiaca and Musa sapientum, which created confusion due to Southeast Asian diversity.
2) A new classification system proposed by Cheesman in 1948 and Simmonds and Shepherd in 1955, which used diagnostic traits and taxonomic scoring to classify cultivars into genomic groups based on their Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana ancestry.
3) Modern taxonomy confirms the multi-specific origin of edible bananas and classifies them into species, genome groups, and cultivars using molecular markers and the Descriptors for Banana published by INIB
THEME – 0 Targeted search for crop germplasm with climate change adaptive tra...ICARDA
This document summarizes an international workshop on applying mathematics, omics technologies, and modeling to discover crop germplasm with adaptive traits for climate change. The workshop brought together researchers, breeders, and stakeholders to discuss challenges of sustaining agriculture in drylands under climate change. Key topics included the impacts of climate change on drylands agriculture, modeling approaches to identify climate-resilient germplasm, and using phenomics and genomics to screen gene banks for traits like drought tolerance. The goal was to develop integrated strategies and targeted projects to discover crop varieties adapted to future conditions and improve food security.
Genetic Resources - R Computing Platform -27JUN2016 - PPTAbdallah Bari
This document summarizes efforts to use mathematical modeling and machine learning algorithms on large genetic and environmental datasets to identify plant traits that could help crops better tolerate future climate conditions. Researchers are analyzing over 7 million plant genetic resource records and climate data to search for relationships between environmental factors and adaptive traits. Successful examples are presented of identifying heat tolerant barley varieties, salt tolerant wheat, and drought tolerant faba bean. A global open-access platform has also been launched to facilitate broader assessment of genetic resources for climate change adaptation.
Predictive association between trait data and eco-geographic data for Nordic ...Dag Endresen
Scientific seminar with presentation of the FIGS method and results from the FIGS study with Nordic Barley landraces for the Vavilov Seminar at IPK Gatersleben (12 May 2010).
Endresen, D.T.F. (2010). Predictive association between trait data and ecogeographic data for Nordic barley landraces. Crop Sci. 50(6):2418-2430. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2010.03.0174
Pondering the (Near) Future: Climate Change and the Genetics of Plant Migrati...nycparksnmd
Dr Julie Etterson, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Presented at the "What is Local? Genetics & Plant Selection in the Urban Context" Symposia. Tuesday, May 23, 2006, American Museum of Natural History
Linda sanders tab consulting resume 16 may 2016linda sanders
Linda Sanders is seeking a challenging leadership role that utilizes her extensive experience in communications, stakeholder management, and strategic leadership across both public and private sectors. She has over 30 years of experience managing media relations, issues, political and community engagement for government agencies, corporations, and community organizations. Her background includes senior communications roles in telecommunications, infrastructure development, and resource management industries.
Seed conservation is an important activity and strategy of preserving, saving and conserving our plant biological resources mostly in the form of seeds both at national and international level. several organizations, agencies, institutes and many are involved in conservation of rare and endangered species realizing their importance in very existence of mankind now and also in future. There are two broad approaches namely in situ conservation and ex situ conservation. Little effort is done to brief some of the techniques to conserve biological resources here in this presentation.
Global Impacts of Climate Change and Potentials for Adaptation and Mitigation...theREDDdesk
This document discusses the impacts of climate change on plants and animals globally. It shows that 52% of over 1,700 species studied have changed their ranges in response to climate change. While some local evolution is occurring, there is no evidence that entire species are evolving quickly enough to adapt. Species dependent on sea ice or living at mountaintops are particularly vulnerable and some have already gone extinct. Restoring native habitats can help species adapt to climate change by providing corridors for migration or new suitable habitats, though conservation laws focus on historical ranges. Examples of successful restoration projects include vernal pools in California and native prairies, which can also help mitigate climate change through carbon storage.
Cryopreservation is a method for long-term preservation of plant genetic resources by storing them at ultra-low temperatures, typically in liquid nitrogen at -196°C. This stops biological activity and slows aging. The document discusses why preservation is important, various preservation methods, and the steps involved in cryopreservation including selection of plant material, addition of cryoprotectants, freezing, storage, thawing, and viability testing. Cryopreservation provides long-term storage of germplasm in a very small space and protects against loss from diseases, climate change, and other threats.
The document discusses the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture and agricultural biodiversity. It states that climate change is increasing global temperatures and altering precipitation patterns, which can negatively impact crop yields. Some crops may benefit from higher CO2 levels but increased heat and drought in certain regions are expected to reduce yields. The document also notes that climate change may alter competitive relationships between crops and weeds. Genetic resources will be important for developing new crop varieties that can adapt to changing conditions.
Participatory assessment of gendered knowledge and preferences for shea ethno...Bioversity International
This document summarizes a study on participatory assessment of local knowledge and preferences for shea tree ethnovarieties in Burkina Faso. The study found that women identified more shea varieties than men, and that men and women had different preferences based on intended use. Preferences also varied by ethnicity and residency status. A gender-responsive participatory approach allowed collection of deeper knowledge. The implications are that interventions to promote shea varieties must consider this local knowledge to benefit different groups including women.
Improving productivity and resilience for the rural poor through enhanced us...Bioversity International
Bioversity International scientist Devra Jarvis presents work carried out in China, Ecuador, Morocco and Uganda on using crop varietal diversity to manage pests and diseases. The presentation highlights how when grown in crop varietal mixtures, pest and disease damage can be reduced.
Find out more: https://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/agricultural-ecosystems/pests-and-diseases/
Crop wild relatives - looking at trends in genetic diversity to inform conser...Bioversity International
Presentation given by Elena Fiorino, Imke Thormann and Ehsan Dullo from Bioversity International on the closing day of the International Horticultural Congress 2014.
In their presentation they tackle questions such as 'Why is in situ conservation of crop wild relatives important?' and 'How can we develop in situ conservation strategies?'
Watch this video to learn more about crop wild relatives and why they are the cornerstone of agriculture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah7RruMZ9CU
Engaging communities for group learning and collective management of native f...Bioversity International
Narasimha Hegde's presentation for the 22nd European Seminar on Extension and Education tells the tale of the men and women of the Western Ghats. Using participatory research methods, in collaboration with Bioversity International researchers, Narasimha has been learning how the local women and men from different caste and age groups use and manage the forest. Narasimha Hegde is part of the Bioversity International Gender Research Fellowship Programme.
Bioversity International’s participatory research on gender and forest genetic resources focuses on women’s and men’s distinct and complementary sets of knowledge, skills, practices and preferences related to forest management and conservation, and on gendered rights to access and benefit from trees and their products. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1KjKkjX
National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), ICAR and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) organized a two day workshop on ‘Impact of capacity building programs under NAIP’ on June 6-7, 2014 at AP Shinde Auditorium, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. The main purpose of the workshop was to present and discuss the findings of the impact evaluation study on capacity building programs under NAIP by IFPRI. The scientists from ICAR and agricultural universities were sent abroad to receive training in specialized research techniques. Post-training, scientists were expected to work on collaborative projects within the ICAR, which would further enrich their knowledge and skills, expand their research network and stimulate them’ to improve their productivity, creativity and quality of their research. The ICAR commissioned with IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute) to undertake an evaluation of these capacity building programs under NAIP in July 2012. The workshop shared the findings on the impact of capacity building programs under NAIP and evolve strategies for future capacity building programs
This document summarizes a project aimed at enhancing conservation and use of crop wild relatives (CWR) in three countries within the Southern African Development Community region. The project's objectives are to enhance scientific capacity for CWR conservation and identify useful traits, and develop national strategic action plans for CWR conservation in the face of climate change. Through training workshops, the project is building capacity for CWR taxonomy, surveying, seed handling, and more. National CWR checklists and priority lists are being developed. The project will identify priority sites for in situ CWR conservation and produce national strategic action plans and a regional CWR assessment to guide conservation efforts.
Camila Oliveira is an environmental analyst at the Ministry of the Environment in Brazil and national manager of the Bioversity International 4-country project 'Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition'. In her presentation for Italian Development Cooperation's Expo 2015 event she brought attention to Brazil's precious agricultural biodiversity and how it can be used for food and nutrition security. Learn more about Bioversity International's participation at Expo 2015: http://bit.ly/1GOimdm
ABSTRACT
Brazil suffers from high rates of malnutrition, with one in three children aged between five and nine overweight. Brazil is also home to a significant amount of the world’s biodiversity much of it edible and nutritious. As part of the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition (BFN) initiative funded by the United Nations, Brazil believes that biodiversity for food and nutrition can help fight its current diet-related problems. As such, the government is adopting three approaches to effectively embed biodiversity into the national food and nutritional security policy framework.
The first approach is to increase knowledge of how diverse underutilized native species can contribute to food security by carrying out a nutritional analysis of 70 edible plant species. Three national programmes are exploiting the nutrition potential of some of these species. These include targeting the national school feeding programme to promote healthy eating habits in schools, a scheme which also ensures that 30% of procurement is from local family farmers.
The second approach has been the revision of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan to comply with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to halt biodiversity loss. One of the reasons for biodiversity loss in Brazil is the limited appreciation of the use of biodiversity for food and nutrition to date.
The third approach is to increase awareness on how biodiversity can contribute to food and nutrition. A weekly farmers’ market has been launched at the Brasilia Botanical Garden and several cultural gastronomic events organized in different cities, with cooking demonstrations and opportunities to taste native and nutritious biodiverse foods.
The role of ex situ crop diversity conservation in adaptation to climate changeLuigi Guarino
Keynote delivered on behalf of Cary Fowler at international conference on Food Security and Climate Change in Dry Areas -- 1-4 February 2010 -- Amman, Jordan. Thanks to Colin Khoury for putting this together.
This document discusses representativeness in genebanks and methods to assess it. It is difficult to fully evaluate representativeness due to the large number of unsampled populations and costs of extensive characterization. Ecogeography, which studies adaptive scenarios based on biotic and abiotic factors, can help map diversity and identify core collections. The Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy uses ecogeographical data to predict traits and select a reduced number of accessions for breeders to evaluate, helping address utilization challenges with large genebank collections. Ecogeographical analyses and FIGS can boost utilization of plant genetic resources.
Presentation given at the session on 'Seeds of Resilience - Novel strategies for using crop diversity in climate change adaptation' at Tropentag 2016, September 21st, Vienna, by Bioversity International scientist Ronnie Vernooy.
Future impacts of climate change are expected to become more pronounced in many parts of the world, forcing farmers to change their practices and causing them to find crops and varieties better adapted to new weather dynamics. Providing farmers with better access to crop and varietal diversity can strengthen their capacity to adapt to climate change. Under supportive policy and socioeconomic conditions, such strengthened capacity could contribute to greater food availability throughout the year, the production of more nutritious and healthy crops, and income generation. This is easier said than done.
How do we design and implement a comprehensive strategy that will allow farmers to access and use plant genetic diversity more effectively in the context of climate change adaptation? This session responded to this question through an interactive introduction to the challenge of enabling farmers to use climate-adapted germplasm (led by Bioversity International), a practical example from the field to bring new diversity to farmers fields (a case study from Uganda), and a “this is how we support crop diversification for climate change adaptation” exchange among a number of experts from government (development cooperation), private sector and civil society.
Find out more:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/tropentag2016/
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/resource-box-for-resilient-seed-systems-handbook/
Sustainable Agriculture: Community based On-farm Conservation of Crop and Var...IFSD14
1. The document summarizes a community-based on-farm conservation project for small millet cropping systems in India. It aimed to conserve crop and varietal diversity through farmer-led research.
2. The methodology involved establishing biodiversity blocks, identifying farmers to conserve local varieties, and conducting participatory varietal selection trials with over 1,400 farmers to identify preferred varieties.
3. The results showed a decline in varietal diversity and the identification of 1-4 additional varieties for each crop in different sites. Productivity increased 15-20% and new varieties entered testing. The project concluded local efforts were effective for conservation of neglected and underutilized species.
This document summarizes banana taxonomy and classification. It discusses:
1) The two original species described by Linnaeus, Musa paradisiaca and Musa sapientum, which created confusion due to Southeast Asian diversity.
2) A new classification system proposed by Cheesman in 1948 and Simmonds and Shepherd in 1955, which used diagnostic traits and taxonomic scoring to classify cultivars into genomic groups based on their Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana ancestry.
3) Modern taxonomy confirms the multi-specific origin of edible bananas and classifies them into species, genome groups, and cultivars using molecular markers and the Descriptors for Banana published by INIB
This document describes a study on the inheritance of domestication traits in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) through controlled crosses between wild and domesticated accessions. The study produced the first successful inter-varietal hybrids in bambara groundnut, allowing investigation of the genetic basis of domestication traits. Traits like plant architecture, seed size, and germination rate were examined in an F2 population derived from a cross between a domesticated landrace and a wild accession. Results suggest traits like internode length and plant habit are controlled by few genes, while leaf area, carbon isotope discrimination, and seed weight have a more complex genetic basis. The successful hybridization opens new possibilities for b
This document discusses genetic diversity analysis of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) germplasm in India using microsatellite markers. A total of 42 grape genotypes were analyzed using 7 microsatellite markers. A total of 45 alleles were detected among the genotypes. The microsatellites grouped the genotypes into two main clusters (A and B) based on morphological and genetic characteristics, with subclusters differentiating seeded vs seedless fruits and pigmented vs non-pigmented fruits. The study found high genetic variability among the Indian grape germplasm and that microsatellite markers are a reliable tool for diversity and breeding programs.
The document discusses the breeding of papaya. It notes that papaya is native to tropical America and is now widely cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions including India. There are two major sex forms in papaya - dioecious and gynodioecious. Breeding objectives include developing dwarf, early bearing varieties with high yield, quality fruits, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Breeding methods used include inbreeding and selection, hybridization, and mutation breeding. This has resulted in the development of improved varieties like CO1-CO8, Pusa Delicious, Pusa Majesty, and Pusa Dwarf in India.
The document discusses the breeding of papaya. It notes that papaya is native to tropical America and is now widely cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions including India. There are two major sex forms in papaya - dioecious and gynodioecious. Breeding objectives include developing dwarf, early bearing varieties with high yield, quality fruits, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Breeding methods used include inbreeding and selection, hybridization, and mutation breeding. This has resulted in the development of improved cultivars like CO1-CO8, Pusa Delicious, Pusa Majesty, and Pusa Dwarf in India.
2 Grading criteria and marking schemes Liz Norman ANZCVS 2018Liz Norman
The document discusses grading criteria and marking schemes, describing the purpose of marking schemes to help with question writing and marking to ensure valid, reliable and fair assessment. It outlines different types of marking schemes including model answers, point-based schemes, and criteria-based schemes that use levels of performance, and notes criteria-based schemes can be generic or specific to a question.
The document provides information on banana breeding approaches. It discusses the origin and diversity of banana germplasm resources that are conserved in field gene banks and in vitro. The major objectives of banana breeding programs are outlined, which include developing varieties with traits like dwarf stature, disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, and fruit quality. The genomic classification of banana varieties is explained based on their parentage from Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Important cultivated varieties from different genomic groups are also highlighted.
This document provides an acknowledgement and thanks to various individuals who provided support and guidance during the completion of an assignment. It expresses gratitude to professors for their mentorship and support. Thanks are also given to friends for their assistance. Finally, the document acknowledges the support of family members, especially parents, who provided motivation, encouragement, patience and served as the backbone throughout the work.
Organic Open-Field and High Tunnel Strawberry Cropping Systems for Long-term ...sberries
This document summarizes research on organic strawberry production systems in the Southeast US. The research aims to develop economically and environmentally sustainable open-field and high tunnel strawberry production systems through evaluating cover crops, cultivars, pest management, and consumer preferences. Key findings include some cover crops and cultivars performing better than others, production challenges varying between systems, and local information not influencing consumer choice. The research involves stakeholders and aims to expand organic strawberry production.
Crop improvement and recent advances in Anolapraveen choyal
The document summarizes information about the aonla (Indian gooseberry) crop, including its botany, breeding methods, varieties, and future work. It notes that aonla is an important fruit crop due to its nutritional and medicinal value. Breeding objectives include developing varieties with higher yields, quality, stress resistance, and market traits. Key breeding methods discussed are selection, hybridization, mutation, and biotechnology. Promising varieties from different research institutions are also highlighted. Future work may focus on traits like higher female flower percentage and color varieties to meet market demand.
This document is a catalogue of orange-fleshed sweetpotato varieties for Sub-Saharan Africa. It provides information on 60 varieties, including their country of origin, growth characteristics, agronomic attributes, root characteristics, and sensory qualities. The catalogue aims to present information on popular orange-fleshed sweetpotato varieties currently grown in Sub-Saharan Africa to combat vitamin A deficiency.
Snap bean breeding in eastern africa ppt. presented by Oduor Kenneth Tembe. U...Kenneth Tembe
In the recent past, Snap bean has been an important crop in ensuring food security and economic stability.Research towards improving the crop is therefore timely.
This document discusses advances in breeding fruit crops, specifically focusing on bananas. It provides details on the history, genetics, breeding objectives and techniques used for banana breeding. Some key points:
- Banana breeding aims to develop varieties with traits like disease resistance, dwarf stature, high yield, and abiotic stress tolerance.
- Techniques used include hybridization between diploid and tetraploid parents to produce triploid hybrids, as well as mutation breeding and tissue culture.
- Challenges in banana breeding include its vegetative propagation, parthenocarpy, polyploidy and long generation time.
- Popular varieties developed through breeding include Grand Nain, Lady Finger, and
This research proposal aims to utilize kamias as an alternative seasoning mix for sinigang. Kamias is abundant in the locality but often goes to waste. The researchers will create three treatments using different ratios of powdered kamias mixed with other ingredients like onion, salt, pepper and shrimp. High school teachers will evaluate the treatments based on appearance, aroma, flavor, color and overall acceptability. Statistical analysis like ANOVA and Scheffe tests will determine if differences exist between the treatments. The results could be used in an extension program to provide income and improve living standards in the community. The proposed budget is PHP 40,000.
Lucerne breeding - methods, progress and constraintsSanghaviBoddu
Lucerne is the most important fodder crop and it has specific tripping characteristic for pollination and it attained lot more progress and also through transgenic breeding and genetically modified herbicide resistant cultivars . It also has its own constraints . Uses of alfalfa
Diallel Analysis of Cowpea Cultivar Ife Brown and its MutantsAI Publications
The present investigation of using half diallel analysis in Cowpea cultivar Ife Brown and its three mutants was conducted at Research plot of Department of Agricultural Technology, Federal College of Forestry, Ibadan, Nigeria during the rainy season of 2017. Four parents were used in this study consisting of three (3) mutants (Ife BPC, Ife Brown Yellow, Ife Brown Crinkled) and one (1) putative parent (Ife Brown) that were derived from the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. The present study involves four parents and their seven resultant crosses were grown in a completely Randomized Design with five replications. Analysis of variance for general and specific combining ability(GCA and SCA) revealed that only SCA variances were significant for all the characters. Whereas, comparison of the error mean square of GCA in days to flowering, 100 seed weight and seed yield/plant was higher than the error mean square of SCA thus implying that additive gene action played a more important role in the inheritance of these traits than the non-additive (dominance and epistasis) gene action. Among the parents Ife BPC was observed to be the best general combiner for days to flowering and seed yield/plant. Among the crosses the crosses involving Ife Brown Yellow with Ife Brown in pod length and number of seeds/pod while with Ife Brown Crinkled for days to flowering were recorded. It is evident from present investigation that the hybrid combinations exhibited the high per se performance and sca effect for seed yield per plant and highly promising even in respect of other characters could be advanced by selecting desirable segregants and recombinants in each generation for funneling the new genotype or for using further advanced breeding programme. The present study based on two biometrical analysis (combining ability and genetic components of variances) revealed that the additive and non-additive were involved with preponderance of non-additive gene effects in the inheritance of seed yield and its attributes. It is, therefore, suggested that biparental mating, intermatting of elite segregants and selection at later generations should be followed which meets the requirement of utilizing both types of gene actions.
Wide hybridization in fruit crops seminar.pptxPriyanka Hugar
Seminar on wide hybridization in fruit crops- Presented by Priyanka Hugar
Conventional methods of introduction, selection and hybridization using cultivated genotypes of a species are mostly responsible for the improvement of perennial fruit crops with comparatively limited genetic variation. According to Singh (2017), there has been a 75% decrease in agricultural genetic diversity during the 20th century. It necessitates the breeders to focus on techniques like recombinant DNA technology and mutation. Most of these techniques are less effective due to their more tedious process and cost involvement. Hence, wide hybridization involving wild and related species gained momentum in the recent fruit crop breeding for agronomic, quality, biotic, and abiotic stresses.
This is Rapid community assessment technique to assess the amount and distribution of crop diversity within farming communities, and widely used in various countries in on farm biodiversity management related projects.
Godfried 2015 GERMINATION OF SEEDS OF INDIGENOUS CURACAOAN TREE AND SHRUB SPE...Yoeri Godfried
This study tested seed dormancy in four indigenous Curaçaoan plant species: Zhantoxylum flavum, Myrcia curassavica, Capparis odoratissima, and Bourreria succulenta. Seeds were given treatments to test for physiological dormancy, physical dormancy, and combinational dormancy. Z. flavum showed physiological dormancy but required a deeper level of dormancy breaking than tested. Very low germination rates in the other species prevented determining their dormancy. More focus on seed selection and dormancy breaking is needed to propagate these species.
Similar to An online checklist of banana cultivars (20)
Presentation given by Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International, at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault Anniversary Event, February 2018.
This presentation outlines the results of a feasibility study for a Global Cryo-Collection of crops that cannot be conserved by seed. These include banana, cacao, cassava, coconut, coffee, potato and yams. These crops either don’t produce conventional seeds, like bananas, or because the seeds they do produce do not always resemble their parents, like potatoes and many other roots and tubers making it impossible to reproduce them.
Cryopreservation is safe and reliable and dependable. In cryopreservation, plants are stored in in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 °C, a temperature so cold that it effectively stops all the living processes within the plant tissue, freezing it forever in time. Plants can then be regenerated from tiny stored samples and grown into whole plants.
This study was commissioned by Bioversity International, the International Potato Center (CIP) and the Global Crop Diversity Trust with financial support from Australia, Germany and Switzerland.
Read it here:
https://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/feasibility-study-for-a-safety-back-up-cryopreservation-facility-independent-expert-report-july-2017/
1) Current food systems are failing both human and planetary health as they underproduce fruits and vegetables, lead to poor diets as the number one global health risk, and put pressure on planetary boundaries.
2) Diversifying diets and agricultural production systems can simultaneously improve human health and sustainability by increasing consumption of underutilized but nutritious species.
3) Initiatives are working to mainstream millets and biodiversity in India and develop an Agrobiodiversity Index to incentivize policies and investments that integrate agrobiodiversity into food systems and build food/nutrition security and resilient agriculture.
This document discusses challenges facing global agriculture and nutrition, including poor diets being a leading health risk worldwide, and farmers facing novel climates by 2050 due to climate change. It notes that three crops - wheat, rice, and maize - provide over half the world's plant-based calories, and highlights millets as nutritious and resilient but neglected crops. The remainder of the document outlines efforts in India to mainstream the production and consumption of millets, including improving cultivation practices with farmers, establishing community seed banks, developing millet products, including millets in school meals and the Public Distribution Scheme.
Re-collection to assess temporal variation in wild barley diversity in JordanBioversity International
Presentation delivered by Dr Imke Thormann at the International Agrobiodiversity Congress 2016, held in Delhi, India, 6-9 November.
Imke Thormann's presentation focused on crop wild relative genetic erosion and how it can be studied.
Find out more about the India Agrobiodiversity Congress:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/iac2016/
Presentation delivered by Dr Jacob van Etten at the International Agrobiodiversity Congress 2016, held in Delhi, India, 6-9 November.
In his talk, Dr van Etten brought attention to the power of citizen scientists and crowdsourcing, which has particularly helped initiatives such as 'Seeds for Needs'.
Find out more about the India Agrobiodiversity Congress:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/iac2016/
Securing plant genetic resources for perpetuity through cryopreservationBioversity International
Presentation delivered by Dr Bart Panis at the International Agrobiodiversity Congress 2016, held in Delhi, India, 6-9 November.
Among other international endeavors, this presentation highlighted the efforts of the International Transit Centre in conserving plant genetic resources such as Musa (banana) for our consumption today and tomorrow.
Find out more about the India Agrobiodiversity Congress:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/iac2016/
We Manage What We Measure: An Agrobiodiversity Index to Help Deliver SDGsBioversity International
Presentation delivered by M. Ann Tutwiler at the International Agrobiodiversity Congress 2016, held in Delhi, India, 6-9 November.
The presentation outlined a new Agrobiodiversity Index that will enable governments, private sector and other decision-makers to assess and track agrobiodiversity in food systems. Currently there is no consistent way to do this.
Find out more about the India Agrobiodiversity Congress:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/iac2016/
IAC 2016 gathered 850 delegates from over 40 countries across the world who presented the results and stories of progress of agrobiodiversity research they are involved in.
Bioversity International policy scientist Ronnie Vernooy gave this presentation at the the Global Consultation on Farmers’ Rights, Indonesia, 27-30 September 2016, organized by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty).
The importance of farmers’ rights is recognized in Article 9 of the Plant Treaty.
In this presentation Vernooy shows how a community-based approach to the management of agricultural biodiversity, including supporting community seedbanks, can empower and benefit smallholder farmers and farming communities economically, environmentally and socially. This approach makes implementing farmers’ rights at national level both practical and effective contributing to food and seed security, sustainable livelihoods and resilience.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/conservation-of-crop-diversity/community-seedbanks/
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/policies-for-plant-diversity-management/the-plant-treaty/
Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International gave this presentation at the Eighth Biodiversity Conference, Trondheim on 31st May 2016.
Current agricultural intensification practices are the biggest threat to sustainability and a major force behind breaching multiple planetary boundaries (Steffen et al., 2015). Agriculture contributes to between 19 and 29% of total GHG emissions (US EPA 2011, Vermeulen et al. 2012), uses of 69% of freshwater resources (AQUASTAT 2014), and 34% of the terrestrial, icefree surface of the planet accounting for 31% of wild biodiversity loss (Ramankutty et al. 2008). It is the primary driver for the substantial breach of the planetary boundary for phosphorous, and nitrogen (Carpenter and Bennett 2011, Steffen et al. 2015). The foods we produce from these systems struggle to nourish a growing global population where nearly 2 billion suffer from nutrient deficiencies, and another 2 billion suffer from obesity.
In as much as agricultural practices are important parts of the problem, they are likely to be our best bet for novel solutions addressing both human and environmental health. Increasing and improved use of agricultural biodiversity has the capacity provide both food and nutritional security, providing the ingredients of healthy, culturally sensitive, and enjoyable meals.
Mounting evidence suggests that producing food for diversified diets is often complementary with improving agriculture’s sustainability record. Agricultural biodiversity provides the core ecosystem services that underpin sustainable agricultural intensification: pollination, pest control, and sustainably stored and sourced soil nutrients. Finally, as the planet’s largest ecosystem, sustainable intensification of agricultural ecosystems has the capacity to provide multiple ecosystem services converting agriculture from a net source, to net sink of green house gases; reigning in planetary boundaries on phosphorus, nitrogen, and water; and creating a safe space for wild biodiversity .
Achieving agricultural biodiversity’s potential however, requires stronger support of the
research and development community, better articulation of biodiversity’s contribution to
multiple sustainable development goals, and improved indicators and indices that facilitate impact and progress both environmental and human well-being targets.
Find out more about Bioversity International's research on productive and resilient farms, forests and landscapes:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/initiatives/farms-forests-landscapes/
Visit the official Trondheim 8th Biodiversity Conference page:
http://www.trondheimconference.org/
Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International presentation on NOT finding the world's next superfood. This presentation was delivered at Kew Gardens on May 12th 2016 at the State of the World's Plants Symposium.
Abstract: In the last few years, superfoods such as quinoa, amaranth and goji berries have been celebrated in the international media in recognition of their rich nutrient content.
But it is not just Western consumers that can benefit from rediscovering these forgotten foods.
M. Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International, will explain how many nutritious traditional foods, which have largely fallen off menus and research-for-development agendas in favour of a handful of staple grains, are starting to make a comeback on the plates of the world’s poorest and most malnourished populations.
Bioversity International carries out research on a diverse range of underutilized crops, and advocates for their wider use in healthy diets from sustainable food systems. This overview will include examples of how research-for-development efforts on quinoa in the High Andes and minor millets in India have helped bring diverse varieties back to the farm, the market and the plate. She will highlight how these crops are often not just nutrient-rich but also have a high potential to contribute to livelihoods. They are often also highly resilient to today’s production challenges, such as climate change.
In conclusion, M. Ann Tutwiler will outline the urgent need to identify, promote and protect these useful plants which all have the potential to be placed into a diverse basket of Super Foods when it comes to delivering food and nutrition security.
In light of the 'Soils and pulses: symbiosis for life – A contribution to the Agenda 2030' event that took place at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Bioversity International's researcher Paola De Santis highlighted the importance of pulse diversity in managing pests and diseases in farmers' fields. Planting diverse pulse varieties can reduce the farm’s vulnerability to pests and diseases, and is a risk management strategy for unpredictability in rainfall and temperatures.
Learn more about Bioversity International's research on managing pests and diseases: http://bit.ly/23ZWtBW
Without safeguarding trees, one can't safeguard the forest - Soutenir les Arb...Bioversity International
Keynote presented by Bioversity International's scientist Dr Laura Snook about the importance of forest genetic resources and how without safeguarding trees, one can't safeguard the forest.
Learn more about Bioversity International's research: http://www.bioversityinternational.org/forests/
Agricultural biodiversity in climate change adaptation planning: An analysis of the National Adaptation Programmes of Action - a presentation given at the 15th meeting of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, FAO, Rome, January 2015. Presentation given by Ana Bedmar Villanueva, Michael Halewood and Isabel López from Bioversity International.
Read a news announcement about the new guidelines for use of agrobiodiversity in climate change adaptation planning
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/news/detail/new-guidelines-for-use-of-agricultural-biodiversity-in-climate-change-adaptation-planning/
This work is carried out in collaboration with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
This document discusses the African Union's perspective on implementing the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. It provides background on the evolution of the AU from the OAU. It acknowledges gaps between the OAU Model Law and current international agreements. It also describes AU guidelines developed to help member states harmonize implementation of the NP and ITPGRFA. The guidelines recognize the different scopes and approaches of the two instruments, and encourage coordination between relevant national agencies to develop coherent national approaches.
The document summarizes a workshop on capacity building for the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements in Africa. It describes the objectives of strengthening countries' abilities to implement agreements and highlights achievements like improved negotiation skills. It also outlines challenges like low public awareness and limited political commitment. Recommendations include promoting common activities with initiatives on human resources, science and technology.
Presentation given by Pierre du Plassis, SADC Secretariat, at the Mutual Implementation of the Plant Treaty and the Nagoya Protocol Workshop, Addis Ababa, November 16th.
Feedback on survey results, Ana Bedmar / Michael Halewood, Bioversity International. Presented at the Mutual Implementation of the Plant Treaty and Nagoya Protocol Workshop, Addis Ababa, 17th November
Resilient seed systems and Adaptation to climate change: Some Results from Participatory Climate & Crops Suitability modeling in 8 African Countries. Presentation by Gloria Otieno, Bioversity International given at the 'Mutual Implementation of the Plant Treaty and the Nagoya Protocol' workshop, Assia Ababa, November 16th 2015
Overview of International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agri...Bioversity International
Presentation given by Kent Nnandozie, Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources given at the 'Mutual Implementation of the Plant Treaty and the Nagoya Protocol' workshop, Addis Ababa, November 16th 2015
Mapping Ecosystem Services to Human well-being, MESH, is a decision-support tool which ‘meshes together’ already-existing models of ecosystem services to support integrative land management approaches, and - in the near future - will link these outcomes to indicators of human well-being in the context of the newly-launched Sustainable Development Goals. Take a look at this presentation and follow Natural Capital Project's Dr Justin Johnson's demo of MESH step by step and learn how to use it. Don't forget to download it first: http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/mesh/
EWOCS-I: The catalog of X-ray sources in Westerlund 1 from the Extended Weste...Sérgio Sacani
Context. With a mass exceeding several 104 M⊙ and a rich and dense population of massive stars, supermassive young star clusters
represent the most massive star-forming environment that is dominated by the feedback from massive stars and gravitational interactions
among stars.
Aims. In this paper we present the Extended Westerlund 1 and 2 Open Clusters Survey (EWOCS) project, which aims to investigate
the influence of the starburst environment on the formation of stars and planets, and on the evolution of both low and high mass stars.
The primary targets of this project are Westerlund 1 and 2, the closest supermassive star clusters to the Sun.
Methods. The project is based primarily on recent observations conducted with the Chandra and JWST observatories. Specifically,
the Chandra survey of Westerlund 1 consists of 36 new ACIS-I observations, nearly co-pointed, for a total exposure time of 1 Msec.
Additionally, we included 8 archival Chandra/ACIS-S observations. This paper presents the resulting catalog of X-ray sources within
and around Westerlund 1. Sources were detected by combining various existing methods, and photon extraction and source validation
were carried out using the ACIS-Extract software.
Results. The EWOCS X-ray catalog comprises 5963 validated sources out of the 9420 initially provided to ACIS-Extract, reaching a
photon flux threshold of approximately 2 × 10−8 photons cm−2
s
−1
. The X-ray sources exhibit a highly concentrated spatial distribution,
with 1075 sources located within the central 1 arcmin. We have successfully detected X-ray emissions from 126 out of the 166 known
massive stars of the cluster, and we have collected over 71 000 photons from the magnetar CXO J164710.20-455217.
The cost of acquiring information by natural selectionCarl Bergstrom
This is a short talk that I gave at the Banff International Research Station workshop on Modeling and Theory in Population Biology. The idea is to try to understand how the burden of natural selection relates to the amount of information that selection puts into the genome.
It's based on the first part of this research paper:
The cost of information acquisition by natural selection
Ryan Seamus McGee, Olivia Kosterlitz, Artem Kaznatcheev, Benjamin Kerr, Carl T. Bergstrom
bioRxiv 2022.07.02.498577; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.02.498577
Authoring a personal GPT for your research and practice: How we created the Q...Leonel Morgado
Thematic analysis in qualitative research is a time-consuming and systematic task, typically done using teams. Team members must ground their activities on common understandings of the major concepts underlying the thematic analysis, and define criteria for its development. However, conceptual misunderstandings, equivocations, and lack of adherence to criteria are challenges to the quality and speed of this process. Given the distributed and uncertain nature of this process, we wondered if the tasks in thematic analysis could be supported by readily available artificial intelligence chatbots. Our early efforts point to potential benefits: not just saving time in the coding process but better adherence to criteria and grounding, by increasing triangulation between humans and artificial intelligence. This tutorial will provide a description and demonstration of the process we followed, as two academic researchers, to develop a custom ChatGPT to assist with qualitative coding in the thematic data analysis process of immersive learning accounts in a survey of the academic literature: QUAL-E Immersive Learning Thematic Analysis Helper. In the hands-on time, participants will try out QUAL-E and develop their ideas for their own qualitative coding ChatGPT. Participants that have the paid ChatGPT Plus subscription can create a draft of their assistants. The organizers will provide course materials and slide deck that participants will be able to utilize to continue development of their custom GPT. The paid subscription to ChatGPT Plus is not required to participate in this workshop, just for trying out personal GPTs during it.
Describing and Interpreting an Immersive Learning Case with the Immersion Cub...Leonel Morgado
Current descriptions of immersive learning cases are often difficult or impossible to compare. This is due to a myriad of different options on what details to include, which aspects are relevant, and on the descriptive approaches employed. Also, these aspects often combine very specific details with more general guidelines or indicate intents and rationales without clarifying their implementation. In this paper we provide a method to describe immersive learning cases that is structured to enable comparisons, yet flexible enough to allow researchers and practitioners to decide which aspects to include. This method leverages a taxonomy that classifies educational aspects at three levels (uses, practices, and strategies) and then utilizes two frameworks, the Immersive Learning Brain and the Immersion Cube, to enable a structured description and interpretation of immersive learning cases. The method is then demonstrated on a published immersive learning case on training for wind turbine maintenance using virtual reality. Applying the method results in a structured artifact, the Immersive Learning Case Sheet, that tags the case with its proximal uses, practices, and strategies, and refines the free text case description to ensure that matching details are included. This contribution is thus a case description method in support of future comparative research of immersive learning cases. We then discuss how the resulting description and interpretation can be leveraged to change immersion learning cases, by enriching them (considering low-effort changes or additions) or innovating (exploring more challenging avenues of transformation). The method holds significant promise to support better-grounded research in immersive learning.
When I was asked to give a companion lecture in support of ‘The Philosophy of Science’ (https://shorturl.at/4pUXz) I decided not to walk through the detail of the many methodologies in order of use. Instead, I chose to employ a long standing, and ongoing, scientific development as an exemplar. And so, I chose the ever evolving story of Thermodynamics as a scientific investigation at its best.
Conducted over a period of >200 years, Thermodynamics R&D, and application, benefitted from the highest levels of professionalism, collaboration, and technical thoroughness. New layers of application, methodology, and practice were made possible by the progressive advance of technology. In turn, this has seen measurement and modelling accuracy continually improved at a micro and macro level.
Perhaps most importantly, Thermodynamics rapidly became a primary tool in the advance of applied science/engineering/technology, spanning micro-tech, to aerospace and cosmology. I can think of no better a story to illustrate the breadth of scientific methodologies and applications at their best.
(June 12, 2024) Webinar: Development of PET theranostics targeting the molecu...Scintica Instrumentation
Targeting Hsp90 and its pathogen Orthologs with Tethered Inhibitors as a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategy for cancer and infectious diseases with Dr. Timothy Haystead.
The binding of cosmological structures by massless topological defectsSérgio Sacani
Assuming spherical symmetry and weak field, it is shown that if one solves the Poisson equation or the Einstein field
equations sourced by a topological defect, i.e. a singularity of a very specific form, the result is a localized gravitational
field capable of driving flat rotation (i.e. Keplerian circular orbits at a constant speed for all radii) of test masses on a thin
spherical shell without any underlying mass. Moreover, a large-scale structure which exploits this solution by assembling
concentrically a number of such topological defects can establish a flat stellar or galactic rotation curve, and can also deflect
light in the same manner as an equipotential (isothermal) sphere. Thus, the need for dark matter or modified gravity theory is
mitigated, at least in part.
ESR spectroscopy in liquid food and beverages.pptxPRIYANKA PATEL
With increasing population, people need to rely on packaged food stuffs. Packaging of food materials requires the preservation of food. There are various methods for the treatment of food to preserve them and irradiation treatment of food is one of them. It is the most common and the most harmless method for the food preservation as it does not alter the necessary micronutrients of food materials. Although irradiated food doesn’t cause any harm to the human health but still the quality assessment of food is required to provide consumers with necessary information about the food. ESR spectroscopy is the most sophisticated way to investigate the quality of the food and the free radicals induced during the processing of the food. ESR spin trapping technique is useful for the detection of highly unstable radicals in the food. The antioxidant capability of liquid food and beverages in mainly performed by spin trapping technique.
3. …because of their morphological diversity &
the socio-linguistic diversity of the people
naming them
4. Synonyms
The cultivar ‘Poovan’ (Mysore AAB) is cited as having at least 27
synonyms in India (Singh et al., 2002).
‘Rasthali’ ‘Sugandam’ ‘Ladiyachampa’
5. Homonyms
The name ‘Lady’s Finger’ is used as a homonym for, e.g.:
• a Pome AAB cultivar in India;
• a Muraru AA cultivar in Eastern Africa;
• a Sucrier AA cultivar in Hawaii.
‘Lady’s Finger’ ‘Lady’s Finger’ ‘Lady’s Finger’
6. A “major problem in banana research”*
Abundance & distribution?
*De Langhe, 1990
9. Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars
www.promusa.org/Banana+cultivar+checklist
10. Content as of 08 August 2014*
• 6965 entries
• 4911 local names
• 1940 cultivars
• 39 subgroups
• 15 (genome) groups
• 93 locations
• 38 references
*The content is far from exhaustive and should therefore not be
considered definitive!
12. Insights into the meanings of local names
…lady’s fingers, fingers of a princess, crocodile’s fingers banana,
fingers of a gorilla, monkeys fingers, like nose of a flying fox, like
head of a dog, bull horn, elephant’s tusks, like fish teeth, goat,
sheep, buffalo, striped squirrel, elephant’s tail, look up at the sun,
banana of the dead, spirit of the phantoms, white, copper, gold,
green, red, purplish red, black, night black, excrements, hernia,
foot of a leper, to stretch hands begging, breasts, pregnant
banana, a mother has no heart, broken heart, smile, banana from
Heaven, milk from Heaven, angel’s food banana, spread with
honey, golden banana that the birds told humans they could eat…
13. Current limitations
The checklist is only as reliable as the content it contains. Some
recurring issues:
• the unintentional creation of synonyms (Local names) through
spelling mistakes and ambiguous punctuation;
• a lack of cross-referencing of work on the banana cultivars in a
geographic region or subgroup to earlier work;
• the compilation of checklists that rely on secondary sources of
information.
14. Further ongoing issues
The Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars will never be able to
provide a definitive account of cultivar abundance and distribution
until the following issues are resolved:
description – achieving the comprehensive morpho-taxonomic
description of banana cultivars;
nomenclature – arriving at an internationally accepted name for
each banana cultivar name status field;
classification – elucidating a well-defined classification system for
banana cultivars classification status field.
16. Conclusions
"Since difficulties of nomenclature and classification cause much
confusion in the literature of this group [banana cultivars], all
names employed in the present study are as non-committal as
possible. …in the present state of knowledge it seems better to
use only varietal names for cultivated clones. Even with these
caution is necessary, and little reliance can be placed on apparent
or reported synonymy, because the group is particularly difficult to
study systematically on any but living material”.
Cheesman (1932)
17. Next steps
We hope the Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars will be a
valuable resource for the banana community as a:
• source of information on the cultivars;
• tool to monitor progress towards arriving at:
• internationally accepted cultivar names;
• a well-defined classification system.
We will continue to update the checklist and request submissions
of information and feedback from members of the community.
The suggested citation for the checklist is:
Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars. 2013.
http://www.promusa.org/Banana+cultivar+checklist. (accessed DD/MM/YYYY).
Banana cultivars have been given a multitude of names which is a reflection of both their morphological diversity and of the socio-linguistic diversity of the people naming them in numerous local languages around the world (Jacob, 1952; Stover & Simmonds, 1987; Rossel, 1998; Swennen, 1990).
Within the vernacular names for banana cultivars are a high number of synonyms – different names for the same cultivar; and homonyms – the same name for different cultivars. For instance, the commercial cultivar ‘Poovan’ (Mysore AAB) has at least 27 synonyms in India alone (Singh et al., 2001), including ‘Rasthali’, ‘Sugandam’ and ‘Ladiyachampa’ (Uma & Sathiamoorthy, 2002)
while the name ‘Lady’s Finger’ is used as a homonym to refer to a Pome AAB cultivar in India (Uma & Sathiamoorthy, 2002), a Muraru AA cultivar in Eastern Africa (Karamura et al., 2012), and a Sucrier AA cultivar in Hawaii (Simmonds, 1966), amongst others.
The many names for banana cultivars, including synonyms and homonyms – a situation “which bristles with great difficulties” (Jacob, 1952) is considered one of the “major problems in banana and plantain research” (De Langhe, 1990), and in combination with further difficulties in cultivar description and classification (discussed below) means that we cannot accurately quantify such important details as how many cultivars there are and where they are distributed. As a consequence, we cannot, for example, target in-situ conservation/on-farm management activities or germplasm collecting missions to the regions with the greatest diversity of cultivars, or subgroups, or (genome) groups; monitor cultivar diversity dynamics over time and space, in response to, e.g. the arrival of pests and diseases or the introduction of synthetic hybrids with high yields; or state how representative ex-situ collections are of the in-situ genetic diversity.
However, the huge amount of names for banana cultivars “need not be an insurmountable obstacle if a well cross-indexed check list is available for the tracing of local names” (Allen, 1965) and indeed, many researchers have created such checklists for specific regions and/or subgroups (e.g. Allen, 1965; Simmonds, 1966; Rossel, 1998; Swennen, 1990; Uma & Sathiamoorthy, 2002; Valmayor et al., 2002; Kepler & Rust, 2011; Karamura et al., 2012).
In an effort to bring the large amount of existing information on banana cultivar names and related relevant information into one easily accessible and searchable resource, we have created an online checklist of banana cultivars on the ProMusa website: http://www.promusa.org/Banana+cultivar+checklist. This paper describes the development and structure, the current content and uses, the current limitations, and the next steps for the Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars.
THE DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURE OF THE CHECKLIST
The Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars was developed by the authors for the purpose of providing an exhaustive list of all the names that exist for banana cultivars, with associated information on their location, synonyms, classification, and related relevant information. The content of the checklist was sourced from published and unpublished references and continues to be regularly updated with new information. A beta version of the checklist was reviewed by a number of researchers from the banana community and their comments and suggestions taken into account before it was made publicly available on 17 October 2013.
The structure of the checklist is described in Table 1. The information in the Local name and the Location fields are sourced from the Reference and intended to be an exhaustive representation of banana cultivar names around the world. The Location information can be at the level of departments (e.g. Canary Islands, Hawaii), countries (e.g. Australia, Thailand) or regions (e.g. South America, Western Africa). The Reference field is linked to the citation for the source of information in Musalit (http://www.musalit.org/), where this exists. The Cultivar name is intended to represent the most well-known name of the cultivar, of which the Local names are synonyms. Where no synonyms were provided by the Reference, the Local name is also used as the Cultivar name. All words in the Local and Cultivar names have been capitalised and accents or special characters (e.g. é, ü, õ, ç) removed due to incompatabilities with the software used to create the online checklist.
The information in the Cultivar, Clone set – Cluster, Subgroup, and Group fields is intended to represent the most accurate, up-to-date information that we have on banana cultivar classification, but this requires further work from the community (discussed below) and active curation. This information is predominantly sourced from the Reference but also from other sources of information, especially where, for example, research using modern genetic methods has shown that the Cultivar or Subgroup has a different ploidy level than the one originally postulated by the authors of the Reference using morpho-taxonomic methods.
The Notes field contains further information on the Local name and/or Cultivar as provided by the Reference; most frequently the English translation of the Local name. The Page field contains a link to the cultivar page on the Musapedia cultivar diversity portal (http://www.promusa.org/Diversity+of+banana+cultivars+portal), if a page for the Cultivar exists. The ID field shows the unique identification number of each entry, and the Comms field shows the number of comments made on the entry by users of the checklist, with a link to the comment/s.
THE CURRENT CONTENT AND USES OF THE CHECKLIST
As of 08 August 2014 the Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars contains 6965 entries, with 4911 unique local names, corresponding to 1940 cultivars, in 39 subgroups, in 15 (genome) groups, in 93 locations, with the information being sourced from 38 references. The current content is far from an exhaustive list of all banana names and therefore should not be considered definitive.
The checklist can be used by the research community to find referenced information on banana cultivar names, including synonyms and homonyms, their classification, geographic distribution, and other interesting information. For instance, filtering the checklist for the Cultivar name ‘Poovan’ shows that this cultivar has at least 53 reported synonyms (Local names) in India, which is nearly double the previously reported number of 27 synonyms (Singh et al. 2001); and filtering for the Group AB shows that cultivars of this group have a reported distribution in India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Caribbean, Guyana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. (Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars, 2013).
The Notes field provides interesting insights into the meaning of the Local names, for instance: from the Solomon Islands - ‘Broken Heart’, where to have a broken heart over something means that you love it very much, ‘Tohepusia’ which means not to share with (because it is so good), and ‘Huki Matawa’ which means banana from Heaven; from Thailand - ‘Klue Nom Sawan’ which means milk from Heaven, and ‘Klue Tiparot’ which means angel’s food banana; from Myanmar - ‘Pya-ye San’ which means spread with honey, and ‘Shwe Hnget-pyaw’ which means golden banana that the birds told humans they could eat; from Cameroon – ‘Do Koko’ which means fingers of gorilla, and ‘Somu Ya’ which means elephants tail, named because of the erect bunch (Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars, 2013).
THE CURRENT LIMITATIONS OF THE CHECKLIST
The Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars is as reliable as the content that it contains. Some of the issues noticed by the authors during the compilation of the checklist are briefly bullet-pointed below and we would request the community to be mindful of these when undertaking and publishing relevant work.
The unintentional creation of synonyms (Local names) through spelling mistakes and ambiguous punctuation;
A lack of cross-referencing of work on the banana cultivars in a region or subgroup to earlier work, leading to multiple, similar checklists that are relatively independent of one another;
The compilation of checklists that rely on secondary sources of information, and thus may perpetuate earlier mistakes and may not accurately represent the status of banana cultivars in a region at the time of publication.
Furthermore, the Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars will never be able to provide a definitive account of banana cultivar abundance and distribution until the following issues of description, nomenclature and classification are resolved.
Description: achieving the comprehensive morpho-taxonomic description of banana cultivars
The morpho-taxonomic diversity of the banana cultivars is due to their genetic background (ploidy level and wild species contributions), somatic mutations, and phenotypic plasticity across crop cycles (time) and locations (space). According to De Langhe (1990), “Numerous researchers are convinced that the lack of standardised tools and methods for proper identification of cultivars is one of the basic reasons for the slow rate of progress in this crop”. It is therefore vital that morpho-taxonomic characters of the banana cultivars are described using a comprehensive list of descriptors (e.g. IPGRI, 1996) that contain sufficient “necessary characters for identification” (Kepler & Rust, 2011) to allow the identification and circumscription of cultivars; and that the interpretation of the character states is standardised amongst researchers so as not to introduce apparent morphological differences between cultivars due to an ‘observer effect’ (or ‘curator’, ‘researcher’ effect).
Nomenclature: arriving at an internationally accepted name for each banana cultivar
The comprehensive description of banana cultivars would allow for the better detection of synonyms and homonyms amongst their given names. Once the synonymous names for a cultivar are known, one of them could be chosen to be used as the ‘internationally accepted name’ for the cultivar. As stated by Allen (1965), “It would be foolish to pretend that there is any such thing as a ‘correct’ common name of universal application but it is precisely there that the trouble lies”. Whilst it is generally recommended that people continue to use their own local names for the banana cultivars (Simmonds, 1966; Stover & Simmonds, 1987), at the very least the ‘internationally accepted’ cultivar name would be used in the Cultivar column of the Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars to link all the synonymous names in the Local names field together.
To aid this effort, we have included a ‘Name status’ column in the checklist to refer to the legitimacy of the Cultivar name as the internationally accepted name for the cultivar - this column is currently hidden but can be made visible once the community begins to take action towards this goal.
Classification: elucidating a well-defined classification system for banana cultivars
The system of classification of the banana cultivars in common usage is the system developed by Simmonds & Shepherd (1955) that has the hierarchical levels of cultivar, occasionally clone set (Karamura, 1998; Pickersgill & Karamura, 1999) or some other intermediate group, subgroup, and (genome) group, as described in Table 1. However, as remarked upon many years later by one of the original authors, “This system was elaborated in the early 1950s, based on the observations, to some degree subjective, of one person working in a single environment. The intention then, as it is believed that Simmonds would agree, was only to elucidate the genomic structure of the cultivars and not to create an international taxonomic tool, as the system has recently tended to become. For this purpose it has admitted weaknesses…” (Shepherd, 1990).
Though further elaborated upon in 1987 by Stover & Simmonds, the classification levels remain undefined and therefore the circumscription of the biological entities into cultivars, clone sets, subgroups and groups is not standardised amongst researchers, resulting in much confusion. For instance, Stover & Simmonds (1987) introduced the following inconsistency in the same paragraph: “… it is sometimes convenient to distinguish collectively a set of clones related to each other by bud mutation from a single original clone – thus we have the Cavendish subgroup of the AAA Group. … Similarly we can use the name Plantain Subgroup even though it is far from certain that a single clone was the parent of the subgroup; possibly two or three related clones were responsible”.
Furthermore, the issue of synonymy also applies to the names of the subgroups, e.g. Lujugira-Mutika and EAHB (East African Highland bananas), Mysore and Poovan, Pome and Prata; as well as inconsistent spelling and/or punctuation, e.g. Popo’ulu and Popoulu.
To aid efforts towards defining the classification system of the banana cultivars and their first classification or revision into natural hierarchical groups, we have included a ‘Classification status’ column in the checklist to refer to the legitimacy of the classification structure - again this column is currently hidden but can be made visible once the community begins to take action towards this goal.
Conclusions and next steps
CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS FOR THE CHECKLIST
As stated by Cheesman as long ago as 1932, "Since difficulties of nomenclature and classification cause much confusion in the literature of this group [banana cultivars], all names employed in the present study are as non-committal as possible. …in the present state of knowledge it seems better to use only varietal names for cultivated clones. Even with these caution is necessary, and little reliance can be placed on apparent or reported synonymy, because the group is particularly difficult to study systematically on any but living material”. The resolution of the above mentioned long-standing issues in the description, nomenclature and classification of the banana cultivars – in combination with the standardised adoption and application of the solutions by the research community on living material around the world – would enable us to authoritatively answer many of the outstanding questions we have regarding banana cultivar evolution, abundance and distribution.
We hope the Online Checklist of the Banana Cultivars will be a valuable resource for the banana community, both as a source of information on the cultivars and as a tool to monitor the progress towards arriving at an internationally accepted name for each cultivar, and elucidating a well-defined classification system. We will continue to update the checklist with information from more references and we request submissions of information from all members in the community (please contact the corresponding author r.crichton@cgiar.org or the manager of the ProMusa website musapedia@promusa.org).
The suggested citation for the checklist is: Online Checklist of Banana Cultivars. 2013. http://www.promusa.org/Banana+cultivar+checklist. (accessed DD/MM/YYYY).