Post Midterm 2 Flashcards
(179 cards)
1
Q
Ecosystem
A
a community of organisms in an area and the physical factors with which they interact
factors influence stability of it
2
Q
Ecosystem ecology
A
emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling among the various biotic and abiotic components
3
Q
Abiotic factors
A
non-biological, physical factors
- light
- temperature
- water
- soil
4
Q
Biotic Factors
A
biological factors
- predators/herbivores
- diseases
- competitors
- symbiotic interactions
5
Q
What factors make up climates?
A
Light, temp, water (humidity)
6
Q
Agroecology
A
ecology of a farm and how we can view farms from an ecological perspective
7
Q
Midwest farm ecosystem
A
large territory for one type of crop (exactly one genotype, every plant in the field is genetically identical)
8
Q
Jersey farm ecosystem
A
vegetable crops with sandy soil
9
Q
Seoul/Kenya farm ecosystem
A
integrated farms in which you grow many things on the same plot
10
Q
Philadelphia farm ecosystem
A
small urban farms/gardens
11
Q
Nutrient cycle of farms
A
nutrients in soil taken up by plants that get eaten by animals that die and refurnish the soil
12
Q
Inputs into a farm
A
energy (light), water (rainfall and irrigation), nutrients (added nutrients in the form of fertilizers)
13
Q
Outputs in a farm
A
disease, insects, run-off, leaching, erosion, volatilization
food
14
Q
Leaching
A
driving down into the soil so far it becomes unavailable to plants
15
Q
Volatilization
A
a lot of CO2 in atmosphere comes from the soil
16
Q
Why is it hard to balance the nutrient cycle of a farm?
A
Because you are constantly harvesting the farm, and therefore taking materials out of the cycle (essentially breaking it) so you need to place more into it
17
Q
Human input on the farm
A
labor, knowledge, technology
18
Q
Human output on the farm
A
income, social stability, health, culture
19
Q
Climate
A
weather over a long time
20
Q
Where did agriculture emerge?
A
Mesoamerica and the Fertile Crescent
21
Q
How does climate effect farming?
A
Permits the growth of certain kinds of crops/agriculture at all
22
Q
Features of light
A
light intensity and periodicity (day-light, length of a day)
23
Q
Why does light intensity vary across the world?
A
It varies with latitude because the earth is round so when light gets spread over a further distance (the further you get from the equator) the more are it covers but the less intense it is
24
Q
Why does periodicity vary across the world?
A
It varies because the earth is tilted on its axis. It varies north to south
25
How do we get seasonality?
The earth being tilted on its axis, earth rotates 12 hours of light and dark
26
How does light impact farming?
Photoperiod is critical for plant reproductive development -- this impacts temperature
27
What does temperature depend on?
light intensity, altitude and ocean currents
28
Where is light intensity greatest?
The equator
29
Crops grown at different altitudes
low altitude- bananas, sugarcane, rice, and other tropical crops
bit higher- coffee, corn, wheat, veggies
higher- potatoes, wheat, barley, dairying, livestock, grazing
30
What effects do light and temp have on ag?
1) length of growing season = number of crop cycles (1 or 2)
| 2) the type of plants and animals that can be grown
31
Why can soy beans be grown anywhere in the United States?
Mutation was found that made soybeans insensitive to photoperiod for growth
wild type preferred short days
32
Growing degree days
how often the temperature is above minimum temperature needed for that plant and below the maximum temperature
33
Global warming
increases in 1940 (post wwii ag innovations) which corresponds with the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere
34
How did global warming impact agriculture in the United States?
Changed the length of the growing seasons -- it increased the growing season in the northern states and decreased the growing season in the southern states
35
Soil moisture
how well the soil retains water
36
Soil moisture New Jersey soil
poor, the water goes straight through
37
Soil moisture US midwest
we are blessed with great climate for ag and the right amount of precipitation coupled with good soil moisture
its not just about the precipitation you get but also about how much the soil can actually contain
38
Why did agriculture originate near rivers?
predictable sources of water. you could predict flooding and that could be leveraged for good agriculture
39
What do you do when you don't have a steady water supply?
Irrigate!
40
About ______ of drinkable water is used for irrigation
70-80%
41
US and irrigation
we don't irrigate much except for certain locations
Central Valley CA- the rivers running through it make it possible to farm even without a lot of rain, can irrigate (must regulate water system because so valuable, droughts common)
High plains CO, NE etc.- Irrigation widely used to support 20% of crop prod
Ogallala Aquifer
42
Ogallala Aquifer
underground source of water used for irrigation
it has a decline in water over the years because of increased usage. at some point there wont be water left
43
Droughts in the US
recurring problem
dust bowl 1932-1936
50s texas and new mexico
80s great plains
2000s texas denver california
44
Flooding US, why did the recent one wipe out 2 years of crops?
this year -- the flooding that occurred now
last year- the tariffs placed last year caused farmers to stockpile their crops waiting for the price to go up, so they got destroyed
45
What mineral nutrients does soil have?
nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous
46
how does pH impact mineral uptake in soil?
Basically the more acidic the soil, the more H+ that can replace the minerals that get uptook by the plants
ideal pH is somewhere around neutral except for specific species of plants that like basic or acidic
47
What is availability of minerals affected by?
pH as well as soil structure (how much air space there is, which impacts the ability of water and oxygen to stay in the soil)
48
Nitrogen availability
Haber bosch process is our way of producing ammonia from nitrogen and h2 -- helps us produce fertilizer in mass quantities
49
Symbiotic relationship of legumes and bacteria
legumes have little root nodules that have oxygen binding proteins called leg-binding proteins. The bacteria keep the oxygen away from the plant so that it will bind nitrogen instead
50
Soil structure
bottom bed rock --> top organic material
```
features:
water holding capacity
o2 availability
mineral availability
depth of root growth
```
51
What leads to soil compaction?
heavy equipment like tractors
52
American ag has shifted toward ______ system
monocrop
growing one crop in large quantity on one large plot of land
53
Why has the number of small farms decreased?
Because agricultural production has increased
54
Causes of increased ag production
tractors and precision ag
55
King corn
Two college students move from Boston to Greene, Iowa, to grow and farm 1 acre of corn
Examine the trend of increased corn production and its effects on American society, highlighting the roles of government subsidies in encouraging the huge amount of corn grown
E.g high fructose corn syrup
Increase awareness about the consequences of excessive corn production
56
Features of conventional ag in US
few high yielding varieties
synthetic fertilizer
-(taking nitrogen from the air with the Haber Bosch process)
chemical control of weeds and pests
irrigation
antibiotics/hormones used to control disease and productivity in animals
Two problems: biological problems and sociological/political problems
57
Biological problems with conventional ag
narrowing genetic base increases prob of catastrophic failure
environmental impact: run-off, erosion, effect on pollinators and other animals
human health- chemicals in the food we eat
energy use: mechanization, synthetic chemicals require a lot of petroleum
depletion of non-renewable resources such as oil water and phosphate
58
Mechanization
machines are used for ag which require fuel increasing costs and arent sustainable
59
Socioeconomic costs of conventional agriculture
economic dislocation- only large farms are profitable
dependence on subsidies: consumers pay twice (indirectly via taxes and directly in food purchases) and farmers have no control over pricing
Corporate control of food supply (GMOs) - if you license the seeds they can't keep them and replant them
60
Economic dislocation
Policies squeeze small farmers out and make large farms the only profitable ones
61
Southern Corn Leaf Blight
lost 15% of corn crop in 1950 Entire corn crop in the US was hybrid and they were made by taking advantage of a mitochondrial mutation that made the males sterile rather than the females. Still produce seeds but no pollen. If one breed had mutation then the pollen would not reproduce, so I think the in-breds reproduce until a mutation occurs that makes a fertile hybrid
- made plants susceptible to fungal disease
- They all had this mutation it killed them
62
Schukyll River example
Whenever there is a heavy rainstorm it turns brown because of the run off from the various tributaries that feed into it. These feed into the Chesapeake Bay
-sediment runs off which has the fertilizer that could be bad
63
Eutrophication
nutrients go into water supply and support the growth of a bunch of algae. (algal bloom slide on the schukyll)
64
Why is eutrophication bad?
-the algae builds up and then decays and it removes oxygen out of the water which impacts the other pops that live in the water
65
Sustainable ag
how we farm sustainably as the pop grows , three facets
biological
economical - farmer has to be able to make money
social- doesnt hurt the community
*what it looks like depends on where you are in the world
66
Organic farming
avoids or excludes synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, livestock feed additives
67
Low-input farming
minimizes the use of off-farm inputs; not entirely chemical free
sort of a hybrid between what we have now (conventional) and organic
68
How to address enhancing soil structure, organic matter, and nutrient levels
```
crop rotation/interplanting
organic fertlizer (compost, manure)
reduced cultivation (low-till)
contour cultivation, terraces (reduce run-off)
```
69
How to control weeds, pests diseases
Crop rotation
mulch
beneficial insects
pest/disease resistant crops (genetic improvement
70
How to help water use
drip irrigation (uses small amount of water)
mulch
drought resistant crops (genetic improvement)
71
Crop rotation
grow different crops at different times of the year
72
How to reduce soil erosion
terracing
contour farming
wind breaks
stir cropping
73
low till agriculture
reduces fuel use
| 80% of land is low till
74
Current farm bill politics
Basically it got reevaluated and trump slashed funding.
Originally congress gave promotional funds for local farmers markets and the trump slashed it
75
Organic farming in NJ movie
long term rotation with cover crops, one year high value crops, 3 years lower value crops (only 20% of land used at a time)
soil structure gets better when you grow the rotated out crop
grow a grass species when land is rotated out and sell it as hay
76
Characteristics of ag in less developed countries
```
small farms
intensive cultivation; labor intensive
women are important part of labor force
very sensitive to global market forces (competition from imports; export markets)
few government subsidies
```
77
Shifting/swidden/slash and burn cultivation
burn down the forest and cultivate the land
forest land is nutrient poor so you have a fallow period
78
Guatemalan farm (common everywhere)
Grow a bunch of different crops in the same place
79
Why is the water beneficial in rice farms?
Weeds can't grow
80
Biodigesters
produce methane gas from respiration to make light for cooking
anaerobic resp uses bacteria
81
agroforestry
incorporating trees into farms
82
whats so special about eaidherbia albida
has reverse phenology
-in wet season this tree drops its leaves (opposite of normal)
so everything around the tree is super fertile, it helps neighboring plants not a competitor
83
Problems in ag in developing countries
Land degradation- deforestation. Why?
1) forests provide ecosystem services such as water retention in soil
2) source of fuel like wood for fires for cooking
erosion --> desertification
pollution (farmers twice as likely to die bc of chemical exposure)
crop yields low
84
Rice terraces
intensive cultivation
| planting rice putting it in plant by plant
85
Why is ag activity low in west africa?
not much fertilizer
86
Sustainable ag in developing systems
small farms can have integrated systems-
irrigation feeds crops which feed livestock which produces manure which is given to biodigester to create fertilzier for ponds encouraging algae growth for fish to eat
87
rice duck farming
incorporating trees into farms
88
Kenya yellow corn anth
yellow corn comes from the US so its a sign of poverty like youre too poor to grow your own corn
89
Why didn't trinity's techniques spread? (technological diffusion)
apart of different tribe
wrong place
human and cultural interaction drives the action
90
Forms of social organizations in farming
farmers orgs work for common goals and reduce the tragedy of the commons
ag research orgs develop improved methods
publicity (extension agents, tv) disseminate info to farmers
91
Tale of Two Villages example
one village- had a huge drought and they also overfarmed their land so they wound up impoverished and government policy intervention allowed them to totally turn it around. Soil infiltration increased.
Second village- didn't work as well because listening to governance didn't exactly work
they couldn't keep livestock off of crop land
92
large scale ag in developing countries
- most of the increase in crop land is in less developed countries
fires in southeast asia huge smoke problem from slash and burn
soybeans and us china trade war
93
US china trade war and soybeans
we tariff china so they go to brazil for soybeans and this increase in demand causes them to deforest the amazon
94
Aquaculture
fish farming
o Fastest growing sector of the world food economy, increasing by about 7% a year and currently accounts for 50% of all fish consumed
o Fishes like Tilapia are almost 100% farmed
o ¼ to 1/3 of the wild fish caught every year are used for fish meal production ie. to feed farmed fish, such as salmon
o Contributes to over 50% of the fish supply now
95
Over _____ people depend on fish as their main source of animal protein
1 billion
96
Where do salmon get their pink color?
the carotene from the crustaceans they eat
97
Small scale fishing
nets, hooks, traps
98
large scale fishing
big ol nets, bottom trowling
99
Negatives to bottom trowling
disrupts aquatic life, pull up bycatch (unwanted stuff)
100
_________ of fisheries are overfished
30%
becoming huge worldwide problem. literally don't have enough cod to fish in the northern atlantic anymore
101
Predicament for fisherman
if gov says they need to not overfish then they will lose income now. but if they deplete the fish pop there wont be fish later
102
Trading fish
huge increase in fish exports over the past decade
largest exporters china, norway, vietnam
103
Omega 3 fatty acids
double bond at 3rd carbon
104
Tuna are mostly ____ muscle
slow twitch (oxidative high mitochondria)
105
Minamata disease
mercury accumulation poisoning in fish
106
Developing countries and fish exports
huge part of their economy
o 72% of all capture and 92% of all aquaculture seafood is produced in developing countries (do not need to memorize these numbers)
o The value of seafood exports from developing countries exceeds the value of coffee, tea, bananas, rice, and meat combined
107
catfish example
♣ This affects American trade. Basically we had this huge booming catfish industry in Mississippi and then Asian markets began importing catfish to us at a lower cost and it shut our industry down.
♣ Globalization from the American perspective
108
Where do most of the wild fish caught go?
to feeding the farmed fish
109
aquaculture contributes to _______ of the fish supply
50%
110
Tilapia
almost 100% is farmed
vegetarian and can grow in and outdoors so cheap to farm
GIFT is genetically modified tilapia that is hybrid. increases fish yield.
111
Rice fish farming
grow fish and rice together and the relationship is symbiotic
112
How do we farm fish?
♣ Mariculture: fish farming in the ocean
♣ Maintaining large tanks indoors or outdoors
♣ Fresh water fish farming
113
Shrimp farming is common in
Nicaragua and Indonesia
114
Problems with fish farming
spread of disease (we have to vaccinate fish but that puts chemicals in them that we eat)
pollution of water due to fish waste and uneaten feed
-concentrated systems create tons of waste that diffuses into the water stream
escaped fish alter genetic composition of wild population
loss of biodiversity (example shrimp mangroves
115
Why do we add fish to lakes
the fish become too genetically similar otherwise
116
Transgenic salmon
get fish to grow faster with less inputs. They have a growth hormone. Grown in tanks on land are sterile (triploids) and will all be females so that no transients can get out and mess with wild pops
117
Competing uses of ag products
o Nutrition: food security is essential
♣ All countries need to produce enough food or buy enough food for their population
o Income: most food is sold; source of income for families and countries
♣ Only 1% of US gets their income from food but agrarian populations more people get income from food
o Fuel: relatively new use; competing with food use
♣ Farm products are sources of fuel in other parts of the world for example places that use wood to power their stoves
118
Factors that affect global food security
demand for food
1) number of people
2) what people eat
availability of food
1) local and global food production
2) ability to import food
3) ability to acquire food
119
Nutrition transition
meat consumption increases with income
- see this in gdp vs. meat consumption and the increase in china importing soybeans for meat feed
120
how does local and global food production impact the availability of food?
crop yields are low in many places in the world -- redistribution of food in the world becomes important
most people buy their food!!!!
121
Ability to import food
* Food is an agricultural commodity (a source of income) so it is a major component of international trade over time this has only increased
* We think of food in much the same way we think of oil as an international commodity. Price of food is increasing along the same lines as crude oil.
122
Food price index
index price of food year to year and see it went up (2008 bc of international food crisis, 2011 they're not really sure)
123
Result of food shortage scares
countries like thailand (huge rice exporter) starts stock piling food and limiting what they will export for fear they can't feed their people
124
Conservation program
as prices rise countries conserve their food by limiting or banning exports the prices of the foods then increase even more.
In US government pays people to not cultivate
125
Proposed sources of 2008 crisis
o Droughts in major wheat producing areas
o Low grain reserves
o High oil prices
o Diversion of food to biofuels
o Nutrition transition – the increased demand for meat in developing countries
o Fear of food shortages, resulting in the restrictions on exports, leading to increase in prices
126
Effects of rising food prices are complex
o Increase price of food leads to decrease of income people have because they have to pay more for food
o This decreases the intake of non-staple food and usual staple foods in order to eat cheaper and more readily available food (grains or starchy staples)
o This decreases expenditure on health, education, and non-food items because food has to take priority
o We wind up decreasing caregiving and increase the frequency and severity of illness in our society
o This increases the time spent working on income generating activities
o We wind up decreasing the quality of our diets as a result (decrease energy and protein intake, decrease micronutrient intake) protein energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies result
o Its not just about not being able to feed yourself, your entire lifestyle changes
127
Factors that affect trade in food
- subsidies to producers
- tariffs
- quotas
- food and safety standards
- labor standards
- laws about types of acceptable foods (GM)
128
Policies that affect food prod in the US
- subsidies
- trade policies
- Cost of land (pressure from developers who want the land) so the gov has to set laws like charging to convert ag land to residential
- nutrition recs
- prod regs
- Food labelling
- food preferences
129
policies that affect food availability
- SNAP, food stamps
- public transport
- economic development
130
two kinds of farming subsidies in the us
1) pay farmers not to grow
| 2) buy the crops off of farmers and stockpile it when the price is below a certain level
131
Who changed the subsidy policy in 1970 and how?
Earl Butts the sec of ag under nixon
incentivized maximum prod (pay people to grow not to stop growing)
why we have so much corn
132
Farm Bill
major determinant of us food policy
o Money goes to
♣ 80% of the money goes to supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP) important thing to consider is that this isn’t just about food it is about income
♣ One of the motivations for increasing the distribution of food stamps is to put money in the economy.
♣ 1% - a lot of arguing goes on. Goes to novel programs like sustainable ag, small farms. The future of agriculture probably lies in this small amount of money
133
Undernourishment
o refers to a condition of people whose dietary energy consumption is continuously below a minimum dietary energy requirement (MDER) for maintaining healthy life and carrying out a light physical activity
o Undernourishment is considered serious if the daily intake is 200 calories below MDER
134
Malnutrition
o a broad term for a range of conditions that hinder good health cause by inadequate or unbalanced food intake from poor absorption of food consumed. It refers to both undernutrition (food deprivation) and overnutrition (excessive food intake in relation to energy requirements)
o Refers not just to calories, but also to minerals vitamins etc.
135
MDER
o The amount of dietary energy per person that is considered adequate to meet the energy needs for minimum acceptable weight for attained height to maintain a healthy life and carry out light physical activity
♣ UN MDER = 1800 calories
♣ USA estimated MDER = 2100 calories
o Food deprivation: average dietary intake – MDER
o Undernourishment: difference is -200 or greater
136
Famine
high undernourishment short period of time
137
The Acquirement Problem
```
o Broke down the problem economically
♣ Entitlement = the power (ability) of an individual or group to command (acquire) food
♣ Entitlements
• Capital (savings and possessions)
• Income obtained from labor
• State assistance, help from relatives
• Access to power
o Two kinds of famines
♣ Consequence of either 1) a loss of income (slump) or 2) increase in the price of food (boom)
```
138
entitlement
the power (ability) of an individual or group to command (acquire) food
139
Boom famine
♣ Boom famine = Great Bengal Famine of 1943
• Boom famine = famine during times of economic prosperity. In the case of Bengal there was prosperity because of the war but the prices of the food increased tremendously
140
Slump famine
♣ slump famine = Ethiopian famine of 1972
• Had enough food and the price of the food actually decreased
• But people didn’t have the income to purchase it so none of this mattered
price of food declines same time as famine
141
US basis for food aid
distributes food aid in the form of food rather than purchasing the food locally or by providing food vouchers
although this evolves
142
monetization
A significant fraction of this food is sold locally, and the money is used to fund the programs of various NGOs and other agencies
143
Why is it bad that most of our food aid comes in the form of food
• 60% of the cost of food aid is for transport and storage
• That nearly 2 billion, 40% went to commodities that were transported, 60% went to admin and shipping and storage
♣ Basically the ocean freight and transport and storage gets the money
• 40% was the aid
144
Malawi Miracle
Within a year of terrible famine malawi bounced back because the government subsidized fertlizer
however this wont be as miraculous as this looked because theyre prices of food are increasing
145
are fertilizer subsidies good or bad is the q?
good - improves yield dramatically and consistently
bad- expensive, distort markets, bad for environment
146
Trade Trap in Ghana
o Opening door by wanting fair trade but closing door by creating quality standards that are far beyond what producers can do
o Don’t give them a chance to produce without giving them a share of the market
o Non-tariff barriers are sanitation and health
o EU subsidizing their own farmers makes it hard for Ghanaian farmers to compete
o Exports need consistency
147
What type of chemical is caffeine
an alkaloid
this means that it can disrupt the adenosine neurotransmitter that typically causes us to feel drowsy.
148
Properties of alkaloids
* Stimulates central nervous system
* Elevates blood pressure
* Increases metabolic rate
* Causes diuresis (trips to the bathroom)
149
What does roasting do to coffee?
Chemical reactions take place and this impacts the taste of coffee and its effects
150
Coffee bean is mostly the _________
cotyledons
151
Cofea arabica
* Native to Ethiopia
* Original coffee (574-850 AD)
* Low caffeine
* Superior Taste
* High altitude growth sensitive to heat and poor soil
* 70% of world production
shes the hybrid of canephora and eugeniodes so shes tetraploid and was sterile until chromosome duplication
152
cofea canephora (robusta)
* Native to west and central Africa
* Introduce in 1850s ; only widely grown after WWII
* Tolerates warm weather, high humidity, poor soils; grows at low altitude
* Essentially tolerates more (weather high humidity poor soils low altititudes)
* High caffeine
* Inferior (bitter) taste
* 30% of world production
* used for instant coffee, mass market coffee
diploid
153
How do we know that arabica is a hybrid of canephora and euginiodes?
It hybridizes with probes from each
154
Where does coffee originate?
Highlands of ethiopia
155
T or F: coffee is a shade adapted plant
true. she prefers shade. wants a cool and humid ecosystem to grow
156
Shade grown coffee characteristics
```
♣ Small family farms
♣ Few inputs
♣ High species diversity
♣ Low yields
♣ Also ecologically important because when you promote it you promote agroforestry, NOT deforestation to make big coffee plantations
```
157
Sun coffee
```
♣ 40-60% of land
♣ large farms
♣ many inputs (fertilizer, pesticides)
♣ low species diversity
♣ high yields
♣ most of the coffee we get
o Coffee isn’t as productive in the shade, but the quality is better
```
158
Why is coffee a cash crop?
high demand but doesnt have nutritional value.
159
Top coffee producing countries
♣ Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Guatemala
160
What causes the extreme price drop in coffee?
technification
sun coffee
161
Fair Trade Labelling
300 producer organizations of 7 main products (coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, honey, bananas, orange juice)
o To get label:
♣ Have a democratic decision making process
♣ Be transparent
♣ Not discriminate against any type of person
♣ Adopt a production system that minimizes waste
♣ Retail cost of coffee is added after coffee is imported
♣ Does not have to be organic!
♣ Fairtrade minimum price/fairtrade premium paid to all producers
162
Why can't developing countries sell their own coffee beans roasted?
We place tariffs on roasted beans but not on green ones
163
Why is the chocolate tree different phenotypically?
produces flowers on its trunk
164
What is chocolate produced from?
produced from the fermented, roasted seeds of a cocoa pod
the fermentation changes the flavor
165
Where does chocolate originate and where is it primarily grown now?
Originates in South and Central America. Primarily grown in West Africa now (2/3 of all the worlds choco is in ivory coast and ghana)
166
How is cocoa farmed?
♣ Grown by small farmers
♣ Millions of people with farms 1-3 hectares in size
♣ In ivory coast, 33% of national protected forest is used for cacao production.
167
Harkin Engel Protocol
tried to stop the use of slave labor in the cacao harvesting by forcing chocolate processors to have to label that they did not use slave labor chocolate. lobbyists shot it down and chcoolate industry self regulates
168
Where are bananas produced?
central and south america -- a lot in south asia. some in sub saharan africa
169
United Fruit
o Keith in Costa Rica links up with Preston Jamaica
o Keith obtained land in exchange for building railroads in Costa Rica
o Great White Fleet bringing bananas everywhere
o The United Fruit Company convinces Eisenhower to use the CIA to orchestrate a coup to remove the democratically elected president of Guatemala
170
Banana botany
tldr theres a real stem and a pseudostem because they grow in sheathes sort of like corn.
female flowers have petals ovary which develop into fruit
sword sucker
water sucker
171
How are bananas propagated
vegetatively through the cuttings of the mother plant. basically cut the fruit off and then cut the regular big ol mama stem down and the sword sucker will grow into the next one
172
How can you control ripening?
ethylene and temperature
173
Where do domesticated bananas come from?
our domesticated banana is an interspecies hybrid between musa balbasiana and musa acuminate
most bananas are a triploid between these
174
Banana cultivation
o On big plantations
o Surrounded by bags as the fruit ripens to keep insects away from them and they don’t have to spray as many chemicals
o Long lines cut the stem, remove the bunch, put it on conveyer belt hung on trolley and remove plastic bag.
o Cool the banana to stop the ripening process
o Seal the ends (to make them not as sticky) and apply brand labels
Box and ship
175
Stuff bananas are threatened by
```
♣ Bacteria (xanthamonas wilt)
♣ Fungi (Panama disease, black Sigatoka)
♣ Viruses (banana bunchy top)
♣ Nematodes
♣ Insects (banana weevil)
```
176
Panama disease
reason our current bananas are cavendish
♣ At the time the banana we ate was the grow michelle variety (much tastier with thicker skin) one unfortunate problem – hyper sensitive to Panama disease
almost got wiped out in central america reintroduced cavendish which was immune
177
Why can't you naturally breed a mutated banana
it vegetatively propagates so you could never have meiosis that creates the desired genotype
178
Tissue culture bananas
♣ Bananas from tissue culture aim to combat this to propagate shoot tip of banana which tends to be sterile. So they won’t have the virus and you can create virus free bananas by doing this. Not a genetic modification just an in vitro way to propagate a plant
179
GM bananas
Uganda made ones that are resistant to disease
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• Disease and pest resistance
o Bacterial wilt
o Fungal resistance
o Viral resistance
o Nematode resistance
• Improved nutrition
o Increased vitamin E
o Increased vitamin A
o Increased iron
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