Research & reports

JC Niala · Ecozon European Journal of Literature Culture and Environment · United Kingdom (Oxford)

This essay explores a case study where an allotment in the style of 1918 was recreated at a charity allotment site in Oxford, United Kingdom, during the 2020-2021 growing season. The researcher planted open-pollinated non-hybrid heritage seeds from that era, reflecting on the soil as a repository of memory through academic and creative responses. The plot became a living memorial visited by diverse members of the public, engaging with themes such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, and the First World War.

· Wikipedia (Italian) · Italy

Cascina Chiesa Rossa is a farmhouse-and-church complex built between the 9th and 13th centuries, acquired by the City of Milan in 1960. Since 2009 it has operated as a public park including an orchard and wooded area, a bar, and a library, with a preservation committee founded in 1988 overseeing conservation and cultural activities. It is an example of a historic agricultural building repurposed as public civic space.

Bárbara Benítez Fernández, Erin Nelson, Anaisa Crespo Morales, Rodobaldo Ortiz Pérez, Rosa Acosta Roca, Regla María Cárdenas Travieso · Frontiers in Sociology · Cuba

A 2023 case study describing two decades of gender-equity work inside Cuba's Project to Strengthen a System of Innovation in Local Agricultural Development (PIAL). The authors note that although Cuba has made significant progress on women's rights and gender equity compared with many countries, women in rural communities and the agricultural sector still face barriers to equal participation and to recognition of the value of their work. PIAL began in 2001 as a participatory plant-breeding initiative to increase the genetic diversity of crops such as maize and beans, then widened its goals to increasing women's participation. Efforts first focused on including women in participatory plant breeding, which let them bring traits they cared about — grain texture, cooking speed, taste — into the selection process; over time women moved into seed bank management, leadership training and small-scale farm-based entrepreneurship. Reported results include economic improvement through diversified livelihoods and social change as women gained recognition as leaders in households and communities. It is a descriptive single-project case study with no control-group measurement of effects.

Tripodi P., D'Alessandro A., Francese G. · Frontiers in Plant Science 13:1031776 · Italy

Integrated genomic and biochemical analysis of heirloom tomatoes linking fruit shape and size to sugars, organic acids, and aroma compounds. Demonstrates heirlooms as germplasm resources for high food quality and sustainable agriculture.

Ramirez-Villegas J., Khoury C.K., Achicanoy H.A., Diaz M.V., Mendez A.C., Sosa C.C., Kehel Z., Guarino L., Abberton M. · Nature Plants 8:491-499 · Global

A global gap analysis predicting distributions of over 70 landrace groups across 25 crops, finding a mean 63% represented in genebanks and major collecting gaps in South Asia, the Mediterranean, the Andes and Africa.

Dilebo T., Feyissa T., Asfaw Z., Zewdu A. · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 18:74 · Ethiopia

An ethnobotanical survey of 240 households across four zones of southern Ethiopia documenting on-farm landrace diversity, use patterns and farmer conservation of the staple crop enset.

· Local Environment · Global

Analyzes urban community seed-sharing and seed-swap initiatives as social practices and how they contribute to just transitions to sustainability.

Pierrette Hondagneu‐Sotelo · Journal of Latin American geography · Global

This edited book explores how various displacements lead people to re-engage with plant life, creating meaning and sustaining biodiversity. It examines how gardening, seed saving, and cooking restore social and cultural continuity, connecting past and present. The volume, rooted in anthropology, discusses plant-human engagements in movement ("itineraries") and emplaced efforts of belonging ("sanctuaries").

Scarano A., Semeraro T., Chieppa M., Santino A. · Horticulturae · Italy

Review of neglected and underutilized plant species from the Apulia region of southern Italy, highlighting their adaptive, nutritional, and economic potential and the case for re-including them in the daily diet.

Sinesio F., Cammareri M., Cottet V., Fontanet L., Jost M., Moneta E., Palombieri S., Peparaio M., Romero del Castillo R., Saggia Civitelli E., Spigno P., Vitiello A., Navez B., Casals J., Causse M., Granell A., Grandillo S. · Foods 10(11):2521 · Europe

Assessed traditional and modern tomato varieties in France, Spain, and Italy at physicochemical, trained-panel, and consumer levels. Multi-level approach revealed how sensory traits drive perceived quality across regionally familiar cultivars.

Ferrer Valverde M.A., Sánchez-Palomo E., Osorio Alises M., Chaya Romero C., González-Viñas M.A. · Foods 10(8):1683 · Spain

Characterized the traditional Trujillo melon from La Mancha, Spain, over three harvests, identifying 55 volatile compounds. Sensory profile featured jam, cucumber, sweet, and honey aromas, documenting quality of a regional heirloom melon.

Rosa-Martínez E., Adalid A.M., Alvarado L.E., Burguet R., García-Martínez M.D., Pereira-Dias L., Casanova C., Soler E., Figàs M.R., Plazas M., Prohens J., Soler S. · Frontiers in Plant Science 12:633957 · Spain

Evaluated 44 Mediterranean 'de penjar' long shelf-life tomato varieties under two nitrogen levels. Local varieties exceeded commercial ones in sweetness-to-acidity ratio and vitamin C, with lycopene varying over four-fold, supporting low-input breeding.

Greathouse J., Henning S., Soendergaard M. · Plants 10(5):965 · United States

Grafted heirloom tomatoes (Black Krim, Green Zebra) and standard Big Beef onto rootstocks in hydroponics, measuring antioxidant capacity, phenolics, and lycopene. Specific rootstocks raised antioxidant capacity and altered phenolic content of heirlooms.

Martínez-Ispizua E., Martínez-Cuenca M.-R., Marsal J.I., Díez M.J., Soler S., Valcárcel J.V., Calatayud Á. · Molecules 26(4):1031 · Spain

Evaluated bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of Valencian pepper landraces relative to commercial types. Landraces displayed rich diversity in nutritional and functional compounds, reinforcing the value of regional Capsicum genetic resources.

Shao H., Hill R., Xue D., Yang J. · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 17: Article 56 · China

Documents how Wa ethnic homegardens in Yunnan harbor traditional vegetable germplasm diversity through local culture, traditional knowledge, and seed conservation and sharing systems that maintain in situ agrobiodiversity.

Wetherill M.S., Bourque E.E., Taniguchi T., Love C.V., Sisk M., Jernigan V.B.B. · Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 53(11):991-995 · Global

Describes the development of a tribally-led garden curriculum for Indigenous preschoolers in the Osage Nation, integrating the traditional Three Sisters planting to teach Native foodways and improve children's vegetable intake and food security.

Guzzon F., Arandia Rios L.W., Caviedes Cepeda G.M., Céspedes Polo M., Chavez Cabrera A., Muriel Figueroa J., Medina Hoyos A.E., Jara Calvo T.W., Molnar T.L., Narro León L.A. · Agronomy 11(1):172 · Latin America

Reviews the fundamental role of Latin American maize landraces for food security, livelihoods and culture, the threat of genetic erosion, and the current state of their conservation and use.

中川 睦司, 高橋 秀和, 上田 健治, 渡辺 明夫, 赤木 宏守, 櫻井 健二 · 園芸学研究（Hort. Res. (Japan)）, 20(4): 379-385 · Japan

Using SSR markers on four Akita native eggplant varieties and 46 domestic landraces, phylogenetic and population structure analyses inferred the genetic relationships and likely introduction routes of traditional Akita eggplant cultivars.

Ali M.S., Arifin H.S., Nurhayati N. · Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity · Indonesia (West Java)

This study finds that increasing urbanisation across West Java significantly reduces the area, species diversity, and ecological functions of traditional pekarangan homegardens, threatening both biodiversity and the cultural practice of subsistence home gardening. Sites across Bogor District, Bogor City, and Cianjur District were compared along an urban–rural gradient.

ELISABETH MEYER-RENSCHHAUSEN · Materia Arquitectura · Germany (Berlin)

This paper discusses the historical presence of gardens and urban agriculture in cities, from ancient civilizations to modern times. It notes that after disappearing in the late 19th century, family gardens were replaced by garden city movements, and after WWII, land was offered for cultivation. The paper suggests that the growing demand for garden plots in the 20th and 21st centuries and the global community gardening movement represent a new type of urban agriculture.

T. G. McCarthy · Michigan Historical Review · United States

Joseph Stanhope Cialdella's book, "Motor City Green," describes how Detroit residents maintained various relationships with nature, including growing plants and food in their backyards and vacant lots, throughout the city's 130-year history. The book presents a series of episodes, from 1890s vacant lot programs to the Detroit Urban League's 1920s efforts to encourage gardening among African American residents and 1930s summer camps, which defined ideas about urbanism, nature, and relationships among residents.

Hyung-Suk Kim, Kyu‐Won Kim · Land · South Korea

This study examines sustainable landscapes in traditional Korean houses of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) by investigating urban agricultural practices in the palace, private houses, and an imaginary garden called Uiwon. It discusses the definition and range of urban agriculture, agricultural methods, and the principal agents involved in gardening, comparing traditional and modern South Korean housing environments.

Vernooy R., Sthapit B., Bessette G. · Development in Practice · Global

Drawing on case studies from Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, India, and Zimbabwe, examines how community seed banks operationalize farmers' rights through conservation, access, and seed sovereignty at the local level.

Mulesa T.H. · The Journal of World Intellectual Property · Ethiopia

A historical institutional analysis of the governance of access to plant genetic resources in Ethiopia, examining national policy evolution in relation to the ITPGRFA, benefit-sharing, and farmers' rights.

Tsuge Kazuki, Chen Ruikun, Yoshioka Yosuke, Motoki Satoru · The Horticulture Journal, 89(1): 12-21 · Japan

Using phenotypic traits and 24 SSR markers, this study assessed the genetic and phenotypic diversity of 'norabona', a traditional Brassica napus leaf-and-stem vegetable of the Kanto region, documenting diversity within this Japanese landrace.