Abstract
Information about crop-specific best practices for ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources has been difficult to find until recently. The CGIAR, together with national and regional partners, started to fill that gap by publishing best practices on the crop genebank knowledge base (CGKB -http://cropgenebank.sgrp.cgiar.org/), a website specifically developed and officially launched in 2010 to provide easy access to knowledge about all aspects of ex situ conservation of specific crops to genebank managers and ex situ conservation researchers. A collaborative study, undertaken by Bioversity International with eight national and international genebanks, utilized the framework provided by the CGKB to develop and publish radish conservation best practices. This paper focuses on two aspects of this study: (1) Differences in procedures and practices in radish conservation currently applied in five key genebank activities, namely, acquisition of germplasm, viability testing and monitoring, seed drying, seed storage, and regeneration. While in a few cases genebanks agreed on a specific best practice to recommend, in others it was not desirable to identify one practice as superior to another, therefore a range of existing practices is described as a variety of equivalent options. The results highlight the importance of proactive genebank management aimed at meeting the standards within the specific context in which a genebank operates. (2) The framework and template provided by the CGKB in guiding the development of genebank best practices, and the CGKB as an excellent resource to widely and freely share best practices with the global community to support the effective management of crop genebanks.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.