The Balkan collections 1941-1942 of Hans Stubbe in the Gatersleben Gene Bank

Abstract

The German Federal Gene Bank at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben comprises ca. 148 000 accessions of crop plants and their wild relatives. Among these, material from Albania and Greece is represented with ca. 1100 and more than 2700 accessions, respectively. IPK’s collection of Albanian germplasm is the world’s largest collection, while IPK’s Greek germplasm collection is the third largest holding of Greek crops and their wild relatives. The largest part of this material (ca. 200 and 1600 accessions from Albania and Greece, respectively) originates from two collecting expeditions carried out by Hans Stubbe, the founder of the Institute for Cultivated Plant Research, and other German collectors during the Second World War, in 1941 (ca. 700 accessions) and 1942 (ca. 1100 accessions). Stubbe’s expeditions are described with respect to the regions visited, species collected, plus a comparison between the original collections and their present state in the IPK Gene Bank is provided. A formal scientific report about the results of these expeditions had never been published before. The material from these expeditions can be freely requested from the IPK Gene Bank, after signing a Material Transfer Agreement.