India Creates ‘Purity Vault’

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|1 June 2010

COIMBATORE, India — Concerned about the preservation of the original traits of plant varieties amidst hybridization, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has opened a seed bank on its Coimbatore campus, according to Indian Express. The seeds, which can be kept for up to 20 years under controlled temperature and humidity, will save time, money and effort for researchers who need to cultivate seed samples every year.

The seed bank will store about 75,000 varieties of approximately 1,000 seeds each. The bank was set up at a cost of about $259,000.
 

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