Brave New World of CRISPR-Cas9

It’s starting off to be an interesting year. For starters, scientists have shown that Venus flytraps can count. Aloft, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly ignored ground-based advice to save two out of four zinnias from mould, thus becoming an ‘autonomous gardener’ in the space agency’s very best bureaucratic bafflegab. Back on Earth, coconut trees are no longer considered trees in the tropical Indian state of Goa, where authorities have reclassified them as palms so they can be cut down.

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Doubtlessly manufacturers will protest but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that the controversial insecticide imidacloprid does present a threat to bees and other pollinators. Oh yes, and Richters 2016 Herb & Vegetable Catalogue explains that the Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus) is named because the seeds reputedly subdue the sexual urge, although some suggest the aromatic seeds do exactly the opposite.

Diversion No. 1

Police say an Oregon man frustrated with his tax situation left a flock of seven chickens inside the state revenue office [Sources: St. Catherines Standard, The Register Guardian]

Basil has been cursed over the past few years with a trio of deadly diseases. According to Richters 2016 Herb & Vegetable Catalogue, Ocimum basilicum Envigor™ is the first disease resistant Genovese basil resistant to alfalfa mosaic virus, tomato spotted wilt virus, and cucumber mosaic virus. Order seed now, start early but don’t attempt to plant out until warm weather arrives in June. And with vegetable prices going stratospheric, also order now such top producers as Yard-long Bean (Vigna unquiculata), Chinese radish (Daikon: Raphanus sativus longipinnatus ‘Long White’) and Oriental Cucumber (Cucumis sativus). This last is the famous burp-free fruit with edible skin.

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Diversion No. 2

Perhaps the Greens need to brush up on their claims. In the most comprehensive meta-analysis (of 147 publications) to date, researchers from Goettingen University have concluded that the adoption of GM technology has reduced pesticide use by 37 percent; increased crop yield by 22 percent; and increased farm profits by 68 percent, writes Ian Goodwin, The Conversation [Australia]

Purchasing tomato plants labelled ‘Beefsteak’ only to discover disgustingly two months later they are not the real, genuine solid, red-skinned and fleshed, almost seedless, tasty fruit with that old-fashioned “real” tomato flavour. The only way around the tragedy is to start your own from seed – and not just any seed. Some companies such as Richters of Good wood, Ontario offer the real McCoy. Start in late March for moving outside in late may to early June. Richters is also offering hard-to-find seed for Rattail Radish (Raphanus caudatus). A gourmand’s delight the green seed pods are harvested 50-55 days from sowing in April-May to be added to salads or, German beer garden fashioned, snacked on over a pint or three. Unfortunately Canadian online seed suppliers are forced to add an exorbitant postal fee to their reasonable prices. Added to this are taxes enabling bungleaucrats to avoid being consigned to the employment compost heap. Sigh.

Diversion No. 3

Dry table wines are coming from a country better known for polar bears (and ice wine) than for pinot noirs, explained The New York Times under the header ‘Exploring Canada’s Fertile Niagara Wine Region’

“Everything is possible with CRISPR. I’m not kidding,” geneticist Hugo Bellen told Science News. So what is this new technique that is revolutionizing biological research and why is he so excited? What might it hold in store for the rest of us? Usually written as CRISPR-Cas9, it is an acronym for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats” with an assist from an enzyme called Cas9. This gene editing tool can be applied to create mutations that could have occurred naturally, and leave no trace of foreign genes in the product, explained a recent editorial in the esteemed journal Nature. This, say its supporters, has the potential to wipe out malaria, saving more than half a million lives each year. Invasive species, herbicide-resistant weeds and pesticide-resistant bugs could be driven out of existence. Animals that carry harmful viruses could be immunized with ease, explained Tina Hesman Saey in Science News. As usual it is the EU with its combined triple threat of bureaucrats, politicians and lawyers that may cause this road to this alleged utopia to be a bumpy one...

Diversion No. 4

If complaints on social media are any indication, people in Ottawa either hate or love cauliflower, says CBC News. Either way, they can't believe the current $8 per head price tag. A drought in California is causing a spike in price, the national news organ reported.

Winter is halfway over this month but enough already. Time to take in exotic climes, discovering horticultural happenings there. The Land of Oz offers Queensland’s Chinchilla Melon Festival with watermelons in the middle of the month. Farther south in Victoria, the 21 February sees the Melbourne Tomato Festival celebrated. Go for the floral with the Philippines’ Panagbenga Flower Festival, Baguio City, 26 and 27 February. Earlier there is Japan’s Grand Prix International Orchid Festival in Tokyo, mid-February. Fancy something more pugnacious? Italy’s Battle of the Oranges will take place in Ivrea on 6 February for no particular reason other than citing citrus. Closer to home, for most the earliest celebration of the ‘stinking rose’ kicks off at Florida’s Delray Beach Garlic Festival from 6 to 8 February. Meanwhile the Golden State, California offers Ripon’s Almond Festival, Indio’s Date Festival and the Holtville Annual Carrot Festival, assuming El Niño permits.

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