Arugula seedbed
Agriculture is key for humanity to stay alive, but it is also one of the most polluting. Almost a third of greenhouse gas emissions are due to this activity, which includes the generation of CO2 from tillage and the use of chemical fertilizers that, in addition to increasing the presence of nitrous oxide, cause soil fertility to be lost.
With everything, 20% of plant species are in danger of extinction, and many others could be soon as a consequence of increasing temperatures and mono-crops. Fortunately, there are several organizations that are dedicated to collecting the seeds and storing them in protected sites, and creating new varieties that resist climate change.
One of these organizations is the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) those who work to preserve the genetic heritage of seeds and to develop species that resist droughts, diseases and various environmental conditions that could arise in the medium and long term. At the moment, it has 37 thousand varieties of beans and 6 thousand samples of cassava.
These types of centers are very important, since thanks to them farmers will be able to acquire seeds of more resistant plants, which will undoubtedly be crucial to avoid economic losses. Even so, 30% of the 1076 wild relatives of the 81 most important crops still need to be collected, according to a study published in Nature Plants. Wild relatives have valuable genetic information that can be used to develop crops that can better adapt to climate change.
By selecting seeds, better varieties can be obtained.
»The world's food supply is in a precarious position, relying on very few species of arable plants. For every wild relative that is not conserved in a genebank and not available for research, there is one less option for breeders to increase the resilience of food crops."Said Colin Khoury, CIAT scientist and co-author of the report.
It is interesting to know that for less than 600 euros, you can keep a variety forever. However, we will still have to wait a little while to get these "super seeds".