It’s easy enough to get into the habit of thinking that only institutions run genebanks. Things like government research institutes, private seed companies, university departments and maybe NGOs. In fact, of course, private enthusiasts can and do also play an important role in ex situ conservation — of fruit and veg diversity in particular. For example, there’s Gene Yale, of Skokie, near Chicago, who has a passion for collecting apple varieties and planting them in his suburban garden. He’s got over a hundred of them, including the spectacularly ugly but equally tasy Knobbed Russet. Why? Because, as he points out, he’s “nuts.” For agrobiodiversity, clearly. And in a good way. With video goodness.
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