Course # SEED ECOLOGY

NAME # AHMED SAUD

AG # 2017 - ag-9927

Submitted to : DR, IFTIKHAR ALI

CONVENTIONAL SEED BANKING TO SUPPORT SPECIES SURVIVAL IN THE WILD

Introduction :
Conventional seed banking is a fundamental plant conservation practice within the CPC network
and around the world. In 1995, CPC published Guidelines for the Management of Orthodox
Seeds (Wieland 1995). These guidelines not only presented practical advice for preserving the
genetic diversity of seeds of the rarest plant species in North America based upon the best
science of the period, they blossomed from a partnership with the ARS-USDA National
Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (formerly the National Seed Storage Laboratory)
in Fort Collins, Colorado. The dedicated NLGRP staff, their excellent facilities, and
collaborative research with CPC conservation officers have been central to our growing
understanding of how to store seed while maintaining viability.
Farmers need seeds because without viable seeds the survival of their household is endangered.
In fact, the ways that farmers obtain seed are as old as agriculture, and most small-scale farmers
in developing countries routinely save their seed from one harvest to the next. Nowadays, some
60-70 percent of seed used by these farmers is still saved on-farm, Most of the remaining seed is
obtained off-farm, from local sources (Louwaars, 1994; Cromwell, 1996a).
This seed is usually stored in some form of the seed bank, providing seed storage for farmers,
and in any case in situ conservation of plant genetic resources, Never the less, these community
systems of seed supply are increasingly coming under pressure. In the first instance, factors such
as droughts, crop failure, confit, difficult storage conditions, and poverty are eroding both the
quantity of seed and the number of plant varieties available to farmers, Second, as a result of
agricultural modernisation, farmers are increasingly purchasing more of their seed requirements
(Berg, 1996a). Not only does this mean that local seed storage could become less important, but
as thisseed replaces older, local varieties, these varieties become increasingly ‘unavailable in
many communities. In consequence, interventions to strengthen informal seed supply systems,
such as establishing seed banks, and seed breeding and multiplicationare gaining popularity
among NGOs and public sector institutions engaged in the area of the seed supply.
Seed is defined as the part of a plant from which a plant can be grown. It can be:‘+ generative-
such as grain or fruit seed, usually produced through sexual reproduction and consisting of an
embryo and is food stored within a hardened seed coat (testa); or‘+ vegetative- consisting of
 any propagative part of a plant such as a stem, tuber, or bulb.
Seed security is defined as a state where farmers are certain, year after year, to obtain, on
time, the quantity and quality of seed
necessary to fulfil their production
plans.
"Orthodox" Seed:-
Seeds capable of conventional freezer storage (temperatures -
18°C + 3°C) are called orthodox

The decline in vigor and germination of a seed accession over time.

Recalcitrant seed:-
are seeds that do not survive drying and freezing during ex-situ
conservation. "Recalcitrant" is also used to describe a seed that is difficult to germinate, which
happens when seeds lack embryos. Recalcitrant seeds are seeds that do not survive drying and
freezing during ex-situ conservation. By and large, these seeds cannot resist the effects of drying
or temperatures less than 10 °C (50 °F); thus, they cannot be stored for long periods like
orthodox seeds because they can lose their viability.
Intermediate seed:-
Intermediate seeds are between orthodox and recalcitrant seeds in their
survivablity. They are initially identified by their inability to survive conventional dry-freezing
storage while being able to survive cryopreservation as a whole.

Intermediate seeds are characterized by at least one of the following symptoms:

1. Longevity is highest if seeds are dried to between 45 and 65% RH com-
pared to the 15 to 20% RH optimum observed for orthodox seeds.
2. Seeds age faster when stored at conventional freezer temperatures
 compared to refrigerated temperatures. Faster aging might be detected
within days, months or years, making it difficult to identify which spe-
cies'seeds are intermediate.
3. Longevity of seeds increases with drying and cooling (as with orthodox seeds), but
seeds still age rapidly during conventional storage and will die within about 5 years.