Going Door-to-Door to Save Egypt’s Pumpkins and Address Global Food Insecurity
Published:28 Mar.2022    Source:University of Massachusetts Amherst

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 varietal improvement to meet the challenges in achieving food security in a changing world.