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angelsaxis · 2 years

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My favorite line from this:

"...I'm not one for making teleological arguments, but I can tell you that somehow, despite our savagery, we have been over-provided for, and I believe it is a sign of love."

(essay under cut)

Imagine cupping an Ansault pear in your palm, polishing its golden-green belly on your shirtsleeve. Imagine raising it to your lips and biting, the crisp snap as a wafer of buttery flesh falls on your tongue. Imagine the juice shooting out—you bend at the waist and scoot your feet back to prevent the drops from falling on your sneakers. . . .

Imagine it all you can, for it's all you can do. You'll never eat an Ansault pear. They are extinct, and have been for decades: dead as dodo birds. How could this happen to a pear variety which agriculturist U. P. Hetrick described, in a 1921 report called "The Pears of New York," as "better than any other pear," with a "rich sweet flavor, and distinct but delicate perfume"? The dismaying truth is that you can apply that question to thousands of fruits and vegetables. In the last few decades we've lost varieties of almost every crop species. Where American farmers once chose from among 7,000 apple varieties, they now choose from 1,000. Beans, beets, millet, peanuts, peas, sweet potatoes, and rice all have suffered a large reduction in varieties. In fact, over 90 percent of crops that were grown in 1900 are gone.

Of course, next to "Save the Whales," a bumper sticker reading "Save the White Wonder Cucumbers" sounds a bit silly. And as long as we haven't lost pears altogether, the loss of a particular variety, no matter how good, isn't cataclysmic. We have a lot of other worries. How many years of sunlight do we have left? Of clean air? Water? But when we lose a variety of pear or cucumber, even one we're not likely to taste, or, in an analogous situation, when we lose a language, even one we're not likely to hear, we're losing a lot more than we think. We're losing millions of bits of genetic information that could help us solve our big questions, like who we are and what we're doing here on earth.

Farming has always been subject to the manipulations of human desires, but up until the last several decades these manipulations increased crop diversity. Long before Mendel came along, our farmer ancestors were practicing a kind of backyard Darwinism. Early Peruvian farmers, for example, noticed mutations among the colors of their cotton fibers, and by breeding the cotton selectively, they were able to grow different colors to weave vibrant cloth. When farmers moved, they took their seeds with them, and various growing conditions increased crop diversity even further as the varieties reacted to new environments or evolved new defenses for pests or blights. And in this way farmers farmed for about 10,000 years. Even at the beginning of this century, small farms were varied; each grew many crops and sometimes several varieties of a particular crop. If a blight attacked one species of a farmer's corn, it was likely that the farmer, or another farmer nearby, would also have grown a variety of corn that turned out to be resistant.

But as the century wore on, agribusiness was born. Now, giant agricultural agencies develop fruits and vegetables specifically for giant farms, which concentrate on a single variety of a single crop sanctioned for high-yield growth. These new crops aren't self-reliant—many hybrids can't even produce offspring, putting an end to the age-old tradition of gathering seeds from the current harvest for next year's crop. They are dependent upon intensive fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides. They are grown only if they can withstand mechanical harvesting and the rigors of shipping to distant markets, and these packing considerations shape our diet in startling ways, as anyone who's followed the quest for the square tomato can tell you. Some biotech companies have taken the human manipulations of crops to a profitable—if seemingly unnatural—extreme. Biotech giant Monsanto, maker (and dumper) of hazardous chemicals like PCB, filed for a patent in 1997 for a seed whose germination depends not on being exposed to a rise in temperature or an inch of rainfall, but being exposed to a certain chemical.

So now, according to the International Food Information Council, we have scientists crossing two potatoes to make a new hybrid which will be higher in starch and need less oil for frying, resulting in lower-fat fries. But genetic engineers don't stop with crossing two kinds of potatoes. Genes from a potato could be crossed with a carrot, or a banana, or a daschund, if genetic engineers thought such a crossing would improve the potato's shelf-life. Recently, genetic engineers have crossed the strawberry with a gene from the flounder to make a strawberry resistant to cold. In this way, millions of years of nature's "decisions"—which crops should fail, which thrive, which qualities parents should pass to their offspring—are reversed almost overnight. The Union of Concerned Scientists is—well—concerned. Poet W. S. Merwin likens our position in history now to the start of the nuclear age—we are rushing to embrace technology that will change us in unalterable, unforeseeable ways.

A problem with miracles is that sometimes they don't last. A miracle yield hybrid's defenses are often based on a single gene, an easy thing for continuously evolving pests to overcome. And meanwhile, back at the ranch, there is no more ranch—the small farms that grew the original parent varieties that crossed to make the super vegetable have failed. The parents are extinct. Unless genetic raw material resistant to the pest can be found in some other variety, the hybrid will be lost as well.

The first crop to be nearly wiped out due to lack of genetic diversity is the humble spud, which the Europeans brought home with them after "discovering" the New World. King Louis XVI of France saw the potato's potential for feeding the poor and was determined to spread the crop. He knew that publicly endorsing the potato, however, would earn it the commoner's enmity. So Louis grew a bumper crop and had the field guarded all day, but he removed the guards at night so the locals could raid the field. Potatoes were soon growing throughout France and beyond. In Ireland, the potato became the staple crop—by the 1840s a third of the Irish were dependent on it for nourishment. But since all the potatoes grown in Europe were the descendants of that original handful of potatoes brought over from the Andes, the crop had a narrow gene pool. When Phytophtora infestans struck in 1845, the potato lacked the resistance to combat it. The Freeman's Journal reported on Sept. 11 of that year that a "cholera" had rotted the fields; one farmer announced that he "had been digging potatoes—the finest he had ever seen" on Monday, but when he returned Tuesday he found "the tubers all blasted, and unfit for the use of man or beast." A five-year famine followed that slashed the population of Ireland by 20 percent, killing between one to two million people and forcing one to two million others to emigrate to the U.S. The potato was saved only when resistance to the blight was found in more diversified varieties of the potato still growing in the Andes and Mexico. Had it not been, it's unlikely the potato would be around today as a major crop.

While the potato famine might seem like dusty history, the U.S. corn blight proves we're not doing much to stop history from repeating itself. In Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity, environmentalists Cary Fowler and Pat Mooney describe the 1970s hybrid corn plants as "sitting ducks." As a result of a cost-cutting measure, each of the several hundred varieties of hybrid corn seed had the same type of cytoplasm. That made the entire crop susceptible to any disease that could come along and exploit that uniformity—and, of course, one did. Even today we have several dangerously unstable crops including—gulp—coffee and chocolate. The dangers of genetic uniformity are currently being cited in an altogether new arena—the Genome Project. Now that scientists have engineered vegetable hybrids, what's stopping scientists from creating human hybrids? Could cloning so narrow our gene pool that a single epidemic could destroy us like the potato blight nearly destroyed the potato?

Imagine hiking high into the Sierra Nevadas and coming across the Northern Pomos. Imagine being able to converse with them in their language. Imagine clicking your tongue against the back of your teeth to say "sunset," aspirating in your throat to say "waterfall." Imagine learning the idiomatic expression for "hungover" and using it to great effect, comparing it with others you know—how the Japanese expression for "hungover" translates as "suffer the two-day dizzies," how Italians say "I'm out of tune," how the Czechs say "there's a monkey swinging in my head," how Arabs don't have any word at all for "hungover." Imagine trading recipes with an elderly Northern Pomo, then walking with his wife through a stand of ponderosa pine, their trunks so thin, because of the high atmosphere, that you could fit your hand around them. You tell her you need to stop talking, for you've developed a sore throat. She questions you about it, then bends down to a small plant and yanks it out of the ground. This yerba del manza will soothe your throat, she tells you, and she gives hints on how to recognize the plant again should your soreness return. Imagine going to bed that night, your throat calmed, your mind blossoming with Northern Pomo words that will fill the cartoon bubbles of your dreams. . . .

Imagine it all you want, but Northern Pomo, spoken for millennia in Northern California, has perished like the Ansault pear; its last speaker, a woman in her eighties, died a few years ago.

Today we have the impression that there's a rough 1:1 correlation between countries and languages; each nation is monolingual. But this has never been the case. In the sixteenth century, for instance, five major languages were spoken in the English King's domain. Our country was especially language rich because each Native American tribe clung fiercely to its tongue as a signifier of cultural difference; Edward G. Gray in New World Babel estimates that, when European contact occurred, there were between 1,000 and 2,000 distinct tongues in the Americas, nearly half of which are now extinct. A graphic way to understand this is to peruse the maps in The Atlas of World Languages edited by C. Moseley and R. E. Asher. The maps showing pockets of language before the colonizers arrived in America are many-colored, many-patterned quilts; each subsequent map is increasingly bleached, increasingly pattern-free.

Languages don't die because they are in any way inferior or deficient, as has been sometimes supposed in the past. They die because of pressures on minority communities to speak the majority language. Sometimes this pressure is economic, as seen, for example, with the Waimiri-Atroari of Brazil, a tribe of 500 people in the Brazilian Amazon, whose tongue is listed in the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages. The Waimiri-Atroari are mostly monolingual, but they have experienced increasing contact with the Portuguese-speaking majority. The tribe is growing in bilingual members because learning Portuguese widens the Waimiri-Atroari's potential market from 500 members to 160 million. As the proportion of bilingual members of the tribe rises, members of the tribe might begin using Portuguese when speaking to each other; it follows that the motivation for children to learn their native tongue will erode. The language's death will surely follow.

Sometimes the pressure for a minority community to speak the majority language is not economic but political, as has been the case with Native American languages in the U.S. since European settlement began. Early U.S. settlers had a romantic notion of language difference as a cause of personality difference. Since some Native American languages were found to lack abstract concepts like salvation, Lord, and redemption, the settlers presumed the speakers of these languages to be unable to grasp these higher concepts. It seemed to follow that Native Americans' salvation could only be achieved by "liberating" them from their restrictive native tongues. "In the present state of affairs," Albert Gallatin wrote of Native Americans in Archaeologia Americana in 1836, "no greater demand need be made on their intellectual faculties, than to teach them the English language; but this so thoroughly, that they may forget their own." In his report on Indian affairs, Reverend Jedediah Morse recommended the suppression of any texts in Native American tongues. There were supporters of America's original languages—Thomas Jefferson, for one, compiled vocabulary lists of Native American words throughout his lifetime. But even today we haven't a national policy of language preservation. In fact, between 1981 and 1990, fifteen states enacted "Official English" laws to guarantee English as the language of the U.S. government. As Alexis de Tocqueville observed in his 1839 Democracy in America, "the majority lays down the law about language as about all else."

Languages are termed "moribund" if they are spoken only by a small group of older people and not being learned by children. These languages stand in contrast to "safe" languages, as defined by criteria set out in Robins and Uhlenbeck's Endangered Languages. A safe language has, at a minimum, "a community of 100,000 speakers" and the "official support of a nation-state." These numbers don't necessarily represent a swelling, robust population—Gaelic, for example, is among the safe languages—but 80 percent of the languages spoken in North America fail to meet even those standards. In Australia, 90 percent of the languages are moribund. As I write this, sixty-seven languages in Africa are being spoken for what may be the last time. The more fortunate of them are being documented by linguists, who spend much of their professional lives rushing to record a language before it dies. When it does, they find themselves in the rather lonely position of linguist Bill Shipley, the last human being on earth who can speak Maidu.

In my girlhood I thought that languages were codes that corresponded; each word in English had its exact equivalent in every other language, and language study was the memorization of these codes. Later when I studied my first languages I learned that such codes do not exist; each language is a unique repository of the accumulated thoughts and experiences of a community. What do we learn about a culture by examining its language? The Inuit people live in the northernmost regions of the world, in small, roadless communities on the ice, and lack our modern electronic conveniences. They have no word for boredom. Poet Anne Carson writes of the Yamana of Argentina, a tribe extinct by the beginning of the twentieth century, who had fifteen names for clouds, fifty for different kinds of kin. Among the Yamana variations of the verb "to bite" was one that meant "to come surprisingly on a hard substance when eating something soft, e.g., a pearl in a mussel." The Zuni speak reverently of "penaµ taµshana," a "long talk prayer" so potent it can only be recited once every four years. The Delaware Indians have a term of affection, "wulamalessohalian," or "thou who makest me happy." The Papago of the Sonoran Desert say "S-banow" as the superlative of "one whose breath stinks like a coyote."

During this century, eighty-seven languages spoken in the Amazon basin have become extinct because their native speakers were scattered or killed. Some of these forest dwellers were both nonviolent (their languages lacked vocabulary words for war and bloodshed) and democratic (they included terms for collective decision making). When these languages died, they took with them not only the specialized knowledge that the tribes had gained from thousands of years of natural healing and conservation, but ways of living we might have done well to study. In the absence of these examples, as John Adams wrote, "we are left to grope in the dark and puzzle ourselves to explain a thousand things which would have appeared very simple if we had . . . the pure light of antiquity."

But even beyond this rather romantic notion of the need for language preservation, there are concrete and empirical losses to science when languages become extinct. There's a wealth of information that can be extracted from languages by the use of statistical techniques, and this information can be used not only by linguists, but by anthropologists, cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists, geneticists, and population biologists, among others. Hypotheses about human migration patterns can be tested by seeing whether words have been assimilated into a language from the languages of nearby populations. Hypotheses about neural structures and processes can be tested by analyzing the phonology and syntax of a language. Hypotheses about the hardware of our brains capable of generating sentences can be tested against the different sentences. What must all infant brains have in common that any child can acquire any language? The more data we have, the closer we can come to answering questions such as this. Furthermore, recent studies indicate that language learning causes cognitive and neural changes in an individual. At a recent conference at the Center for Theories of Language and Learning, Dr. Mark Pagel argued that when a child acquires a disposition to categorize objects through word-learning, some neural connections in the brain are strengthened, while others are weakened or eliminated. Previous learning affects a system's way of categorizing new stimuli, and so Pagel concluded that, although it may be true that all humans "think in the same way," one's native language influences one's perceptions. When we lose linguistic diversity we suffer a consequent loss in the range of ways of experiencing the world.

Yet we needn't constrain ourselves to discussions of hard science, for the issues involved in diversity are more far-reaching. If the language ability, as many theorists hold, is what separates us from animals, it is the central event of human evolution. Each language that dies takes with it everything it might have taught us about this unique aspect of our constitution. If language is a well-engineered biological instinct, as Steven Pinker argues in The Language Instinct, each language that dies takes from us another clue to the mystery of what keeps the spider spinning her web or the hen warming the eggs in her nest. The cognitive organization which shapes our language facilities also shapes other mental activities related to language, such as music and mathematics. Each language that dies not only weakens linguistics but all of these related fields—all fields, in fact, that seek to understand the human brain. Each language that dies takes from us a few crucial parts of nature's tale, so much of which (even how and when the universe was created) still eludes us. In fact, each language that dies weakens our most vital challenge—to engage the world in all its complexity and to find meaning there. This is the definition of both art and religion. To lessen the complexity of the world is to lessen our moral struggle.

I've written "personal essays" before, and this isn't one of them. I haven't told you very much about myself. I haven't told you if I'm a scientist (I'm not) or a linguist (I'm not). I'm a poet. So the argument could be made (perhaps some of you are making it right now) that I'm not qualified to write this essay. But I'm qualified to make metaphors, and that's what I've tried to do. I read books on crops and languages and I begin to hear them speaking to each other, and soon the desire is born in me to speak of them to you.

I've argued for empirical reasons we need diversity on our table and in our ears. But I think one of the most important reasons we need diversity isn't based on grubby need, isn't based on a what-can-nature-do-for-me mentality. I don't want the argument to rest solely on that because plenty of people will think they have all that they need. And in a way they're right. After all, we live in an era of hysterical data. It's exhausting. Let's have enough faith in our own self-interest, if in nothing else, to assume we will never lose the pear or the potato. Let's have enough faith in our own torpidity, if in nothing else, to assume we will never have a unilingual world. So okay, we lose a few varieties of Ethiopian sorghum—varieties once so beloved they were named "Why Bother with Wheat?" and "Milk in my Cheeks." Do we really need forty kinds? Isn't four enough? It's not like only having four friends, or even four varieties of dogs. A seed company streamlining its offerings isn't like a museum streamlining its Van Gogh collection. And if we lose a few obscure languages, maybe that's the price one pays for having fewer translators and English as a "universal business language," saving time, frustration, and money. Why should we be overly concerned if what's lost wasn't useful to us in the first place?

Of course, there's an old rejoinder but a good one—our responsibility to the future. In poem No. 1748, Emily Dickinson writes, "If nature will not tell the tale / Jehovah told to her / Can human nature not survive / without a listener?" But nature ceaselessly tries to tell her tale to the patient and attentive, and her tale is still unfolding. Each seemingly interchangeable variety of sorghum contains a distinct link of DNA that reveals part of nature's story. Similarly, each language is a biological phenomenon that reveals millions of bits of genetic information and contains within itself clues that help us understand how our brains are organized. What clues our progeny will need is beyond our power to know. We can't imagine what will be useful, necessary, what will provide a link, prove or disprove a hypothesis. Losing plants, losing languages: it's like losing pieces to a puzzle we'll have to put together in a thousand years, but by then puzzles may look entirely different. We might put them together in the dark, with our toes.

Yet beyond the idea of what will be useful to future generations, we, right here, right now, have a need for needless diversity. A world with fewer fruits and vegetables isn't only a world with an endangered food supply. It's also a world with less flavor, less aroma, less color. We suffer a diminution of choice. As Gregory McNamee writes in "Wendell Berry and the Politics of Agriculture," we're experiencing "an impoverishment of forms, a loss of the necessary complexity that informs an art rightly practiced."[1] And a world with fewer languages isn't only a world with more limited means of communication. It's also a world with fewer stories and folk tales, fewer hagiographies, fewer poems, myths, and recipes, fewer remedies, fewer memories. We possess the accumulated vision and wisdom of fewer cultures. We become like hybrid corn: less diverse, with less accumulated defenses, susceptible to dangers that our "parents" might have battled and overcome, dangers they could have helped us with, were they not in their graves.

What I want to say is this: for twenty-eight years I've been carrying on a love affair with words and the world and I've come to believe that the sheer magnitude of creation blesses us. The gross numbers, the uncountability of it; as if the world were a grand, grand room full of books and though we might read all we can we will never, ever outstrip its riches. A thought both unsettling and comforting. If we are stewards of the world, we are stewards of a charge beyond our comprehension; even now science can tell us less about the number of species we have on earth than about the number of stars in our galaxy. There is something important in the idea of this fecundity, this abundance, this escape hatch for our imaginations. I have read Robert Frost's poem "Design," and I have read Gordon Grice's essay on how the black widow spider kills her prey with ten times the amount of poison she needs, and I'm not one for making teleological arguments, but I can tell you that somehow, despite our savagery, we have been over-provided for, and I believe it is a sign of love.

Poet Wendell Berry urges us to care for "the unseeable animal," even if it means we never see it. So, I would argue, must we care for the untastable vegetable, the unhearable language, which add their link, as we add ours, to nature's still-unfolding tale. They deepen nature's mystery even as they provide clues to help us comprehend that mystery. They enrich us not only because they can serve us, not only because they are useful, but because theyare. Their existence contributes to the complexity of the world in which we are, a world we still strive—thankfully, nobly—to understand.

#angel posts #angel reads #this is required reading idc #linguistics #language

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downtoearthmarkets · 2 years

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If you’re looking for a healthy, natural and “greener” way to optimize your hydration game during the long, hot late summer months, seasonal, locally grown fruits offer a great alternative to sugary sodas and artificial sports drinks. Many summer fruits contain a high-water content as well as a diversity of vitamins and minerals, so increasing your intake will help keep you well-hydrated while delivering a host of important nutrients with every delicious bite. Melons, in particular, are especially rich in water content and are coming into season about now, just in time to quench the thirsts of multitudes of parched farmers market shoppers. So, right on cue, here are some ideas on how to incorporate the top three most common melons you’ll currently find at our farmstalls into your daily hydration habits. Cantaloupe Cantaloupes most likely originated in the Middle East, but get their name from Cantalupo, Italy where they were widely cultivated during the 1700s. Cantaloupes are a super hydrating fruit as they are comprised of 90% water while being chockful of antioxidants, including beta carotene and lutein. The fruit also delivers almost 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. When choosing a cantaloupe, follow your nose and pick the one that has a sweet, slightly pungent fragrance. My husband John and I compete in Ironman triathlons together. After a long, intense training session, we are looking to replenish lost electrolytes, calories, and fluid. As part of our post-workout regime, John whips up smoothies in the kitchen blender containing a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrates and vegan protein powder, specifically designed to help with rehydration and muscle recovery. Now that cantaloupes are in season, they are his go-to fruit for adding extra flavor, nutrients, water, and carbs (in the form of glucose, sucrose and fructose) to his smoothie mixology. John shares his “not-so-secret” cantaloupe recovery drink recipe with us here: • 1 scoop vegan protein powder (pea, rice, hemp, pumpkin seed) • 2 cups of cubed chilled cantaloupe • 1 cup blueberries or raspberries • 1.5 cups plain yogurt • 3 ounces of honey or maple syrup • 1 teaspoon spirulina • 6 ice cubes Canary Melon Canary melons are often compared with American footballs to describe their size and shape, while their bright yellow skin sets them apart from their honeydew cousins. The pale, delicate flesh inside belies their colorful exterior and is similar in taste and texture to that of Asian pear, but with extra tanginess. Like cantaloupes, canary melons contain 90% water and are delicious in smoothies, ice pops and sorbet. If you’re looking for a different kind of hydration experience, pick up a bottle of locally-crafted liquor from one of our spirits vendors to make a boozy frozen melon granita with. Canary melons are easy to spot in farmers market stalls this time of year – just look for the telltale daffodil-toned rind. Watermelon Just like its name suggests, watermelon is made up of 92% water, crowning it the hydrating superstar of the melon family. Because watermelon is also naturally high in electrolytes including potassium and magnesium, it can rehydrate you more effectively than plain water alone. You’ll find both the seedless and seeded varieties in our farmers markets. Contrary to widespread belief, seedless watermelon is not a genetically modified (GMO) fruit. Rather, it has been cross-bred or ‘hybridized’ to specifically select for the seedless trait. At a festive patio party in Brooklyn last summer, I had my first ever introduction to watermelon slushie. I couldn’t believe it had been missing from my life up until that moment! It was made from a simple concoction of ripe, seedless watermelon whizzed in the blender along with crushed ice and a dash of freshly squeezed lime juice, then served in a bowl made from the hollowed-out rind. Needless to say, John and I now regularly prepare watermelon slushies to hydrate with during our workouts instead of Gatorade and other sugary sports drinks. So be sure to drink from the cup of melon season while it lasts, as we'll all be feeling rather melon-choly once it's done!

#downtoearthmkts #melon season #summer fruits #hydration #smoothie #muscle recovery #smoothie recipe #recovery drink #hydrating food #hydrating foods for body

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wotr123 · 2 months

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Agriculture NGO In Rajasthan: Traditional Methods Of Preservation Of Kharif Seeds At Family and Community Level

Agriculture and animal husbandry are the main sources of income for farmers, particularly tribal farmers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. As the basis of agriculture, seeds represent a priceless legacy from nature. For millennia, our predecessors have painstakingly worked to refine and cultivate consumables like cereals, fruits, tubers, and so forth. The farming, agricultural, and animal husbandry cultures were born out of their labours. Agriculture NGO in Rajasthan acknowledging the significance of superior seeds has led to the creation of techniques for identifying them and storing them safely all year round. Our tribal group has been conserving seeds for years, and it has become an essential aspect of our culture.

The ability to recognise and preserve seeds is inherited and continues to be practiced even in the face of increasing commercial pressures. The idea of Beej Swaraj is the result of the community's ongoing efforts to conserve its ancient knowledge. Our tribal farmers in the area have maintained hundreds of seed kinds, and this is their tradition. They have devised a variety of methods for reliably preserving seeds in addition to saving seeds of all sorts. But the tendency of adopting hybrid seeds started because of the market's growing power. Expenses for other inputs like pesticides, chemical fertilisers, and irrigation also went up at the same time.

This led to the contamination of the fields' soil and water and the entanglement of farmers in a web of debt due to their avarice. Under such circumstances, native seeds that are abundant in regional traits must be preserved. We can begin this task immediately, now. All of us have just harvested summer crops, including millet, finger millet, barnyard millet, tiny millet, foxtail millet, corn, lentils, rice, pigeon pea, peanuts, sesame and others. Once the crops have been harvested and threshed, we may grade the resulting seeds. We may use a variety of techniques to gather and store seeds if we choose seeds that are consistent in size, kind, and colour and free of pests and illnesses.

Kabla: At the Agriculture NGO in Rajasthan traditionally, traditional seed storage containers known as "kabla" are constructed from bamboo or other types of wood. After that, a combination of clay and cow dung is applied to these kablas. Following their sun-drying process, these kablas are used to store seeds, including wheat, corn and rice. Before being stored, neem leaves are laid out at the base of the kabla, and seeds are arranged sporadically, separated by neem leaves. Until the kabla is full, this process is repeated. The top layer is then covered with neem leaves, sagwan or coconut leaves, and, lastly, a combination of clay and cow dung is used to seal it before packaging.

Pulses: Pulses of all kinds, including urad, moong, chana, toor, jhala, tilhan, and other seeds that need less moisture than grains, are stored in pots of varying sizes. With the help of Agriculture NGO in Rajasthan the seeds are sun-dried to remove any moisture and bugs before being planted in the pots. Before combining them with ash and filling the pots, conserved seeds are additionally sun-dried. Before packing, a combination of cow dung and clay is used to seal the top portion of the pot. Remove the top layer and take the seeds when it's time to sow or when seeds are needed. The seeds are thus shielded for two to three days.

Hanging Whole Fruits: Certain vegetables, such bottle, ridge, and sponge gourds, may be preserved securely in their mature fruits. Using this technique, a ripe bottle gourd is dried, its seeds are taken out, and it is hollowed out. It is then filled with additional vegetable seeds, covered with a cloth-sealed lid, and treated with a cow dung and urine combination. This aids in the seeds' safety.

To save the seeds of fruits and vegetables (e.g., maize, beans, eggplant), tie them into a bundle and hang them somewhere that will keep them dry and exposed to air and sunshine.

The best way to preserve onion and garlic seeds is to knot them into bundles and hang them in a dark, well-ventilated area.

Similarly, seeds may be preserved by using castor and mustard oil. To do this, oil is added to the seeds and stirred until the seeds lose their ability to glow.

In a field corner, a pit is dug to store seeds such as ginger, turmeric, arbi (colocasia), musli, etc. After planting seeds, the hole is filled with leaves and grass.

Seed Attachment to Teak or Bamboo Leaves: The seeds are adhered to the leaves of teak or bamboo trees for fruits that have a slimy texture, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and the like. Next, a high location is used to hang these leaves. To extract seeds for planting, the leaves are massaged in preparation for the next season's seed requirements. By doing this, the seeds are guaranteed safe.

In the end, Agriculture NGO in Rajasthan like WOTR having pure native seeds easily accessible at home is possible by using these techniques. This method makes seed management more self-sufficient by preventing pests of any type from entering the seeds and eliminating the need to buy seeds from the market.

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manojbh · 8 months

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foodagriculturenews · 9 months

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Hybrid Seeds Market by Crop Type (Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds & Pulses, and Vegetables), Key Crop (Corn, Rice, Soybean, Cotton, Canola, Tomato, Hot pepper, Cucumber, Watermelon), Cultivation Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026

#hybrid seeds market #hybrid seeds

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sandyz · 1 year

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chemicalreports · 1 year

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Hybrid Rice Seeds Market is Booming Worldwide

The hybrid rice seeds market is expected to be growing at a growth rate of 12.70% in the forecast period of 2021 to 2028 and is expected to reach USD 6.300 billion by 2028. The increasing of the rice demand around the world will act as a driving factor for the growth of the hybrid rice seeds market. A hybrid is the product of a cross between two genetically distinct rice parents. When the right…

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devidmash · 1 year

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Benefits of Barnyard Millet Rice

Barnyard Millet Rice is a whole grain food which is low in calories and fat and higher in protein, iron, and fibre than common cereal grains like rice, wheat, and flour. It is also gluten-free and thus a healthy substitute for those who have gluten allergies or type II diabetes. It is also a good alternative for those who do not like the taste of white rice.

This nutrient-rich food can be fed to 6 to 8 month old babies as gruel, and to children above one year as dosa or idlis. It is rich in dietary fibre and therefore good for constipation and other digestive issues. It can also be used as a substitute for rice in pulav. It is easily available in markets and is a popular choice among the health-conscious millennial generation.

It is cultivated in large areas of Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Punjab and hills of Uttarakhand. It is a fast-growing annual summer crop with good drought tolerance and good forage value. It is an important staple and supplementary food for famine affected regions of India. It is an important source of protein, carbohydrate, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium. It is also a valuable fodder for livestock.

Improved

In the last few decades, a number of improved barnyard millet varieties have been developed through selective breeding and hybridization. But despite the improved cultivars, the current productivity is still low. This is because of several biotic and abiotic constraints. Moreover, it requires more water to grow than other millets and it is also susceptible to diseases.

The major disease of barnyard millet is grain smut caused by Ustilago panici-frumentacei Brefeld, a fungal pathogen. Infected plants produce gall-like swellings in the panicles, stem axils, nodes, and leaf axils. The disease results in enlargement of the flower ovaries, which is usually observed late in the season. It is a serious problem which can result in poor crop yield and reduced quality of forage.

To improve grain quality, genetic resistance to disease, and drought tolerance, breeding programs should be intensified for a rapid and sustained improvement in barnyard millet. For this, priority should be given to the development of CMS line in barnyard millet, similar to what has been done for foxtail millet. Molecular markers such as SSRs can be used for population structure and diversity studies in barnyard millet to exploit the natural variability for targeted breeding and genomics applications.

Healthy Alternative

Barnyard Millet Rice is a healthy alternative to rice and has numerous health benefits. It is high in protein, calcium, iron and dietary fibre and can help reduce cholesterol levels. It is also low in carbohydrates and gluten-free making it a great choice for people with diabetes, celiac disease and other gluten allergies. It is also a good option for weight loss.

Traditionally, barnyard millet was used to make flour or roti but nowadays it is widely used as a substitute for rice in dishes like upma, dal khichdi, biryani, etc. This nutritious grain is also a great source of fibre which is essential for your digestive system. It contains a lot of soluble and insoluble fibre, which helps to reduce constipation, cramps and excess gas.

The glycemic index of this grain is quite low, which means that it is digested slowly and doesn’t raise your blood sugar too much. This is important for diabetics because it can help to prevent blood sugar spikes and keep your glucose level stable. Barnyard millet rice is also rich in protein, which can help with muscle development. It can also boost your immune system and help you fight fatigue.

This grain is known by a variety of names including shyama in Bengali, moraiyo in Gujarati, sanwa rice in Hindi, kuthiraivali in Tamil, and koodalu in Kannada. It is a small-sized white-shaped seed that grows naturally in the bumpy regions of Uttarakhand, India. When cooked, it tastes similar to broken rice and is a healthy substitute for rice. It is often given as a porridge to six to eight-month-old babies and as cheela, dosa, and idlis for children above one year.

Improve

Researchers have found that adding bacteria to the barnyard millet seed can improve its germination and growth properties. The microbes inhibit the proliferation of harmful pathogens, increase uptake and translocation of less-available minerals and promote plant growth and vigour (Olanrewaju et al., 2017).

The dietary fiber in barnyard millet is very high, which makes it an excellent addition to a healthy diet. It is also gluten free and a good choice for diabetics or those with a history of heart disease. It can also lower your cholesterol, help you lose weight and increase your energy levels.

Although barnyard millet is an underutilized crop, there is a need for more research to harness genetic variability for improved yields, nutritional quality and disease resistance traits. The global collection of barnyard millet needs to be expanded by collecting new germplasm, identifying and delimiting desirable traits and developing adapted cultivars.

In addition, more breeding programs need to be designed to develop varieties and hybrids with farmer/consumer preferred traits. This will require concerted efforts to characterize germplasm resources, identify trait-specific donors, establish mapping populations and discover QTL/genes. This will make the crop more productive and appealing to farmers and consumers.

#Barnyard Millet Rice #Millet Nutrition

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sophiareddy123 · 1 year

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The China Rice Seed Market is segmented by Breeding Technology ( Hybrids, Open Pollinated Varieties & Hybrid Derivatives )

#riceseedmarket #china #marketresearchreports #researchreports #industryreports

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aerticle365 · 1 year

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Supply of Quality Seeds to the Farmers in Andhra Pradesh by the TDP Government

The eminent former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri. Nara Chandrababu Naidu and his TDP Government, apart from producing different types of superior seeds as per the needs of farmers in the agricultural state of Andhra Pradesh have also established an organization to supply those quality seeds to every remote village on time at reasonable prices and the Andhra Pradesh State Seed Development Corporation is also spreading hybrid varieties helping to increase agricultural production. Visit the official TDP website to gain more knowledge about seed development corporations and TDP latest news.

This corporation produces hybrid foundation seeds and certified seeds. As almost all districts grow rice, sorghum, maize, millets, cotton, castor beans, pulses, oilseeds, fiber crops and vegetable seeds. The Seed Development Corporation produces a variety of seeds through 7,500 seed producers. Under the administration of corresponding TDP MLAs and other TDP Political Leaders, these seeds are supplied to the farmers through company dealers, primary agricultural cooperatives, integrated tribal development agencies and agricultural market committees.

The organization has appointed 730 seed dealers to ensure a timely supply of seeds to farmers in all districts. Apart from this, another 60 to 70 temporary seed sales centres were set up to enable the farmers to get seeds on time during Kharif and Rabi seasons. As per the orders of N. Chandrabus Naidu’s, TDP Government the seeds are being sold to small farmers at 50 per cent subsidy rates. Andhra Pradesh State Seed Development Corporation sold 2,60,000 Quintals of various types of seeds during the financial year of 2001-2002, under the seed subsidy scheme for special crops with a value of 4,294 lakh rupees making it one of the TopTDP Contributions towards the farmers.

Andhra Pradesh State Seed Development Corporation produced only 31,833 quintals in 1976-77, its first year of establishment, but by the year 2002-03, its production had increased almost 13 times to 4,74,583 quintals. The company aimed and delivered a production of 5,84,000 quintals in 2003-04. Assuring to development of the State as the seed capital, Shri. Nara Chandrababu Naidu and the TDP Political Leaders have taken measures for seed development which was ensured in different agro-climatic zones and made Andhra Pradesh the Top state in seed production surpassing the neighbouring states, which is a Top TDP Achievement.

Andhra Pradesh would not only develop but also export quality seeds in future these are the exact words quoted by the then-erstwhile Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri. Nara Chandrababu Naidufulfilled his promise in 2014 by setting up the mega seed park, through which Andhra Pradesh achieved 27.6% agricultural growth and 11.72 per cent GDP growth which was considerably higher than the national average, Agriculture Minister and other TDP Party Leaders sanctioned ₹125 crores in the first phase for the seed park, which would be a centre for a public-private partnership with Kurnool district having 75 seed companies and was supplying 20% of the seed requirement of the State.

#LatestTDPNews #LatestPoliticalNews

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mayurreports · 1 year

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Transgenic Seeds Market, Key Factors, Major Players, Growth, Trends, Forecast year 2020-2027

Market-Overview

The high variability in global climatic conditions is estimated to create momentum for the transgenic seeds market in the coming period. Reports created by MRFR detail the developments in the industry that can be expected in the market through the forecast period. The market stands to earn USD 77 Billion with the support of a CAGR of 12% by 2027.

The losses faced by farmers due to pests and loss of harvest due to unsuitable growing condition has become more common, and this influence is estimated to further augment the transgenic seeds market in the near future. Furthermore, improvement in agricultural sciences is predicted to enhance the transgenic seeds market companies share in the upcoming period.

Segmental Analysis

The segmental investigation of the transgenic seeds market is carried out on the basis of trait, crop, and region. The trait segment of the transgenic seeds market consists of insect- resistance, herbicide tolerance, and others. The regions included in the transgenic seeds market are North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and other regional markets. The crop segment of the transgenic seeds market consists of cotton, maize, soybean, canola, rice, and others.

Detailed Regional Analysis

The regional assessment of the transgenic seeds market includes North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and other regional markets. The North American transgenic seeds market is anticipated to advance a bigger share in the global transgenic seeds market and record an outstanding CAGR in the forecast period. The US is the chief market backing the regional market progress. Technical innovations and high investing in agricultural pursuits are boosting the requirement for transgenic seeds in the region. Canola, soybean, maize, and cotton are estimated to appear as the major transgenic crops cultivated in the US. The Asia Pacific transgenic seeds market is developing due to the ability of the region to offer strong development prospects to the market companies in the forecast period. The contemporary traits introduced in various yields are anticipated to back the development of the transgenic seeds market in the forecast period.

Competitive Analysis

The establishment of clear long-term objectives by market titans is estimated to set the tone for the continuing expansion of the market. The identification of areas for sustainable enhancement in the supply chain is estimated to further fortify the market. The advancement of the market is spurred by the initiatives of the leaders in the global market, who are dedicating resources to the development of the overall market. The scale of innovation being observed in the market is another reason that is adding to the advancement of the global market in the future. The funding scenario in the market is estimated to be optimistic and conducive to the development of the stakeholders in the market. The detrimental impact on the environment by the business practices is estimated to be a key component in the future growth strategies of the market. The government policies in several regions are very conducive to the development of the market in the upcoming period. The advancement of production technology and processes is estimated to augment the global market.

The notable contenders in the key transgenic seeds market players are Suntory Holdings Ltd (Japan), DowDuPont (US), Vilmorin & Cie SA (France), Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (India), Bayer CropScience AG (Germany), Monsanto (US), BASF SE (Germany), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), R.Simplot Co. (US) and JK Agri Genetics Ltd (India).

NOTE: Our Team of Researchers are Studying Covid19 and its Impact on Various Industry Verticals and wherever required we will be considering Covid19 Footprints for Better Analysis of Market and Industries. Cordially get in Touch for More Details.

Market Research Future (part of Wantstats Research and Media Private Limited),

99 Hudson Street, 5Th Floor,

New York, New York 10013

United States of America

+1 628 258 0071

Email: [email protected]

#Transgenic Seeds Market

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akshayadav131 · 1 year

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ameymeti2001 · 1 year

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Plant Breeding Market Worth $33.79 Million by 2029

According to this latest publication from Meticulous Research®, the plant breeding market is expected to reach $33.79 million by 2029, at a CAGR of 14.1% from 2022 to 2029.The increasing awareness about the importance of sustainable crop production, the declining costs of genomic solutions, the growing emphasis on sustainable crop production, and technological advancements in the plant breeding sectors are some of the factors driving the growth of the plant breeding market across the globe. Furthermore, the growing investments from seed companies and the increase in supportive regulations for molecular breeding are expected to offer significant growth opportunities for the stakeholders operating in this market. However, the factors such as the high costs involved in modern breeding techniques compared to conventional breeding techniques and the lack of standard laboratory infrastructure hamper the market’s growth.

The plant breeding market is segmented based on method (conventional breeding method [hybridization {pedigree method, bulk method, and other hybridization methods}, selection {mass selection, pure line selection}, mutation breeding], biotechnological breeding method [hybrid breeding, molecular breeding, genetic engineering, and genome editing]), by trait (herbicides tolerance, disease resistance, temperature tolerance, drought resistance, and other traits), by application (cereals & grains [maize/corn, wheat, rice, and other cereals & grains], fruits & vegetables, oilseeds & pulses, turf & ornaments, and other crop types), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa). The study also evaluates industry competitors and analyses the market at the country level.

Based on method, the plant breeding market is categorized into conventional breeding method and biotechnological breeding method. In 2022, the biotechnological breeding method segment is expected to account for the larger share of the plant breeding market. The large market share of this segment is attributed to the increasing adoption of hybrid and molecular breeding techniques and the increase in the cultivation of GM crops worldwide. Furthermore, the growing demand for crop genetics and the declining costs of genetic procedures in the past decade drive the demand for genetic engineering and genome editing worldwide.

Based on traits, the plant breeding market is segmented into herbicide tolerance, disease resistance, temperature tolerance, drought resistance, and other traits. In 2022, the herbicide tolerance segment is expected to account for the largest share of the plant breeding market. The large market share of this segment is attributed to the stringent regulations regarding the use of chemical pesticides and the rising instances of pest attacks during the early germination phase, resulting in an increased need for pesticide-tolerant seeds. Generally, herbicide tolerance has been one of the major traits targeted by plant genetic companies for transgenic and non-transgenic crops. Furthermore, this segment is also slated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2020–2029. The growth of this segment is attributed to the increasing initiatives by major plant genetic companies to develop herbicide tolerance traits for transgenic and non-transgenic crops. For instance, the Non-transgenic Clearfield herbicide tolerance technology, developed by BASF SE (Germany) and Syngenta AG (Switzerland), is recognized as a groundbreaking innovation in hybrid breeding technology.

Based on application, the plant breeding market is segmented into cereals & grains, fruits & vegetables, oilseeds & pulses, turf & ornaments, and other crop types. In 2022, the cereals & grains segment is expected to account for the largest share of the plant breeding market. The large market share of this segment is attributed to the increasing demand for cereals & grains from the growing population. Furthermore, the availability of germplasm for these crops encourages the adoption of advanced techniques for crop breeding. The economic importance of corn due to its application in various sectors and the increasing demand for high-quality wheat & rice in the food sector are factors driving the adoption of hybrid breeding technologies among cereals and grain seed producers.

Based on geography, the plant breeding market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. In 2022, North America is expected to account for the largest share of the plant breeding market, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America’s major market share is attributed to the presence of key market players, the increasing investments in R&D activities, and the wide availability of diagnostic imaging laboratories. Furthermore, the adoption rate of genetic modification techniques in the U.S. is high due to the growing industrial value of corn & soybean, encouraging breeders to adopt advanced technologies for better yield. In addition, the large areas under corn & wheat cultivation and the growing demand for GM corn & wheat varieties are driving the growth of the plant breeding market in the U.S.

Speak to Analyst : https://www.meticulousresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/cp_id=5387?utm_source=Product&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Product&utm_content=09-01-2023

Key Players:-

The key players profiled in the plant breeding market report include Bayer AG (Germany), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), KWS Group (Germany), Corteva Agriscience (U.S.), Limagrain (France), BASF SE (Germany), DLF Seeds A/S (Denmark), Bioceres Crop Solutions (Argentina), UPL Limited (India), Benson Hill, Inc. (U.S.), Equinom Ltd. (Israel), BioConsortia, Inc. (U.S.), Hudson River Biotechnology (Netherlands).

Scope of the Report

Plant Breeding Market, by Method

Conventional Breeding Method

Hybridization

Pedigree Method

Bulk Method

Other Hybridization Methods

Selection

Mass Selection

Pure Line Selection

Mutation Breeding

Biotechnological Breeding Method

Hybrid Breeding

Molecular Breeding

Genetic Engineering

Genome Editing

Plant Breeding Market, by Trait

Herbicides Tolerance

Disease Resistance

Temperature Tolerance

Drought Resistance

Other Traits

Plant Breeding Market, by Application

Cereals & Grains

Wheat

Maize/Corn

Rice

Other Cereals & Grains

Fruits & Vegetables

Oilseeds & Pulses

Turf & Ornaments

Other Crop Types

Plant Breeding Market, by Geography

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

U.K.

Italy

Spain

Rest of Europe (RoE)

Asia-Pacific

China

Japan

India

Australia

Philippines

Thailand

Vietnam

Rest of Asia-Pacific (RoAPAC)

Latin America

Brazil

Argentina

Mexico

Chile

Rest of Latin America (RoLATAM)

Middle East & Africa

Download Sample Report :https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=5387?utm_source=Product&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Product&utm_content=09-01-2023

#agriculture #agriproduct #crop production

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