Vegetable breeders are continuously working on developing new varieties that meet consumer demands. Without these efforts, seedless watermelons, grape tomatoes, baby broccoli and broccoflower — foods we take for granted now — would not exist. Neither would tomatoes such as ‘Big Beef,’ a popular market variety that combines its large size, quality and full flavor with resistance to multiple pests and diseases.

Saving seed from your crop each year seems obvious; farmers have done it for thousands of years. However, […]