Banque de gènes nationale
Collection génétique d’Agroscope / genetic collection of Agroscope
Agroscope National Genebank Overview
The Agroscope National Genebank Information System provides detailed access to Switzerland's ex situ collection, allowing users to search using both general and scientific criteria. The gene bank includes over 14,000 accessions, ranging from landraces and heirloom varieties to modern breeds, mutants, and breeding lines. Orders can be placed online at www.pgrel.admin.ch.
History of Genetic Resource Conservation in Switzerland
Efforts to conserve genetic resources in Switzerland began in the early 1900s when researchers at the Station fédérale d'essais agricoles de Mont Calme in Lausanne collected and selected local wheat and barley varieties. The oldest conserved wheat, Rouge de Gruyère, was collected in 1900 from Morlon near Bulle in Canton Freiburg.
Initially, the gene bank was integrated with breeding programs, with significant collections by the Reckenholz Research Station (now Agroscope) until the 1950s, focusing on wheat, spelt, barley, and maize. While wheat and barley collections emphasized Swiss-origin varieties, spelt accessions included samples from Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Spain. Today, the bank holds over 2,200 spelt varieties, one of the largest collections worldwide.
By the early 1990s, collections were centralized at Changins. The wheat collection, now expanded to over 6,800 varieties, remains closely linked to breeding programs, incorporating both Swiss and international varieties. The vegetable collection, initiated in the 1980s to preserve traditional varieties against the rise of hybrids, currently includes over 900 accessions representing 45 botanical species.
Conservation Methods
- Long-term storage (base collection): Seeds are kept in vacuum-sealed aluminum-foil bags at -20°C.
- Medium-term storage (active collection): Seeds are stored in paper bags at 4°C.
- Safety duplicates are preserved at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
Légumes - Vegetables
The collection of vegetable varieties dates back to the early 1980s. Starting around that time, many old and traditional varieties of several species were largely replaced by hybrid varieties. To preserve Swiss varieties and those that had long been cultivated in Switzerland, dedicated collection efforts were organized.
Shortly after its founding in 1890, the Swiss Research Institute and School for Fruit, Wine, and Horticulture began working on improving existing vegetable varieties through selection. During the First World War, seed production was also promoted. Efforts were made to provide Swiss vegetable growers with suitable varieties for cultivation and marketing. The starting material mainly consisted of local Swiss landraces. At the same time, the breeding work in Wädenswil contributed to maintaining domestic vegetable seed production. All vegetable varieties developed in Wädenswil bear the name “ZEFA,” an abbreviation for Züchtung der Eidgenössischen Forschungsanstalt (Breeding of the Federal Research Station).
Vegetable selection was also pursued at other Agroscope research stations. For example, shallot selection began in 1979 at the Centre des Fougères with the goal of developing stable, healthy, and high-quality material. Thanks to coordinated efforts across several Agroscope divisions, this work led to the development of the variety “MILRAC” (RAC: Recherche Agronomique de Changins).
At Changins, a selection program for Swiss chard was carried out. To ensure the conservation and promotion of genetic resources, a collection of farm populations and several more or less selected varieties of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. provulgaris var. flavescens) and leaf beet (B. vulgaris ssp. provulgaris var. cicla) was established at the Changins Station starting in 1980. Each population was cultivated, described, multiplied when necessary, and then preserved in the gene bank. One result of these effort was the variety "BERAC".
Maïs
Die agrarpolitischen Veränderungen der 199oer-Jahre hatten auch in der Pflanzenzüchtung unübersehbare Folgen. So schaffte der Bund 1992 die Qualitätsprämien für Saatgetreide und die Verbilligungsbeiträge für Saatkartoffeln ab. Drei Jahre später gab er die Maiszüchtung auf, die seither im Zuchtbetrieb Delley betrieben wird.