Seeds of the Earth

His knowledge, tenacity and eloquence still resound in the corridors of the Institute which bears his name in Saint Petersburg and his spirit continues to inspire the hundreds of researchers pursuing his work.

He had anticipated the disappearance of plant diversity, and, within the space of a few decades, he studied and travelled throughout the world and found the means of saving it. For political and idealogical reasons, Nikolai Vavilov was condemned to death and left to starve in the dungeon of a Soviet prison. Gradually, on both sides of the iron curtain, his memory began to fade.

One hundred years after Vavilov's first expédition, the photographer Mario Del Curto retraced his footsteps. For four years he has been meeting those who, despite overwhelming obstacles, perpetuate Vavilovs seed prospection, selection, and conservation work in order to save the planet's staple food crops.

This book is the unprecedented story of his journey to the heart of the Vavilov Institute and its twelve research stations. International specialists bring light to the huge scope of the work undertaken by Vavilov and his successors.