agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...

, seed saving (sometimes known as brown bagging) is the practice of saving seeds or other reproductive material (e.g.

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s, scions, cuttings) from

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s, and

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s for use from year to year for annuals and nuts, tree fruits, and

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

for perennials and trees. This is the

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

al way

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

s and

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s were maintained for the last 12,000 years (see first agricultural revolution). In recent decades, beginning in the latter part of the 20th century, there has been a major shift to purchasing seed annually from commercial seed suppliers. Most farmers regard seed saving as a risky practice. If farmers do not sanitize their seed, this can result in significant pest or disease damage when the saved seed is planted. Other reasons farmers generally do not save seed include

inbreeding depression Inbreeding depression is the reduced biological fitness caused by loss of genetic diversity as a consequence of inbreeding, the breeding of individuals closely related genetically. This loss of genetic diversity results from small population siz ...

and certain plants not growing true to seed. Many commercial varieties exhibit high degrees of hybrid vigour, and will generally outperform any saved seed in a commercial context; as such vigour is the result of specific and careful genetic research and modification by humans, those desirable traits are almost always diminished in future generations. Additionally, many seeds are proprietary, making it illegal for buyers to save them after harvest for future planting. Nonetheless a significant number of farmers (especially small holders) continue to save some seed, whether out of habit, personal interest, or commercial interest. Much

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

seed-saving activity today in the developed world is the work of home gardeners. Saving seeds protects

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and saves money for consumer gardeners.

Method

To be successful at seed saving, new skills need to be developed to ensure that desired characteristics are retained in the

landrace A landrace is a Domestication, domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural Environment (biophysical), environment of agric ...

s of the plant variety. Important considerations are the separation distance needed from plants of the same species to ensure that cross-pollination with another variety does not occur, and the minimum number of plants to be grown which will preserve inherent genetic diversity. It is also necessary to recognize the preferred characteristics of the cultivar being grown so that plants that are not breeding true are selected against, and to understand the breeding of improvements to the cultivar.

Diseases A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that are asso ...

that are seed-borne must be recognized so that they can be eliminated. Seed storage methods must be good enough to maintain viability of the seed.

Germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ...

requirements must be known so that periodic tests can be made. Care must be taken, as training materials regarding seed production, cleaning, storage, and maintenance often focus on making landraces more uniform, distinct and stable (usually for commercial application) which can result in the loss of valuable adaptive traits unique to local varieties. Additionally, there is a matter of localized nature to be considered. In the upper northern hemisphere, and lower southern, one sees a seasonal change in terms of a cooler winter. Many plants go to seed and then go dormant. These seeds must hibernate until their respective spring season.

Open pollination

Open pollination "Open pollination" and "open pollinated" refer to a variety of concepts in the context of the sexual reproduction of plants. Generally speaking, the term refers to plants pollinated naturally by birds, insects, wind, or human hands. Controlled ...

is an important aspect of seed saving. Plants that reproduce through natural means tend to adapt to local conditions over time, and evolve as reliable performers, particularly in their localities, known as

s or "folk varieties."

Legality

While saving seed and even exchanging seed with other farmers for

purposes has been a traditional practice, these practices have become illegal for the plant varieties that are patented or otherwise owned by some entity (often a corporation). Under Article 28 of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement, international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It establishes minimum standards f ...

(the TRIPS Agreement), "planting, harvesting, saving, re-planting, and exchanging seeds of patented plants, or of plants containing patented cells and genes, constitutes use" and can in some cases be prohibited by the

intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...

s of WTO Members. Significantly, farmers in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

are particularly affected by prohibitions on seed saving. There are some protections for re-use, called "farmer's privilege", in the 1991 International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Convention), but seed exchange remains prohibited. In the United States, seeds were first patented in the 1970s through the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970. This was the beginning of a culture where people could control how the food system was created, altered and distributed to the public for consumption, and yields.

United States

Originally the farmer's privilege to save seeds to grow subsequent crops was considered protected by the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970. American farmers, it was thought, could sell seed up to the amount saved for replanting their own acreage. That view came to an end in the latter part of the 20th century and early part of the 21st century, with changes in technology and law. First, in 1981 '' Diamond v. Chakrabarty'' established that companies may obtain patents for life-forms—originally genetically engineered unicellular bacteria. In 2002 '' J.E.M. Ag Supply v. Pioneer'' established that valid utility patents could be issued on sexually reproduced plants, such as seed crops (e.g., corn). In 2013 '' Bowman v. Monsanto Co.'' established that it was patent infringement for farmers to save crop seeds (soybeans in that case) and grow subsequent crops from them, if the seeds or plants were patented. Seed corporations are able to earn massive profits from this control over commercial seed supplies, and consequently further loss of control has been taken from US farmers over their farm production process.

Seed sovereignty

Seed sovereignty can be defined as the right "to breed and exchange diverse open-sourced seeds." It focuses largely on the

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

of individuals to be able to save seed, and be independent from major seed companies. Seed sovereignty activists point to seed saving as an important practice in building food security, as well as restoring agricultural biodiversity. Activists also draw attention to the cultural importance of seed saving practices, especially their role in maintaining traditional plant varieties. It is closely connected to the food sovereignty movement and food justice movement.

Notes

References

External links

Seed Savers Exchange

Grassroots Seed Network

Australian National - Seed Savers Network

South Australian Seed Savers Network

International Seed Saving Institute

Organic Seed Alliance - Seed Production guides
— ''for US Northwest''.
Seed & Plant Sanctuary for Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seed Saving Seeds Community seed banks Food sovereignty Plant conservation Pollination Sustainable gardening