Comments on: Rice http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/ A voice for N.I. Vavilov Sun, 31 Jul 2011 02:15:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Luigi http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/comment-page-1/#comment-26 Luigi Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:54:56 +0000 http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/#comment-26 You can look for cold tolerant rice material in the genebank of Japan's National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (they're mostly from Nepal): http://www.gene.affrc.go.jp/htbin/plant/SEARCH/common/e_pl_tokusei_menu.cgi But I don't see Sakhalin in the list of geographic places to search: http://www.gene.affrc.go.jp/htbin/plant/SEARCH/common/e_pl_raireki.cgi?torp=0&s_syurui=01001 You can look for cold tolerant rice material in the genebank of Japan’s National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (they’re mostly from Nepal):

http://www.gene.affrc.go.jp/htbin/plant/SEARCH/common/e_pl_tokusei_menu.cgi

But I don’t see Sakhalin in the list of geographic places to search:

http://www.gene.affrc.go.jp/htbin/plant/SEARCH/common/e_pl_raireki.cgi?torp=0&s_syurui=01001

]]> By: Robert http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Robert Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:06:20 +0000 http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/#comment-21 What I meant to ask is whether there is a single source where one can access all the records of the early (pre-1940) Russian collections by Vavilov and colleagues (e.g., spudmen Bukasov and Juzepczuk). I looked at the obvious place, where you probably looked too: <a href="http://www.vir.nw.ru/data/dbf.htm" rel="nofollow">the VIR database</a>. There are 6 rice accessions (numbers between 1635-1650) that appear to have been collected in Japan in 1939 (<a href="http://eurisco.ecpgr.org" rel="nofollow">EURISCO</a> has the same information). And a few earlier accessions. But the information is very scant. I wonder if there is more information available (on paper) and if anyone is (interested in) doing a project to make these data available more completely and systematically; it would be terrific complement to this blog. Think of the mash-ups! Perhaps the next thing for the AgroAtlas crew? Vavilov's writings are of great interest without any existing seed samples, but the real glory is in the combination of the two. What I meant to ask is whether there is a single source where one can access all the records of the early (pre-1940) Russian collections by Vavilov and colleagues (e.g., spudmen Bukasov and Juzepczuk). I looked at the obvious place, where you probably looked too: the VIR database. There are 6 rice accessions (numbers between 1635-1650) that appear to have been collected in Japan in 1939 (EURISCO has the same information). And a few earlier accessions. But the information is very scant. I wonder if there is more information available (on paper) and if anyone is (interested in) doing a project to make these data available more completely and systematically; it would be terrific complement to this blog. Think of the mash-ups! Perhaps the next thing for the AgroAtlas crew?

Vavilov’s writings are of great interest without any existing seed samples, but the real glory is in the combination of the two.

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/comment-page-1/#comment-20 Jeremy Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:17:59 +0000 http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/#comment-20 <a href="#comment-19" rel="nofollow">@Robert</a> - Many thanks for your illuminating comment. I hadn't checked on an atlas but you are right, that is very far north. I did, however, check databases and I certainly could not find anything where it was easy to pick up material collected by Vavilov. I'm still looking. GBIF records <a href="http://data.gbif.org/occurrences/searchWithMap.htm?extent=130%2B42%2B150%2B52&zoom=5&minMapLong=130&minMapLat=42&maxMapLong=150&maxMapLat=52&c[0].s=1&c[0].p=0&c[0].o=44.0&c[1].s=2&c[1].p=0&c[1].o=133.0" rel="nofollow">two rices and an oats as far north as 44N</a>, but does not say who collected them, and I have not (yet) been able to get into the USDA's system to investigate further. @Robert -
Many thanks for your illuminating comment.

I hadn’t checked on an atlas but you are right, that is very far north. I did, however, check databases and I certainly could not find anything where it was easy to pick up material collected by Vavilov. I’m still looking.

GBIF records two rices and an oats as far north as 44N, but does not say who collected them, and I have not (yet) been able to get into the USDA’s system to investigate further.

]]> By: Robert http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/comment-page-1/#comment-19 Robert Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:04:24 +0000 http://www.vaviblog.com/rice/#comment-19 "The cultivation of rice reaches (...) 50-60 degrees northern latitude [in Sakhalin]." Really? Sakhalin, now a part of the Russian Federation, is the large island just north of Hokkaido. It extends from 46 to 54.5 °N. The part south of 50°N was part of Japan between 1905 and 1945. So let's say up to 50°? That still is very far north. There is rice in Hokkaido today, as it was <a href="http://www.irri.org/gis/ricedist/maps/rice_japan_1939.gif" rel="nofollow">in Vavilov's time</a>. An important area of rice research in the area is cold tolerance, particularly to diminish sterility induced by cold irrigation water. I could imagine rice in some sheltered areas in southern coastal Sakhalin, but as for N as 50°N seems unlikely. The Russian Agro-atlas <a href="http://agroatlas.ru/en/content/cultural/Oryza_sativa_K/map/" rel="nofollow">does not show any rice</a> on Sakhalin, so if there is any today, it won't be much. Note, however, the small rice area near Vladivostok (on the Pacific coast just N. of China) at 45°N. Also note the rice production area NW of the Caspian Sea. This is one of the northernmost rice production area in the world. It is just south of 50°N, but has a continental climate with a much warmer summer than Sakhalin (July mean maximum temperatures of 30°C vs 20°C). The northernmost rice production (just north of 50°) is probably the rice in northern Heiliongjiang province, NE China, with a July mean maximum temperature of about 25°C. In this area, <a href="http://www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/6-4/26-27.pdf" rel="nofollow">rice production has expanded</a> rapidly over the past decades, perhaps facilitated by the strong warming trend observed in that region. All Vavilov had is hearsay from unwilling professors. It would be of interest to find out more about rice cultivation in Japanese Sakhalin. I think it is certainly possible there was some. If Japanese colonists went there, they likely tried planting rice (apart from fishing, which should be more profitable). Does anyone have references to rice cultivation in specific locations on Sakhalin? Also, is there an easy to way to access the collections Vavilov made? Is there a database where you can ask for "Collector = Vavilov; Location=from Sakhalin obtained in Korea')? And if so, are the seeds available? And do we know if they were used in breeding for new varieties? “The cultivation of rice reaches (…) 50-60 degrees northern latitude [in Sakhalin].”

Really? Sakhalin, now a part of the Russian Federation, is the large island just north of Hokkaido. It extends from 46 to 54.5 °N. The part south of 50°N was part of Japan between 1905 and 1945. So let’s say up to 50°?

That still is very far north. There is rice in Hokkaido today, as it was in Vavilov’s time. An important area of rice research in the area is cold tolerance, particularly to diminish sterility induced by cold irrigation water. I could imagine rice in some sheltered areas in southern coastal Sakhalin, but as for N as 50°N seems unlikely.

The Russian Agro-atlas does not show any rice on Sakhalin, so if there is any today, it won’t be much. Note, however, the small rice area near Vladivostok (on the Pacific coast just N. of China) at 45°N. Also note the rice production area NW of the Caspian Sea. This is one of the northernmost rice production area in the world. It is just south of 50°N, but has a continental climate with a much warmer summer than Sakhalin (July mean maximum temperatures of 30°C vs 20°C). The northernmost rice production (just north of 50°) is probably the rice in northern Heiliongjiang province, NE China, with a July mean maximum temperature of about 25°C. In this area, rice production has expanded rapidly over the past decades, perhaps facilitated by the strong warming trend observed in that region.

All Vavilov had is hearsay from unwilling professors. It would be of interest to find out more about rice cultivation in Japanese Sakhalin. I think it is certainly possible there was some. If Japanese colonists went there, they likely tried planting rice (apart from fishing, which should be more profitable). Does anyone have references to rice cultivation in specific locations on Sakhalin?

Also, is there an easy to way to access the collections Vavilov made? Is there a database where you can ask for “Collector = Vavilov; Location=from Sakhalin obtained in Korea’)? And if so, are the seeds available? And do we know if they were used in breeding for new varieties?

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