People usually build banks in the center of town, close and accessible to everyone's place of business. GRSU is an exception. Its address is in the fields of Shanhua in Tainan County, where most of the noise comes from birds and insects. But bank "president" Dr. Cheong Seng Tay has a full day, with work finding him on the farm, in the laboratory, and in the library. "They'll be calling for the stretcher for me before long," he insists. Cheong commands a staff of 17, including seven farmers, and his bank is the Genetic Resources and Seed Unit, the largest seed bank in Taiwan, with assets 300 million seeds strong.

As part of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, this facility accepts deposits in seed, not money, but its contribution to society is as important as any financial institution. With some biologists calling seeds "secret weapons" in the effort to control the world's food supply, many countries have established seed banks to ensure a varied and sufficient supply of foodstuffs.

AVRDC was set up in 1973 as a joint effort between the ROC, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and West Germany. The Center is part of Crop Genetic Resources, a worldwide organization that receives and disseminates seeds in bulk all over the globe. The seed strains have different strengths and weaknesses, which make them fit for some environments but not for others.

The AVRDC has three related goals: to breed strains which can resist tropical diseases; to raise the seeds' level of nutrition; and to develop new kinds of vegetable seeds. The last task might appear curious, but a look at world production and consumption patterns clarifies the situation. Half of the human race lives in tropical areas, with most going to bed hungry. And although the past decade has seen the first rice production surpluses in this century, rice lacks essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins found in vegetables. Moreover, the heavy rains and intense heat of tropical areas rob the soil of its nutrients, and crop blight is always a worry.

Vegetables thus made a logical choice, with tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, sweet potatoes, soybeans, and green lentils being the primary crops. Tomatoes, both a vegetable and a fruit, command a good price in the market. Chinese cabbage and mungbean sprouts, made with green lentils, are mainstays of Chinese cuisine, while sweet potatoes, high in nutrition and needing small inputs of manpower to grow, can be a main or side dish, or an animal feed. Biologists selected the all-important soybean in part because they wished to lower its high cost and make it more suitable to Taiwan, with its limited arable land.

Five food families may appear too few, but among their number are counted 25,000 different relatives or seed strains. Soybeans constitute the largest clan, with 12,000 unlike kinds. Only a chosen handful of strains make an appearance in our local market, but biologists still care for their less-favored brothers and sisters. They have abilities that enable them to withstand pests, drought, heat, and cold that their more popular relatives lack, and should crop disaster strike "the apple of our eye," they could save the livelihood of many a farmer. But were it not for the care of AVRDC and like institutions, these seeds easily could be unavailable.

How real is such a threat? Several years ago a lethal plant disease struck the papaya crop in Taiwan, killing thousands of trees. Within a few months, this fixture of fruit markets across the island was nowhere to be seen. Only with the aid of imported seeds did the situation return to normal.

With its international status, AVRDC obtains most of its seeds from overseas, rather than developing strains itself. Each shipment comes with an identity card, giving its name, breed, appearance, and characteristics. From this information biologists know all about the packages' contents, including place of origin, their color, size, when they will blossom, and whether they possess such virtues as resistance to extreme temperatures or evil pests. The few shipments without a clear place of origin must be planted and grown before biologists are willing to guess the seed's name and abilities.

Once their identity is clarified, the seeds are stored away in tightly sealed bags, to keep them separate and maintain their quality. One strain must have between 4000 to 12,000 seeds. Less than that and the AVRDC staff will feel itself exposed to the unpredictability of Mother Nature.

"Packing seeds always makes my heart beat a little faster," says research assistant Huang Yung-kuang. He likens the experience to walking on eggshells. Seeds are small and virtually identical in appearance, Huang explains, and if one is dropped during packing, the chances are almost nil that one could determine exactly what strain it belongs to. "Even if I'm positive where it belongs, I put it in our 'Remains Bag.' Because if I happen to be wrong, the consequences could be serious."

Storage also requires special care. Seeds are kept in sections divided into short, medium and long periods. Sweet potatoes make the most trouble for the AVRDC staff, for the plant breeds not from a seed but a bulb root and must be planted. Being in the field exposes the sweet potato to pests and changes in the weather. Recently biologists have been growing sweet potato in vitro, which enables them to protect the plant from disease

Like human beings, aging can affect seeds. After ten years of storage, they begin to lose the fertility of their youth and require assistance from human hands. The AVRDC space is limited, however, meaning only about 2000 strains can "give birth" in a year. Growing all the strains in the AVRDC treasury, one research assistant estimates, would take ten years.

Seeds have their preferences about when they give birth. Agriculture may generally be divided into three. growing seasons, being spring, summer, and fall. Fall stands out as the favorite, for its moderate temperature and humidity serve to make its budding rate the highest and minimize the likelihood of plant disease and pest attack.

Caring for the seeds is an exhausting business. Collection, inspection, research, cultivation, quality control, . . . the chores are endless. The staff even helps the Chinese cabbage pollinate. They bought and tended a beehive, and despite precautions, a research assistant ended up with "beestung" lips, which made her the butt of jokes for weeks.

Over the past several years, the bank has aided agriculture experts from over 150 countries. As a rule, nations seeking seeds need not be depositors with AVRDC. As international cooperation in this vital area grows, business improves, meaning more work for the already weary GRSU employees. Initially they respond to questions about their job with a pause and a few comments about its monotony and complexity. But after another minute, they think a bit more and say, "Actually, keep ing alive a strain of vegetable for another generation is pretty interesting."

Perhaps Dr. Cheong says it best: "Seeds aren't the property of an individual or a nation. They belong to the world. When we save a seed strain, we're giving the human race one more hope. How many people can say that about their work?"

[Picture Caption]

(Left) This green onion at AVRDC has blossomed into a flower.

(Right) These are only a small part of the over 5000 members of the mungbean family.

The bank takes in all kinds of tomatoes, regardless of quality.

Storing and shipping sweet potatoes are constant sources of headaches for the GRSU.

Budding experiments are regularly performed on seeds to test for any decrease in fertility. This staff member is making a "blanket" for the seeds, to enable it to grow in the cold temperature storage room.

Mungbeans caught in the moment of blooming.

AVRDC is located in the tranquil fields of Shanhua. These are the staff living quarters.

（Right） These are only a small part of the over 5000 members of the mungbean family.

The bank takes in all kinds of tomatoes, regardless of quality.

Storing and shipping sweet potatoes are constant sources of headaches for the GRSU.

Budding experiments are regularly performed on seeds to test for any decrease in fertility. This staff member is making a "blanket" for the seeds, to enable it to grow in the cold temperature storage room.

Mungbeans caught in the moment of blooming.

AVRDC is located in the tranquil fields of Shanhua. These are the staff living quarters.