Seed banks are a serious issue. Not only for established crop strains, but also their wild relatives which have a habit of dying out when their domesticated cousins are spread around. Keeping original landraces of staple crops is essential as they are genetically much more variable and often harbour genes that will have useful properties. A classic example is after the Irish potato famine, Mexican wild potatoes were found that had genes for blight-resistance (not that genetics as such were fully understood then ) Similar issues have arisen with maize, and possibly rice, but I can't recall the details. During the siege of Leningrad in WWII, the staff of the seedbank there were so dedicated to preserving their stocks that they starved rather than raid the vaults, and I think the Director was made a 'Hero of the Soviet Union', or somesuch.

Of course seeds in storage will only last so long - refrigeration helps, and natural refrigeration is a lot cheaper, hence Svalbard Every few years the stocks will need to be "grown out" and recollected. Generally the larger the seed the longer time it will remain viable in storage, so grains are particularly important. Bear in mind that about 10 species of grain provide 80% of the world's staple calories, any failure due to a new disease or pest could be devastating if we do not preserve the genetic variety that could be harbouring genes for resistance.



& BG : you're so right about the cabbages