From 10th till 11th December, the LiveSeeding partner ITAB Institut organised the Organic Vegetable Seeds Technicals Days with the goal of learning about organic breeding and varieties, quality of organic vegetable seeds, and so much more!
On the first day, two tour routes were organised, one on multiplication of organic vegetable seeds and the other on maintenance and varietal creation. On the first route (multiplication), participants discovered the farm and practices of Lucien Laizé, an organic multiplier in Segré-en-Anjou Bleu. After a warm lunch, they continued to Aubépin, an organic multiplication and selection farm.
The second route (selection), started on the same Aubépin farm, where Pierre Dorand, Robin Picaud and Marine Dorand talked about, among other topics, the variety restoration, the varietal creation and population varieties. The afternoon, this group discussed participatory carrot selection with the farmers Nicolas Oran and Camille Sourdin and with Céline Morvan from Bio Loire Océan, an association of organic fruit and vegetable producers in the Pays de la Loire. In total, on the 2 routes, 70 people braved the cold to spend the day in the fields!
The following day was held indoor at Institut Agro Angers and gathered more than 90 participants. Semae, ITAB, the Sativa seed company and the Emersys team from INRAE Angers shared the floor during the morning. These presentations covered statistics on the organic seed sector in France, organic varieties and biological heterogeneous material challenges and the microbiological quality of seeds – in the spotlight: seed sanitation by steam treatment and microbial life associated with seeds. The afternoon was dedicated to 6 “flash” presentations by participants, followed by 4 thematic workshops in sub-groups.
In view of the high participation and the discussions that took place, we are planing to make the Organic Vegetable Seeds Technicals Days a regular event.
