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“There are seed collections at CIMMYT that still meet the minimum viability standard after more than 50 years under storage,” Payne said, noting that the center’s long-term collections are kept at minus 18 degrees Centigrade and in low humidity. When less than 85 percent of a unique collection is viable, then the entire collection is replaced with fresh seed grown from the viable portion. Only seed of the highest quality is sent to Svalbard, in part to ensure that the stored seed retains as long as possible its ability to germinate.ĬIMMYT Germplasm Bank seed collections are regularly tested for germination capacity by placing a batch of seeds in a wet paper towel for 7-10 days. CIMMYT’s Wheat Germplasm Bank aims to have 90 percent of its collection backed up at Svalbard within two years. Additionally, the Svalbard vault opens for new deposits only a few times a year, so shipping logistics need to match up those dates. For starters, seed must be sent in the winter to avoid it sitting on hot airport tarmacs. Preparing and shipping the seed involves intricate coordination and painstaking work. “We send seeds every other year, accumulating packets until we have a critical mass and sending them in a large, single shipment,” Payne said. CIMMYT’s Maize Germplasm Bank, led by Denise Costich, has already reached that goal. The target is to have 90 percent of the CIMMYT entire collection backed up at Svalbard within two years, according to Thomas Payne, head of CIMMYT’s Wheat Germplasm Bank, which is located in Mexico. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the top contributor to the vault, with over 150,000 unique collections containing a total of nearly 50 million seeds and representing roughly 85 percent of the entire CIMMYT germplasm bank collection. Over the last decade, seed-preserving institutions worldwide have shipped backup collections of seed and other plant parts for storage in the vault, which now holds nearly 900,000 varieties of essential crops, representing over 4,000 plant species, which could be drawn upon to restart agriculture in case of a catastrophe. Repurposing an abandoned coal mine, the global seed vault is set deep into the natural permafrost of the Norwegian island of Svalbard. It is described as the world’s largest secure seed storage and was established by the Norwegian Government in February 2008. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault sits 1,300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle the farthest north commercial flights will take you. To celebrate, leaders in the conservation of crop genetic resources are gathering next week to discuss best practices and to encourage sustainable use of the resources. Photo: CIMMYT archivesĮL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) - The “Doomsday Vault,” that safeguards fall-back collections of key food crop seeds in the arctic cold of Longyearbyen, Norway, marks its tenth anniversary this year. CIMMYT’s Maize Germplasm Bank has its entire collection backed up in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
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