US: Going door-to-door to save Egypt's pumpkins and address global food insecurity

Published Mar 23, 2022

Tridge summary

An international research team, led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is working to conserve and improve nine varieties of pumpkins grown in central and northeastern Egypt by studying their biochemical and molecular variations. This research is crucial for food security as it aims to identify and conserve pumpkin cultivars that are well-suited for local environments, potentially replacing commercial seeds that are not adapted to local conditions and exacerbate food insecurity. The research involves collecting seeds, analyzing their nutritional value, and using genetic markers to identify each variety uniquely. This collaboration between small farmers, Egyptian institutions, and international researchers is seen as a model for integrating local knowledge and resources to address global food security challenges.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

How does one help save an iconic, nutritious Egyptian crop that will help meet the food security challenges resulting from climate change? An international team of researchers, led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, discovered that the best way to start is to drive throughout central and northeastern Egypt, knock on the doors of small farmers, and ask for a handful of their pumpkin seeds. The results of that labor, announced recently in Molecular Biology Reports, show that the team has successfully traced the biochemical and molecular variations of nine different pumpkin varieties grown in several climatic zones of central and northeastern Egypt. The research is a crucial first step in identifying which varieties of pumpkins are ideal for conservation and ...

Source: Phys