Large Participatory Projects in Vegetable Improvement.

For the last decade, my research groups, together many collaborators drawn from a variety of sectors including universities, government, private sector, non-profit organizations, and individuals have undertaken large, networked programs toward the delivery of a wide range of vegetable germplasm and varieties that serve diverse markets and geographies. I will describe the two most significant of these efforts, the Public Seed Initiative and the Organic Seed Partnership which have now provided the foundation for additional projects that are more focused according to crop, region, or production system. Key contributors among hundreds of participants to the design, implementation and assessment of these projects included Elizabeth Dyk, Terri Ferrin Balch, Michael Glos, Elizabeth Henderson, Mark Henning, Sarah Johnston, Mary Kreitinger, George Moriarty, Ruth Mendum, Erin Silva, Ravi Reddy, Umesh Reddy and Larry Robertson.