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Around 150 species are deposited for the first time in the Seed Vault. Most of these are deposited by the Australian Pastures Genebank, which sent seeds from about 100 new species of forage crops, and almost 50 new species from the German gene bank, the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research .

The deposit from CIAT consisted of bean and forage species. The bean collection comprised 881 seed samples and the forage collection consisted of 396 accessions, in total representing 135 different species and subspecies originating from 82 different countries. CIP works mainly with potatoes and other tuber crops, and the deposited samples are divided into three part collections; Collection…

Two genebanks joined the growing number of depositors to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week and varieties of rice bean, lablab and yard-long bean from an Indigenous community were safely backed up for the first time.

Reorganisation of reseach institutes holding gene bank collections affects also the formalities and seed statistics at the Seed Vault. During 2018 three institutes, in Portugal, Chile and Australia respectively, have made changes in institute structures and moved formal ownership of seeds deposited in the Seed Vault to new institutes.

We need more knowledge to fully answer the question: How long can seeds stay alive? That question is crucial for seed genebanks and research institutes working with plants and seeds. It is known that seeds of good quality can stay alive for several decades and even for centuries. However, there are differences between species and between seed qualities due to different conditions during production and preparing of the seeds. To improve this crucial knowledge, a new seed longevity experiment, comprising seeds of 13 globally important crops, has started in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The experiment is planned to go on for 100 years.

The opening of the Seed Vault captured the imagination of the world, with journalists comparing it to a Noah’s ark for seeds. Today, as plans are made for observing the tenth anniversary of the Seed Vault, there can be no doubt as to the enormity and importance of this Norwegian contribution to the future of…

Geir Pollestad, Minister of Agriculture and Food welcomed the seeds from the eight gene banks that deposited seeds for the first time and the 13 recurrent gene banks, together with representatives from the partners: Jaspreet Stamm, Director of External Affairs, CropTrust and Lise Lykke Steffensen, CEO, NordGen. Representatives from the Kazach gene bank, one of…