Seed Storage

 

Central to our mission is the seed bank which is housed at our headquarters located in the Arizona Crop Improvement Association Building at The University of Arizona Campus Agricultural Center. The seed collection currently includes 1344 identified species representing 1428 taxa of legumes in 218 genera. The largest genera represented in the collection include Acacia (355 species), Astragalus (121 species), Lupinus (44 species), Senna (42 species) and Lotus (32 species). The seed bank has a total of 3390 individual accessions.

 

These seed originated in 57 countries on six continents. Seed in our seed bank are obtained by direct collection, exchange with other botanical institutions, purchase and donations. The seed collection is stored in a commercial walk-in storage freezer donated to the program by the late Horace P. Miller. Heat-sealable laminated foil envelopes are used for long-term seed storage. ÒWorking collectionsÓ are stored in jars. Accession records are maintained on a database.

 

In 1996 DELEP made an agreement with USDA-ARS National Seed Storage Laboratory at Fort Collins, Colorado to provide back-up storage. There are now over 700 DELEP accessions backed up in the National Center for Genetic Resources. Specific information regarding the DELEP accessions can be found at http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/stats/site.pl?DLEG.

 

DELEP distributes seeds, subject to availability, to individuals and organizations in the U.S. and overseas. There is no charge for the seeds. DELEP's Index Seminum includes a listing of seed availability and instructions for requesting seeds. To recieve a copy of the Index Seminum, send email questions and requests to mjohnson@ag.arizona.edu , call or fax (520) 647-2503, or write: Desert Legume Program, 2120 E. Allen Road, Tucson, AZ 85719. Seeds may also be requested through the USDA-ARS GRIN website cited above.

updated August 2009