Preserving the seeds: Collection moves to new facility to preserve agriculture for future research
Friday, December 13, 2024
Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu
Representing a space where the past, present and future of agriculture converge, the Oklahoma State University seed and grain archive will continue to make an impact for years to come as it transitions to its new home in Agricultural Hall.
More than a storage facility, the archive serves as home to hundreds of different seeds and grains from all over the world. The samples can be traced back to the 1920s when they were used by the 1923 OSU Crops Judging Team.
“The first OSU Crops Judging Team that competed nationally was in 1923, and they were using some of these samples to prepare,” said Wade Thomason, plant and soil sciences department head and professor. “A hundred years later, and we are still working from those original samples.”
Jack Harlan, former OSU faculty member, significantly expanded the collection in the 1950s, Thomason said. Harlan traveled extensively and brought unique and diverse seed and grain samples back to the archive, Thomason added.
The samples must be kept at a specific temperature and humidity level so the germplasm remains viable and identifiable over time, said Beatrix Haggard, plant and soil sciences associate professor.
“For research groups, the big benefit of cold- and long-term storage is trying to preserve the integrity of the seed,” Haggard said. “With the new facility, the technology has a better control system to monitor the temperature and moisture at all times.”
Donors such as the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, Oklahoma Genetics Inc., and the Oklahoma Wheat Research Foundation wanted to fund a place where researchers and producers could reap the benefits of the resources and research created by the archive, said Mike Schulte, OWC executive director.
“In any research education effort, you need to have the history and facilities to lead students in the right direction of the program,” said Mark Hodges, OGI executive director. “We felt we needed to strongly support what our producers provide their income toward in the best way possible. The support goes to new infrastructure and better research to develop new varieties.”
The facilities within the university system have needed upgrades for several years, Hodges said. Improvements were needed for production, testing, and equipment in the labs and classrooms and at the agronomy farm, he added.
“When you look at the new space now available in Agricultural Hall, the future looks nothing but bright,” Schulte said. “Having these premier facilities available will only allow us to make greater strides with our advancements toward variety development.”
The seed and grain archive provides support to the land-grant mission pillars, allowing for resource utilization in teaching, research and extension settings, Thomason said. Some of the main uses of the archive are plant breeding and plant identification processes, he added.
“A plant breeding program needs good germplasm to maintain archives,” said Yanqi Wu, plant and soil sciences Regents professor. “High-quality germplasm will lead to the future.”
More than 1,000 seed and grain samples are available through the archive, Haggard said. The origin of these samples include North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.
“When you look at the industry of agriculture, it really benefits from the efforts of our plant breeders,” Thomason said. “They work every day to make the next genetic improvement. In most of these cases, it is a very slow incremental process.
“The archive represents the history of that process,” Thomason added. “We can capitalize on the overall gain in function and yield by continuing to find plants and traits within plants, which allow them to be more adaptive, efficient, and productive.”
Students can get hands-on experience with the archive both in the lab and in the field.
“I was able to identify seeds quicker by being surrounded by them,” said Tori Booker, crop science doctoral student. “The archive gave me an advantage, and I was interested in learning more about the seeds.”
Seeds from the 1900s stay consistent and provide a baseline for research, Booker said. Even with new genetics, researchers can go back to the seed and see the characteristics from the parent seed, she explained.
“Most seed and grain archives are trying to get a snapshot of as much genetic material as they can accumulate to pull from,” Haggard said. “It’s having a giant library of seeds, and the ability to go in and find that material is very beneficial.”
Students and faculty members have the opportunity to use the archive to discover more about the seeds and grains, Thomason said.
“Essentially what happens with the teaching side of things is the seed and grain archive is just a giant resource of preserved seeds that we can access,” Haggard said. “The archive can open students’ eyes to just how many varieties exist for Oklahoma’s crops, forages or plants.”
OSU’s archive is unique, having seeds and grains other universities likely will not, Thomason said.
“It brings a sense of pride to OSU knowing the history of where our seed comes from and knowing the quality of grain hasn’t diminished since the archive was established,” Booker said. “It is cool to see the history firsthand and see what OSU has done to preserve the land-grant mission.”
Story by Jordan Murphy | Cowboy Journal