This week in the world of gardening, scientists have mapped the pineapple genome, a debate rages over organic hydroponics, and wheat breeders try to bring back healthy, flavorful bread.
Better Bread from Better Wheat
Above: Stephen Jones at the Bread Lab. Photo by Rika Manabe for Norah magazine.
The New York Times describes the work of wheat scientist Stephen Jones and his Mount Vernon, Washington “Bread Lab,” a project of Washington State University. At the lab, Jones attempts “to reinvent the most important food in history.” He is focused on heritage regional wheats that once produced flavorful and healthy breads across America before the advent of industrial agriculture. His work in wheat breeding aims to combine the health and flavor of heritage strains with the hardiness of modern wheats. “The Bread Lab’s mission is to make regional grain farming viable once more.” Read it at the New York Times. (Subscription may be required.)
American Birdsong Smartphone App
Above: A prothonotary warbler in Lake Marion, South Carolina. Photo via the Internet Bird Collection.
According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, about 20 percent of Americans—nearly 50 million people—call themselves bird watchers. Many are novices, or "backyard birders," who will soon have help from musician and birder Tom Stephenson. He's developed an app called BirdGenie, which allows anyone with a smartphone to identify birdsongs across the United States. It's not the first birdsong identification app—the most famous is a UK app called Warblr—but it is the first comprehensive app to identify American birds and the first to use highly accurate sonogram technology. Like other apps, it allows users to act as “citizen scientists” and upload their recordings to a central database. BirdGenie is currently in beta; the full version is expected to be released in early 2016. Read more at the New Yorker. (Subscription may be required).
Scientists Map the Pineapple Genome
Above: A pineapple plantation in Taiwan. Photo by Melinda Chan on Flickr.
On November 2 in journal Nature Genetics, scientists announced that the gene sequence of the pineapple has been mapped. Pineapple genes are of special interest to researchers because of the plant's drought tolerance and water-efficient brand of photosynthesis, known as CAM, which uses 20 to 80 percent less water than typical crop plants. Read more at Reuters.
Are Hydroponics Organic?
Above: Lettuce grown at an Amish hydroponic farm in Indiana. Photo via Future Growing.
There's debate among organic farmers about whether crops raised in hydroponic greenhouses should be allowed to carry the designation “organic.” Federal rules currently allow some produce grown without soil to carry the label. According to one side of the argument, "It's a basic principle of organic farming that you feed the soil, not the plant, that you cultivate the life in the soil." But hydroponic growers argue that plants grown hydroponically—in sand, water, or gravel—are equally organic as long as they do not use any synthetic materials. The issue arises as the National Organic Standards Board—a volunteer group that makes organic agriculture policy recommendations to the US Department of Agriculture—is set to meet in Vermont this week. Read more at the Associated Press.
Biomimicry May Feed the World
Above: Polli Snack, a student submission in the design challenge, is a fully biodegradable snack pack filled with soil and seeds so the user can plant his or her trash—and grow more food—instead of throwing it away.
The Montana-based nonprofit Biomimicry Institute has closed its inaugural Food Systems Design Challenge, which asked entrepreneurs and designers to improve global food production systems by emulating nature. Among the winners and finalists: a Filtration System that mimics a wetlands mechanism to filter pollutants from water, an Urban Crop system that mimics a beehive with stackable bins for growing food at home, and a third that copies the Pitcher Plant as a trap for protein-rich insects as a food source. Read the story in the Guardian.
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