Native Seeds/SEARCH is excited and proud to unveil a new online portal for exploration of the rich crop diversity maintained by the NS/S seed bank. The ADAPTS platform is designed to connect you with varieties in the NS/S collection that are most relevant to your unique needs. Are you a gardener in Phoenix looking for watermelon varieties from locations with similar climates, or a farmer interested in high elevation beans? ADAPTS can help point the way.
ADAPTS was developed with generous grant funding from the Gila River Indian Community and represents part of a larger effort by NS/S to develop resources for climate change resilience in the Greater Southwest. In a time of climate change, depleting resources and population growth, crop varieties that are better able to withstand heat and drought, marginal farming environments, and low-input agricultural practices hold an important key to resilient and sustainable food systems in the Southwest and beyond. Our hope is that this platform will facilitate increased exploration and use of the Southwest's crop diversity by enhancing the ability of farmers and gardeners to learn about the crops and access their seeds.
Most of the information provided by ADAPTS has never before been available to the public, so this represents an enormous expansion of public access to information about the NS/S seed bank collection. To get started, please visit the ADAPTS home page; the FAQ page provides more details and discusses plans for further development.