About Seed Banks

[nancylebov]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5094450.stm

A huge new seed bank is getting built. While I don't think it's a bad idea, I wonder if it's as good as it sounds.

If you've got seeds and you know what species they are and what region they're from (I suspect they don't have much better data than that, or they'd be talking about their cool database), how good are the odds of getting plants which can produce the next generation of seeds?

Comments

[avram]

"Cool database"? How much more information would you need (recommended soil types and planting seasons, I'm guessing), and why wouldn't you just print it on the seed containers? I wouldn't expect database technology to survive a global catastrophe.

I'm more excited by the prospect of the hardy band of seed-seekers having to voyage up to Svalbard and fight their way past polar bears.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I am not a gardener, but my general impression is that some plants are extremely tough and others are very finicky. This is amplified by having recently read _The $64 Tomato_, an account by an energetic fellow with a moderately large amount of money to throw at a large vegetable garden.

You might be right about the information, and printing it on the seed containers sounds good though it still would be nice to have backups.

The thing you're leaving out is that those seeds might be the only available specimens for some traits/varieties. I assume that they won't just be thrown in the ground and watered--the first generation, at least, will be raised very carefully.