Organic leek seed production - securing seed quality

To maintain integrity in organic farming, availability of organically produced GM-free seed of varieties adapted to organic production systems is of vital impor-tance. Despite recent achievements, organic seed supply for a number of vegetable species is insufficient. Still, in many countries organic vegetable growers can get derogations to use non-organic seeds in their productions. Potentially, this could lead to the organic consumers’ loss of faith and interest in organic products. The pre-requisite for an organic vegetable production is the presence of organically produced high quality seeds. Tunnel production is a means of securing seed of high genetic purity and quality, and organic leek (Allium porrum L.) seed production was tested in tunnels in Denmark. The present trial focused on steckling size and in all years large stecklings had a positive effect on both seed yield and germination percentage. Production in tunnels provided high yields of organic leek seed of good quality. Tunnel systems may be a set-up for organic seed production where small quantities of seed can be produced without compromising the high requirements of genetic purity and seed quality.