Research & reports

Shirasawa Kenta, Hirakawa Hideki, Fukino Nobuko, Kitashiba Hiroyasu, Isobe Sachiko · DNA Research, 27(2): dsaa010 · Japan

The genome of 'Sakurajima Daikon', a giant-rooted traditional Japanese radish from Kagoshima, was sequenced and analyzed using long reads, providing a genomic foundation for trait studies and conservation of this landrace.

Manuela Alves da Cunha, Lidice Almeida Arlego Paraguassú, José Geraldo de Aquino Assis, Arthur Benjamin de Paula Carvalho Silva, Ryzia de Cassia Vieira Cardoso · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · Brazil (Salvador)

A city-wide mapping of active food gardens in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, followed by site visits and interviews with gardeners. Only 18 active food gardens could be located in the whole municipality; 17 took part (8 communal, 9 private). Gardeners averaged 55.76 years old and were 52.9% male overall, but women made up 87.5% of communal-garden gardeners and had higher education levels. For 52.9% of respondents the garden was their main source of income; 82.4% ate the produce, 70.6% also sold it and 47.1% donated. Fifty-nine neglected and underutilized species (NUS) were recorded, with 76.5% of respondents reporting they eat 19 of them. The gardens supply affordable food and food diversity without government support — but the very small absolute number of active gardens in a city of this size is equally part of the finding.

Jeffrey Alan Hoffmann · · United States

Hoffmann examined oral histories and interviews (1995-1996, 2014, 2017) with elders of multiple ethnicities in a working-class urban agricultural neighborhood in the U.S. Southwest. The study found that while ecocultural memory fosters trust in shared water relationships, historical anxieties stemming from urban development violence can impede communities' ability to organize to protect and restore ancestral waterways.

Melari Shisha Nongrum · · India (Meghalaya)

The North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) facilitated the development of an Indigenous Food System Curriculum to enhance students' knowledge of their environment and food system in Meghalaya, India. Following the implementation of school gardens, schools began harvesting produce. NESFAS aimed to assess students' knowledge of indigenous foods in connection with the impact of these school gardens.

Kristan Majors · Educational Media Reviews Online · Canada

This is a review of the 2017 documentary film "From Seed to Seed" (87 minutes, directed by Katharina Stieffenhofer, distributed by Bullfrog Films), which follows four farms of different sizes in Canada over a full year, covering topics including plant breeding, crop diversity, organic farming, green manure and seed exchange; the review recommends the film for classroom and community use and notes it won awards including 2019 Best of the Fest at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival and 2019 Best Documentary at the Big Water Film Festival.

Lexi Earl, Pat Thomson · · Global

This chapter explores historical aspects of the current school-gardening movement, showing how gardens were taken up in educational theory by Comenius, Rousseau, Froebel, Pestalozzi, and Montessori, and examining how ideas for children's gardening developed in the late 19th century and how children were viewed as beings to be "cultivated." It discusses how the garden emerged as a further space where children could be civilised -- moulded and shaped into particular kinds of beings -- and analyzes early US school gardens of the 20th century. It analyzes texts produced about and for "children's gardening," focusing on how garden writers sought to encourage gardening and an interest in the natural world.

Akakpo D. B., Achigan-Dako E. G. · Agronomy · Benin

Interviews with 360 respondents across three southern Benin villages on three traditional leafy vegetables, analyzing how use and knowledge transmission from parents to children vary by generation, gender, and village.

Lelario F., De Maria S., Rivelli A.R., Russo D., Milella L., Bufo S.A., Scrano L. · Toxins 11(4):230 · Italy

Identified 19 glycoalkaloids in fruits of commercial eggplant 'Mirabella' and local landrace 'Melanzana Bianca di Senise' via LC-FTICR-MS/IRMPD, assessing anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities. Documents bioactive phytochemistry of a traditional eggplant landrace.

Miyatake Koji, Shinmura Yoichi, Matsunaga Hiroshi, Fukuoka Hiroyuki, Saito Takeo · Breeding Science, 69(3): 498-502 · Japan

Analyzing 893 eggplant accessions in the NARO Genebank with genome-wide SNPs and SSRs, the authors built a core collection; Asian accessions formed the center of diversity, supporting efficient conservation and use of genetic resources.

Cinthia Asunción Peralta-González, Rodolfo Mondragón-Ríos, Eduardo Bello Baltazar · Estudios Sociales Revista de Alimentación Contemporánea y Desarrollo Regional · Mexico (San Cristóbal de Las Casas)

This qualitative study analyzed sociocultural spaces and communication mechanisms used for collective learning and knowledge appropriation regarding medicinal and gastronomic plant use among residents of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Ethnographic techniques were employed with members of the urban agriculture network Sembrando Jovel, citizens from the Santa Lucía neighborhood, and various city markets. Results identified formal, non-formal, and informal spaces linked by communication mechanisms such as intergenerational coexistence, daily practices, experimentation, knowledge exchange, classes, courses, workshops, diplomas, and mass media. The study was limited to a small number of families (four cases) in the Santa Lucía neighborhood regarding the domestic sphere. As a result of appropriation processes, knowledge about medicinal and gastronomic plant uses has been re-signified, adopting critical stances against food industries and in favor of personal, social, and cultural well-being.

In-Kyoung Hong, Young Chae, Sang-Mi Lee, Young-Bin Jung · Journal of people, plants, and environment · South Korea

This study aimed to improve the diversity of urban gardens by identifying suitable crops from "Gwanhyuji," an agricultural book from the Joseon Dynasty. Fifty-three crops were selected based on traditionality, historicity, health functionality, and popularity, and their properties were evenly distributed. The study suggests that applying traditional knowledge to urban agriculture can transform urban gardens into resources offering educational and traditional values, thereby enhancing their diversity and utility.

К. Г. Ткаченко · HORTUS BOTANICUS · Global

Botanical institutions should create and maintain diverse plant collections, including local flora, ethnobotanical knowledge, and carpological collections, for research and education. These collections can inform urban gardening and floristics, but it is crucial to evaluate the invasive potential of introduced species to prevent their spread in the region's flora.

Celmeli T., Sari H., Canci H., Sari D., Adak A., Eker T., Toker C. · Agronomy 8(9):166 · Turkey

Compared protein, fat, fatty acids, selenium, iron, and zinc in 10 bean landraces and 5 modern varieties from Turkey. Landrace LR05 surpassed modern varieties in selenium, zinc, and protein, highlighting landraces as nutritional breeding resources.

Klepacki P., Kujawska M. · Journal of Ethnobiology 38(1):123-137 · Poland

Surveys 46 allotment gardeners in three Polish cities, recording 257 botanical taxa (ornamental, food, medicinal), demonstrating urban allotment gardens as significant reservoirs of botanical and landscape diversity in cities.

Casals J., Rivera A., Figàs M. R., Casañas C., Camí B., Soler S., Simó J. · Frontiers in Plant Science 9:1491 · Mediterranean

Compares lettuce landraces and modern varieties under Mediterranean winter organic farming, evaluating their agronomic and use value from the combined viewpoints of breeders, consumers and farmers.

Uchiyama Y., Fujihira Y., Matsuoka H., Kohsaka R. · Journal of Ethnic Foods · Japan

Analyzes definitions, history, and regional ties of traditional Japanese vegetables (e.g., Kyo, Kaga), using Kaga and Noto cases to show how ambiguous quality standards shape branding and brand management.

Uchiyama Y., Matsuoka H., Kohsaka R. · Journal of Ethnic Foods · Japan

Questionnaire survey in Komatsu City, Ishikawa, on public recognition of Kaga and Noto traditional vegetables, showing gender/age differences in awareness and information sources, with implications for transgenerational transmission and branding.

Turreira-García N., Vilkamaa A. M., Byg A. · Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society · Thailand

Documents 55 leafy vegetable species (32 families) in Chiang Mai fresh markets and assesses, via interviews with sellers, residents, and traditional practitioners, how diversity, use, and knowledge persist amid urbanisation.

Tieman D., Zhu G., Resende M.F.R., Lin T., Nguyen C., Bies D., Rambla J.L., Beltran K.S.O., Taylor M., Zhang B., Ikeda H., Liu Z., Fisher J., Zemach I., Monforte A., Zamir D., Granell A., Kirst M., Huang S., Klee H. · Science 355(6323):391-394 · Global

Quantified flavor chemicals across 398 modern, heirloom, and wild tomato accessions and linked them to consumer liking. Shows modern cultivars lost allelic diversity governing sugars, acids, and volatiles, explaining reduced flavor versus heirlooms.

de St. Maurice G. · Food, Culture & Society 20(2) · Japan

Examines how Kyoto's Shishigatani heirloom squash, though considered not delicious, persists as culinary heritage through cultural embeddedness, temple rituals, and distinctive form, showing heritage value beyond flavor.

Castaneda-Alvarez N.P., Khoury C.K., Achicanoy H.A., Jarvis D.I., Maxted N., Toll J. · Nature Plants · Global

Models the distribution of 1,076 taxa related to 81 crops, finding over 70% are high priority for further collection because they are poorly represented in genebanks relative to their native ranges.

Heraty J.M., Ellstrand N.C. · Economic Botany 70(1):37-48 · Global

Measures maize genetic diversity in home and community gardens kept by immigrant farmers in Southern California, showing transnational seed dispersal sustains landrace diversity beyond recognized centers of diversity.

Takahashi Yu, Yokoi Shuji, Takahata Yoshihito · Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 63(5): 869-879 · Japan

Analysis of 87 turnip accessions using chloroplast and nuclear SSRs and morphology revealed distinct haplogroups between eastern and western Eurasia, with continental Asian accessions (including Japan) showing the highest genetic diversity.

Iketani Hiroyuki · Breeding Science, 66(1): 82-89 · Japan

A review of Japan's native fruit tree genetic resources shaped by its diverse climate, summarizing the status of wild and local fruit taxa, red-listed species, and the state of conservation in genebanks and botanical gardens.

Nishio Sogo, Takada Norio, Saito Toshihiro, Yamamoto Toshiya, Iketani Hiroyuki · BMC Genetics, 17: 81 · Japan

Comparing wild, Chinese, local, and modern Japanese pear cultivars, the study found reduced heterozygosity and allelic richness in modern cultivars, which were genetically close to Kanto local cultivars and strongly biased toward 'Nijisseiki'.