Knowledge Management Portal

'Jabal' is a new durum wheat variety released officially in Morocco because of its excellent yield potential in dryland areas, disease resistance and superior end-use quality. 'Jabal' is registered in the database of released cultivars this year by the Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires (ONSSA), Morocco. 'Jabal' was descended from the cross Korifla/AegSpeltoidesSyr//Mrb5 developed by the International Center of Agricultural in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The new crop wild relative (CWR) derived elite 'Jabal' has superior grain yield compared to 'Karim', the second most grown cultivar in Morocco. 'Jabal' exhibited a good resistance to Septoria triticea blotch (Zymoseptoria tritici), and leaf rust (Puccinia triticina). The new released variety has higher grain protein, zinc content, Mixo score and larger grain size over 'Karim'. Thus, 'Jabal' should be effective in Morocco and neighboring areas experiencing severe drought stress, for bringing significant remunerative return to both producers and industries.

Jabal is a durum wheat variety obtained from crossing to a wild grass collected in Syria, that risked many times to never see the end of the tunnel, but in February 2022 it was finally released for cultivation in Morocco. This climate-change-resistant variety adapted well to various environmental conditions, particularly in drought-prone areas of Morocco, and provided a significant yield advantage in farmers' fields.

It can be challenging to understand how international organizations work together to affect climate policy and what binds these state actors and scientific organizations to action or progress toward meeting the goals they collectively set. In this blog we summarize the history of COP27 and its role in pollinator health, and how our project fits in the picture.

Nearly one year ago, we provided smartphones and digital training to a group of beekeepers in the Amhara region with limited or no smartphone experience. A few weeks ago, we met with them again, witnessing improved digital skills, and provided training on applying these skills to use the Amharic version of the Beekeeper’s Companion app.

In this blog we explore key challenges to overcoming biodiversity loss, and how supporting beekeepers through a digital hive management app offers a solution.

On World Bee Day, we celebrate our relationship with the bee and the cultural, spiritual, and agricultural impacts bees have on our lives. Through our public-private partnerships and global technology development projects, we are contributing to the preservation and protection of honeybees, while amplifying the message that saving pollinator populations is a collective mission and responsibility.

Many solitary wasps and 70% of wild bees nest below ground and require protection during this long and crucial period of their lifecycle. However, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, since 2002 assigned to safeguard soil biodiversity, excludes ground-nesting pollinators by focusing on species directly providing four ecosystem services contributing to soil quality and functions. Recent research has demonstrated the extent of threats to which ground-nesting pollinators are exposed, namely chemicals, deep tillage and soil compaction. Ground-nesting pollinators contribute indirectly to soil quality and functions as 87% of all flowering plants require pollinators. Without pollinators, soil would lose all ecosystem services provided by these flowering plants e.g., litter, shadow, roots for habitats and erosion control. Above- and below-ground biota are in constant interaction. Therefore, the key-stakeholder, the Food and Agriculture Organization should protect ground-nesting pollinators explicitly within soil biodiversity conservation.

30% of all wild bees need cavities for nesting, but old wood and hollow stems get scarce in orchards and monocultures. Therefore, farmers depend more and more on ground-nesting pollinators, while cavity nesting bees shift more and more to forest and semi-natural areas. However, ground-nesting pollinators face high threats during their below-ground life. Beehotels are not costly, you can build them in short time out of old material available at all farms. The video also explains how to promote that ground-nesting pollinators can reproduce on farm. Whereas the need for more floral resources is more known meantime, the lack of nesting material and nesting sites is a widely overseen main reason for pollinator decline. We will circulate a new ISI publication highlighting the urgent need of enhanced environmental governance for ground-nesting pollinators within the next days.