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to the Organic Broadcaster: "Public Seed Initiative:
A Model of Cooperation" The Public Seed Initiative (PSI) is a collaborative project led by plant breeders at Cornell University. Funded by a USDA grant, the project seeks to connect university plant breeders with organic farmers, with the goal of developing varieties that will perform well under typical organic conditions. Cornell has partnered with organic farmers from two organizations, the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) and Oregon Tilth. The USDA-ARS, Plant Genetics Resources Unit is another partner. They have built a network of growers who assist with maintaining the USDA gene bank, and have contributed their expertise in seed production and seed health. Although many of the resources provided by the program are not available to farmers in the Midwest, PSI has a lot to offer as a model for cooperation between farmers and plant breeders. Additionally, Cornell's research has resulted in more open-pollinated disease resistant vegetable varieties, and their varieties developed for short season climates in the northeast may also work well for us. Dr. Molly Jahn, who heads the PSI program, arrived at Cornell about twenty years ago with a strong interest in breeding vegetable varieties for improved quality and for disease resistance. During this time, a dramatic consolidation of the global seed industry occurred, severely restricting the number of companies available to sell varieties developed at Cornell and other universities. This consolidation resulted in the elimination of some excellent varieties including an open pollinated disease resistant variety developed at Cornell that outperformed all hybrids on the market. When a major vegetable seed company terminated their license on this variety about 4 1/2 years ago, Molly decided it was essential to reach out to a broader array of seed growers and sellers. Cornell is a publicly funded organization, and as such has a responsibility to develop crop varieties for all seed markets, including organic growers. The project also arose out of a long connection between Cornell and small regional seed producers. The Public Seed Initiative was developed as the outreach component of a larger grant intended to deliver the benefits of crop genomic studies to agriculture. In general the goals are to provide farmers with varieties that work well in under-served markets in the U.S, particularly in regions and with crops and organic farming systems the larger companies decide not to address. During discussions with NOFA, the Public Seed Initiative developed three main components. First, they planned to release "finished" varieties to organic farmers. Farmers would have the opportunity to trial the varieties, and make recommendations. Seed varieties endorsed by farmers would then be offered to seed companies for distribution. Second, Cornell would offer a series of training workshops geared towards farmers and publicized through NOFA. The workshops would train farmers how to save their own seed, as well as breed and select varieties. Third, a mobile processing unit for seed cleaning would be available. The unit consisted of a trailer with equipment for cleaning seeds, useful for farmers who were interested in consignment seed production for seed companies, such as Fedco. On-Farm Vegetable
Trials Meanwhile, on the west coast, similar trials were done through the Farmer's Cooperative Genome Project (FCGP). The FCGP developed as a way to test varieties on the west coast, by collaborating with another organic farming organization, Oregon Tilth. During 2002 and 2003, FCGP trialed varieties of several kinds of cucurbits, tomatoes, and melons. Seed stock was made available through the National Plant Germplasm System (the U.S. seed bank). Participants were given seed and assistance with completing the evaluation materials. Here too, the program met with some complicating factors during 2002. Due to damping off problems in the seedling production greenhouses, there were not enough plants available to do complete replicated trials for the squash and cucumbers. Although the trial was not complete, the researchers summarized anecdotal information. Tomato trials were completed but some of the varieties were killed by frost before all the information had been gathered. Perhaps the most valuable results were in the melon trials-a variety called NY01-907 did very well. Although all the data for 2003 hasn't been compiled yet, Mark Henning of PSI provided a preview of the results. During this year's trials, Cornell melons performed very well compared to some other commercially available varieties. In particular, the NY01-907 variety, marketed at 'Hannah's Choice' did exceptionally well in terms of quality and yield-it even did better on organic ground than on conventional ground! 'PMR (powdery mildew resistant) Delicious 51' also did well. Originally released in 1954 by Cornell, 'Delicious 51' is difficult to find because it's an open pollinated variety. The new variety has all the good qualities of the original, with more powdery mildew resistance. In the cucumber trials, 'Marketmore 97, which has been on the market for several years, did very well. It had high yields and could be picked until frost in one trial. Also included in the trials this year were several onion varieties, as well as pickling cucumbers. There may be potential winners, but researchers need at least another year of trial data. The full results from the 2003 season will be posted on the Cornell website in the next month or so. King of the
North Project Seed Production
and Breeding Workshops and Demonstrations The plant breeding workshops took the form of 1-day classes conducted by Cornell staff members. The classes took place in the University's greenhouses, where plant breeding experiments are conducted year-round. Students were given a greenhouse tour, after which the teacher demonstrated pollination methods for various vegetables, and how to save seed and clean it. Breeding methods appropriate for on-farm breeding were also taught. These hands-on workshops have helped to demystify the breeding process and give farmers the tools to breed their own varieties. Mobile Seed
Processing Unit Program's
Future Potato Trials
for 2004 Public Seed
Initiative Web Site Erika Jensen
is a farmer and freelance writer living in Waupun, Wisconsin.
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