Feature
The seed bank that ran out of room
A regional seed vault built to last a century is full after twenty years. Its keepers must now decide what to save.
Science correspondent
8 min read
Seed samples in cold storage. Each jar holds a variety that may exist nowhere else.
The vault holds 48,000 varieties of seed, stored at minus 18 degrees in a hillside bunker. It was designed to last a hundred years. After twenty, it is full.
The keepers now face a question they never expected: what should they stop saving?
Choosing what to keep
The team is considering three options: expand the vault, send duplicates to partner banks abroad, or retire varieties that are well preserved elsewhere.
“Every jar is someone’s grandmother’s tomato. You cannot throw that away lightly,” the curator said.
A decision is expected next year, after consultation with farmers who donated seeds.
In pictures
Seed samples waiting for a place in cold storage.
Each packet holds a few thousand seeds.
Germination tests run every ten years.
Spare seeds are shared with research gardens.
Topics
Leo Hartmann
Science correspondent
Leo writes about research, researchers and the long road from lab to headline.
