GERMPLASM from Australian grain varieties will be sent to Norway and the remote Syalbard Global Seed vault in Australia’s first ever deposit of germplasm to the vault, housed in a specially converted mine, 1300km from the North Pole.
There will be chickpea and field pea germplasm sent to the Seed Vault.
Genetic material from the Australian Genebank Grains collection at Horsham, in Victoria’s Wimmera, will be sent to Norway, where the Global Seed Vault holds duplicate samples of seeds from genebanks across the world, and is designed to protect them against disease epidemics or climate change.
Victorian government officials attended the sealing of the package bound for Norway which took place yesterday (Wednesday).
Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh was at the Horsham seedbank today and said the package played an important role in securing Australia’s food security.
“For the first time Australia will make a deposit in the vault as insurance against any loss to the Department of Primary Industries’ vital Horsham Australian Genebank Grains collection,” Mr Walsh said.
The Horsham seed collection contains the Australian genebank for oilseed and grain legumes, as part of the Australian Temperate Field Crops Collection.
“The collection includes over 34,000 ancient and traditional varieties from across the world including China, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East and Europe which are kept at Horsham,” Mr Walsh said.
“The first consignment of seed to be sent to Svalbard will consist of a batch of field peas (Pisum sativum) that were collected on a trip to China by DPI scientists, as well as some lines donated by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS).
“It will also contain some very rare chickpea (Cicer arietinum) lines recovered from an old Australian breeding collection.”
“Australia will eventually place germplasm samples of all field crops in the vault.”
Wimmera cropper and scientist Tony Gregson is set to join European-based Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT) Dr Cary Fowler in Norway next month to make the historical first deposit on behalf of Australia.
Horsham DPI seedbank curator Bob Redden said the purpose of the back-up was to act as a safety for stocks of important seed lines.
“It is vital to preserve such seeds or germplasm as all Australian field crops are imported species, but cropping conditions alter over time due to climate variation and new diseases and pests,” Dr Redden said.
Mr Walsh’s visit to Horsham was part of a busy period upon taking over the agriculture portfolio.
Last week, he made a funding announcement for a $31.3 million investment to build a new information network.
“The Coalition Government is improving services for farm businesses to reduce the regulatory and administrative burden and streamline the delivery of services,” Mr Walsh said.
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