New technologies to improve the ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources

Sampling for Effective Ex Situ Plant Conservation

“The Ex Situ Conservation of Stinking Cedar”

The propagation of plants for food, timber, medicines and aesthetics has been a principal activity of man for millennia. However, the systematic propagation of plant material for the purposes of conservation has a recent history, probably dating back only a few decades. The propagation and distribution of Torreya taxifolia from wild collected, documented material is one of the largest projects ...

Separating the wheat from the chaff – a strategy to utilize plant genetic resources from ex situ genebanks

The need for higher yielding and better-adapted crop plants for feeding the world's rapidly growing population has raised the question of how to systematically utilize large genebank collections with their wide range of largely untouched genetic diversity. Phenotypic data that has been recorded for decades during various rounds of seed multiplication provides a rich source of information. Their...

Conservation and sustainable exploitation of plant genetic rsources: International developments

Plant Genetic Resources (PGRs) are one of the most valuable natural resources of anycountry. Biotechnology through genetic engineering of plants and the creation of new plantvarieties can increase the value of these resources. Different technical and legalmechanisms such as ex situ/in situ collection of PGRs, and Intellectual Property Rights(IPRs...

Plant genetic resources management: collection, characterization, conservation and utilization

Genetic resources provide basic material for selection and improvement through breeding to ensure food security needs of the world’s rapidly rising population. Conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources are important components of ex-situ collections. Management of ex-situ collections requires creative and adaptive decisions tailored to operating conditions that are specific and co...