Once in the bank, seeds are placed under quarantine to avoid contamination from insects, fungi or parasites. Seeds are then separated from the fruit, cleaned and submitted to some preliminary tests regarding seed quality. For those less known species a bibliography survey is required to collect those previously published data regarding seed anatomy and morphology, data that will be complemented with the direct study of our seeds under the stereomicroscope. In order to decide the treatment and storage conditions to be applied to the seeds, the first test to be carried out is moisture content. This test will enable us to include the seed in one of the main storage categories: orthodox, intermediate or recalcitrant, and therefore to anticipate their behaviour with respect to desiccation and temperature tolerance.

Post-maturation:Accessions are placed in storage rooms to allow a mild dehydration and a physiological maturation to take place (© 2005 Pablo Ferrer - CIEF; L. Podda - CCB).

All the above-mentioned procedures require the utilization of a high number of seeds. In those cases where the seeds available are scarce, a previous nursery work is required. In this case seeds are germinated in the laboratory and transferred to a nursery where plantlets are grown under controlled conditions until they are able to flower and produce new seed that will then be used in the germination assay.