Seed banks are one of the important parts of diversity. They are quite beneficial for the development of farming in many ways. Well, it's a fact that if you sow a seed then you have to take care of it like you take care of your own child, hence in order to grow your farm again if any unpredictable condition arrives, you need to preserve the seeds.
Farmers play an important role in our society. Seed banks are important for them in many ways. So, let's take a proper ride on what seed banks actually are and how they are important for us.
What Are Seed Banks?
Seed banks are the banks that are reserved for seed preservation. It's an essential bank for seeds in order to protect the genetic diversity of seeds for future use. In short, these seed banks store seeds to be well prepared for any pandemic related to food and farming. These seed banks take seeds from all the plants and preserve biodiversity.
All these seeds are stored at low temperature and low moisture so that there is no genetic loss of the resources.
Every country owns their own seed bank which is owned by Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
CGIAR is a strategic partnership of diverse donors that support 15 international Centers that work for the benefit of farms and agriculture.
Well, a person can form his own seed bank at his home itself by preserving seeds from all varieties. All he needs to do is save the seed at the place where the temperature is low and the environment has moisture so that the seed lasts long and there's no loss. However, preserving the seeds in the bank would be very beneficial.
So, this was a brief introduction to these gene banks and the way they work.
Preservation Ways And Techniques
It is quite important to store the seeds. You can do it at your home as wellThere are many ways by which you can preserve the seeds. It’s quite easy and simple. Some of the best ways which you can apply easily to store seeds are described below.
1. Store The Seeds In Glass Container
It's better to store the seeds in a glass container as it contains a low temperature and moisture environment. It will surely store the seeds in a proper way and will give you the desired results.
2. Your Refrigerator
Another best place to store the seeds is by keeping them in the refrigerator by giving them a proper container. Since the refrigerator has a cold environment and moisturising nature, the refrigerator will surely sound the best.
3. Keep Your Seeds between 32 to 41 degrees
It would be better if you preserve the seeds between 32 to 41 degrees as it will be the most suitable temperature.
4. Store Different Seeds In Different Containers
Store different kinds of seeds in different containers for better preservation and good development of your farm.
So, these are the best possible ways for you to preserve your seeds. Store them accordingly for their better preservation. If seeds are stored well they will be successfully germinated and hence will give desired output.
Challenges
Well, there are some challenges that you can face while storing the seeds. They are mentioned below.
1. Initial Seed Moisture Content
You might have to remove the moisture again that arrives at the initial stages. At least for a week or two, you have to store the seeds again and again by removing their moisture and washing them, and then dry them in sunlight and restore them again. It is very important to take care of seeds and provide required climatic conditions so they yield high.
2. Relative Humidity and Temperature
These are other factors that may affect the seeds. The humidity and temperature are responsible for their growth, however, constant increase and decrease in the environment of nature can affect them. So make sure you store them in an airtight container.
3. Maintaining Viability
Another important factor in maintaining the viability of the seeds for their better storage. To check how many seeds are alive and in good conditions after a certain period of time. In case there’s little loss in viewing the seeds, then there are chances that you may receive the rotten seeds as the results.
So, these are the major challenges that you can face while storing the seeds.
Examples of Seed Banks
To date, there are 150 seed banks in 22 states of India. The largest seed bank has been governed by the Norwegian Government since 2008.
1. Indian Seed Vault is one of the commonly known seed banks of India, situated in Ladakh. It is the second-largest bank in the world. It was built in 2010 jointly by the Defense Institute of High Altitude Research and the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.
2. Navdanya is another seed bank in India, also known as an Indian NGO for seeds. This is one of the finest seed banks that preserves all kinds of seeds.
3. Annadana Seed and Soil Savers is another prominent seed bank that preserves plant seeds in priority. Apart from this, it distributes 101 varieties of organic open-pollinated vegetable seeds.
4. Green Foundation is yet another famous seed bank of India, situated in the south. Its network has farmer associations that are spread across 109 villages of Karnataka. It has been serving the country since 1996 and will continue further with more networks.
5. Sahaja Samrudha is another one of the most amazing seed banks in Karnataka. It has quite a large network with a large variety of vegetable and flower seeds. Thus preserving biodiversity with all the best means they can.
6. Deccan Development Society is another bank that works for the welfare of agro-diversity. The bank is located in Andhra Pradesh to help men and women and give them the options when there is not sufficient supply of required seeds.
7. Virhi is yet another famous seed bank of India, which means ‘rice’. This bank is basically from eastern India that stores rice seeds. It’s an independent organization that wants to reestablish non-commercial seed exchange.
8. The National Bureau is the world's second largest seed bank in the world. They have stored near about one million geneplasm, which will not only help farmers but will also be the great source of scientific research.
So these are famous Indian banks that are helping nature with their best means.
About Urja Seeds
Urja Seeds, an online seed store that gives to you the best, most healthy and nourishing seeds. Undoubtedly, we will give you the tremendous quality of seeds that will help you in growing your farm in a healthy way, with no flaws.
We provide you with a variety of agricultural seeds online that will help you in developing your kitchen garden quite easily.
There is a variety of seeds available with us like vegetable seeds, flower seeds, micro green seeds and exotic seeds too.
USP Of Urja Seeds
We provide a wide variety of exotic vegetable seeds, enriched with all the qualities.
We ensure the proper quality of flowering seeds of all the breeds.
We have all types of vegetable and fruit seeds that will definitely grow in the proper aspect and will give you good results.
FAQs
Q1. Is It Important To Preserve Seeds In Seed Banks?
Ans: It would be beneficial to store seeds in seed banks as they take care of everything. Hence, there are fewer chances of losing the resources.
Q2. Why is it important to preserve seeds in cold temperatures?
Ans: Cold temperature doesn't allow seeds to get spoiled and helps in preserving them for a longer time duration of time.
Q3. Can we store seeds in a dry environment?
Ans: No, seeds need to be stored in cold temperatures with adequate moisture levels.
Q4. Why is storing seeds important?
Ans: It is important to store seeds in order to ensure a stable source of food and also to have backup seeds from which additional crops can be grown.
Q5. What temperature is best to store seeds?
Ans: The best temperature to store seeds is 32 degrees to 41 degrees.
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