Germplasms Conservation, Evaluation, Documentation, Distribution and Quarantine Plant Breeding K. Vanangamudi Field seed bank Shoot tip bank DNA banks International Institutes conserving germplasm

1. Germplasms: Conservation, Evaluation,
Documentation, Distribution and Quarantine
Dr. K. Vanangamudi
Formerly Dean (Agriculture), AC & RI, Coimbatore,
Dean, Adhiparashakthi Agricultural College,Kalavai,
Professor and Head - Seed Science and Technology,
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
Germplasm Conservation
 Refers to protection of genetic diversity of crop plants from
genetic erosion.
 Two methods
 in-situ conservation
 ex situ conservation.
1. in - situ conservation
 Conservation of germplasm under natural conditions
 Achieved by protecting the area from – human interference,
such as Natural Park, biosphere reserve or gene sanctuary.
 NBPGR, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New
Delhi, established gene sanctuaries in Meghalaya for citrus,
North Eastern regions for musa, citrus, oryza and saccharum.
Merits
 Wild species and natural or semi natural ecosystems are
preserved together.
Demerits
 Several areas will have to be conserved for a single species.
 Management is difficult.
 Costly method.
2. ex - situ conservation
 Refers to preservation of germplasm in gene banks.

2. Advantages
 Helps to preserve entire genetic diversity of a crop species at
one place.
 Easy handling.
 Cheap method.
3. 5 ways of conservation
1. Seed banks
 Germplam is stored as seeds of various genotypes.
Orthodox seeds: Seeds are dried to low moisture content and
stored at low temperature
o Examples: Maize, wheat, rice, carrot, papaya, pepper,
chickpea, cotton, sunflower.
Recalcitrant seeds: A drastic loss in viability with a decrease in
moisture content below 12 to 13%
o Examples: Citrus, cocoa, coffee, rubber, oilpalm, mango,
jack fruit etc.
There are three types of conservation
Short term: Working collection is stored for short term (3-5
years) at 5-10°C.
Medium term: Active collections are stored for medium term
(10-15 years) at zero degrees Celsius.
Long-term: Base collections are conserved for long term (50
years or more) at -18 or -20°C.
Advantages of gene banks
Large number of samples can be conserved in a very small
space.
Handling is easy.
Free from pathogens and insects.
Disadvantages
Seeds of recalcitrant species can not be stored.
Failure of power supply may lead to loss of viability.
It requires periodical evaluation for seed viability.
After some time, multiplication is essential for storage of fresh
seeds.

3. 2. Plant Bank (Field bank)
 Areas of land in which germplasm collections of growing plants
are assembled.
Limitations
1. Require large areas
2. Expensive to establish and maintain
3. Prone to damage from disease and insect attacks
4. Man – made
5. Natural disasters
6. Human errors in handling
Established field gene banks
Name of country Crop species
Malaysia 500 ha Oil palm.
Indonesia 1000 ha area for coconut and other perennial crops.
Philippines South East Asian germplasm for banana
India Global collection of coconut in Andman and Nicobar.
3. Shoot tip banks
 Conserved as shoot-tips (Meristem cultures) and nodal
segments.
Advantages
 Conserved free from virus or other pathogens.
 Vegetatively propagated crops like potato, sweet potato,
cassava are conserved.
 Regeneration of meristems is extremely easy.
 Recalcitrant seeds can be easily conserved by meristem
cultures.
4. Cell and organ banks
 Cryopreservation (at –196°C in liquid nitrogen) of embryogenic
cell cultures, somatic/ zygotic embryos.
5. DNA banks
 DNA segments from the genomes of germplasm accessions are
maintained and conserved.

4. Gene banks for various crops in India
Crop species Location of
Gene bank
Name of Research institute/Centre
All crops New Delhi
1976
National Bureau of Plant Genetic
Resources
Wheat Karnal
1965
Directorate of Wheat Research
Rice Cuttack
1946
Central Rice Research Institute
Potato Shimla
1945
Central Potato Research Institute
Pulses Kanpur
1966
Indian Institute for Pulses Research
Oilseed crops Hyderabad
1977
Directorate of Oilseed Research
Sorghum Hyderabad
2009
National Research Centre for
Sorghum
2014 Indian Institute of Millets Research
Soybean Indore
1987
National Research Centre for Soybean
Cotton Nagpur
1976
Central Institute for Cotton Research
Plantation crops Kasargod
1916
Central Plantation Crops Research
Institute
Tobacco Rajahmundry
1947
Central Tobacco Research Institute
Tuber crops other
than potato
Trivandrum
1963
Central Tuber Crops Research
Institute
Maize New Delhi
1929
Indian Agricultural Research Institute
Forge and fodder
crops
Jhansi
1962
Indian Grassland and Fodder
Research Institute
Groundnut, Pearl
millet, Sorghum,
Pigeon pea and
Bengal gram
Patancheru
1972
International Crops Research
Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics
Forest species Dehradun
1906
Forest Research Institute
All crops Kolkata
1890
Botanical Survey of India

5. List of important International Institutes conserving germplasm
Name Institute Activity
IRRI
1960
International Rice Research
Institute, Los Banos, Philippines
Tropical rice
Rice collection: 42,000
CIMMYT
1966
Centre International de-
Mejoramients de maize Trigo, El
Baton, Mexico
Maize and wheat
(Triticale, barely,
sorghum)
Maize collection –
8000
CIAT
1967
Center International de-agricultural
Tropical Palmira, Columbia
Cassava and beans,
(also maize and rice)
in collaboration with
CIMMYT and IRRI
IITA
1967
International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Grain legumes, roots,
and tubers, farming
systems.
CIP
1971
Centre International de-papa-Lima.
Peru
Potatoes
WARDA
1970
West African Rice Development
Association, Monrovia, Liberia
Regional Cooperative
Rice Research in
Collaboration with IITA
and IRRI
IPGRI
1974
International Plant Genetic
Research Institute, Rome, Italy
Genetic conservation.
AVRDC
1971
The Asian Vegetable Research and
Development Centre, Taiwan
Tomato, Onion,
Peppers, Chinese
cabbage.
ICARDA
1977
International Center for Agricultural
Researach in the Dry Areas. Aleppo,
Syria
wheat, barley,
chickpea, lentils,
pasture legumes and
small ruminants
ICRAF
1977
International Centre for Research in
Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Integrating trees in
land-use systems in
developing countries
Evaluation of Germplasm
 To identify gene sources for resistance to biotic and abiotic
stresses earliness, dwarfness, and productivity and quality
characters.
 To classify the germplasm into various groups.

6. Germplasm cataloguing, Data storage and Retrieval
 Each germplasm accession is given an accession number as
below.
IC (Indigenous collection)
EC (exotic collection)
IW (Indigenous wild)
Information to be recorded in germplasm maintenance records
Species and variety names
Place of origin
Adaptation
Various feature or descriptors
 Catalogues of the germplasm collection are published by the
gene banks.
 Compilation, storage and retrieval is now done using special
computer programmes.
Distribution and Utilization
 Supplied to the researchers who are engaged in the research
work of a particular crop species.
 Used in crop improvement programmes.
Quarantine
 Prophylactic measures to prevent the entry of new diseases,
insects and weeds from other countries.
 Quarantine offices are located at all seaports and international
airports.
 Plant material will be grown in isolation to check the entry of
new diseases, pest or a weed and then issue phytos anitary
certificate.