Open-pollinated (OP) varieties
Open-pollinated (OP) varieties produce true-to-type offspring that closely resemble their parents by sharing specific traits, provided no cross-pollination with other varieties was involved. They are naturally pollinated by insects, birds, wind or manually by humans. Thanks to an unrestricted movement of pollen between individuals, this result in a greater genetic diversity within the plant populations, allowing plants to gradually adapt to local growing and climate conditions as well as diseases over the years.
Heirloom varieties
Heirlooms – also referred to as heritages – are plant varieties that carry a history of being passed down and preserved within a family or community over several generations through careful selection. These were commonly grown during earlier periods in human history. Today, gardeners, homesteaders, as well as seed saving groups and activists are striving to maintain and preserve this heritage in danger of extinction. Note that while an heirloom must be open-pollinated, not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms.
Hybrid varieties
Hybridization is a controlled method of pollination where a crossing – often deliberate – between two genetically distinct parents is made by human intervention in order to breed a desire trait. From a commercial perspective, the new plant created and its seeds become the patented property of the breeding juridical entity. Commercially available hybridized seeds (also known as “F1” for “first filial generation”) are extensively used within commercial farms and intensive agriculture as they give highly predictable, homogenous, resistant, and high-yield plants, maturing simultaneously. Those standardized factors make them easier to grow, harvest, store, transport, and sell. However, they are frequently nutritionally inferior compared to open-pollinated varieties. Due to hybrid vigor (also called heterosis), the first generation tends to grow better and produce higher yields, especially for crops subject to strong inbreeding depression (discussed here) such as corn and many brassicas. Offspring that are produced from such crosses may, however, vary greatly from their parents and will result in either genetically unstable or sterile plants in the next generation (F2). Should the seeds from F1 plants saved, their offspring will indeed fail to grow true and will often be less vigorous, therefore forcing gardeners to purchase new seeds every year. F1s can however be stabilized over several years of careful selection through a dehybridization process.
Commercial hybrid seed production is essentially driven by the financial advantage conferred by the production and promotion of proprietary varieties that no one else can multiply in their original form. While hybridization is a phenomenon that occurs spontaneously in nature, the large-scale industrialization and monocultural disposition of such a production threaten the preservation of plant biodiversity and genetic heterogeneity, fueled by unsustainable, intensive and ecologically destructive agricultural practices. This makes commercial hybrids not well regarded among grassroot gardeners and permaculture enthusiasts, who then tend to favor and support open-pollinated and heirloom varieties instead.
A note and further clarification on seed nomenclature
Heirloom, heritage, traditional, landrace, indigenous, peasant seeds…
The wide spectrum of the nomenclature and other denominations seeking to define these specific types of seeds bring inherent confusion and misunderstanding, as most of these terms are frequently used interchangeably in seed saving – by choice, inadvertence, or due to mere unfamiliarity depending on context, individuals, and the socio-economic environment they evolve in. The great number of similar characteristics and qualities shared by certain of these seeds naturally complexifies the comprehension one can have of their respective distinctive nature, further blurring the line between them.
While some of these terms might be used loosely or informally through the lens of subjectivity – mostly due to the fact that seeds never truly exist within a strictly defined framework regardless of their nature as well as the entities and aims involved when saving/growing them – further exploration and genuine curiosity offer the opportunity to cultivate a deeper appreciation and respect for the great eclecticism that colors life, emerging from each and every seed as well as the individuals that tend them.
Heirlooms – also referred to as “heritages” – are seeds that carry a history of being passed down and preserved within a family or community over several generations through careful selection. While all heirloom must be open-pollinated to be considered as such, not all open-pollinated seeds are heirlooms. There is, however, still some confusion (and debate) as to how old a variety must be in order to be classified as an heirloom. Some believe that any variety grown before the first hybrids became available is an heirloom.
Standing as an umbrella term with no formally established definition, “traditional seeds/varieties” tend to refer to and encapsulate heirloom/heritage seeds, peasant seeds, indigenous/native seeds, and/or landraces. In some instances, that term might also correspond to seeds that have been saved/grown using traditional/ancient methods. Considering the ineluctable confusion and broad scope that this specific denomination carries, most seed savers and growers should be aware of its limitations while using the term.
Primarily used in mainland France under the denomination “semences paysannes”/”variétés rustiques”, the term “peasant seeds” (sometimes referred to as “folk varieties”) defines seeds that have been traditionally grown, selected, and saved specifically by peasants on their farms. Characterized by a strong genetic diversity, those seeds remain the main seed type used within subsistence farming communities around the world today. Unsurprisingly, an important number of peasant seeds are in fact heirlooms.
Most peasant seeds can also be considered as “landraces”, which are varieties – commonly traditionally grown – that have been locally adapted over the generations (environmentally and culturally) within a specific bioregion where they naturally thrive, while carrying an important genetic diversity. This diversity is often reflected phenotypically (variability in shape, size, color, growth habit), offering an eclectic plant population which greatly contrasts with the uniformity and stability of more modern and industrialized hybrid varieties. Based on that definition, most if not all indigenous/native seeds can be considered as landraces.