Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, a common concern of all countries, are critically important for the sustainable production of the significantly more nutritious food needed to feed an ever-growing population in the face of climate change and other drivers. This entails the translation of the potentials encoded into their genetic blueprints into improved productivities. The relevant international agreements, instruments and mechanisms, which address the conservation, sustainable use and access and benefit-sharing for these resources, are reviewed along with their remarkable contributions to food security and nutrition. The chapter also highlights the state-of-the-art for the scientific and technological methods used to conserve and add value through genetic gains to these resources. Underscoring the importance of collaborations at various scales, we call for continued global coordination and partnerships on the internationally agreed activities for conserving effectively and deriving the most benefits sustainably from these irreplaceable resources.

Abstract Successful conservation strategies require that taxa are prioritized because resources for planning and implementation are always limited. In this study, we created a partial checklist of crop wild relatives (CWR) that occur in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and identified the taxa of highest priority for regional conservation planning based on their importance for food and economic security. We found that the region contains over 1900 wild relatives of species cultivated for food, beverages, ornamental, forage/fodder, forestry, medicinal, environmental and other uses. Prioritization of these species was based on two criteria: (i) the value of the related crop for human food and economic security in the region and/or globally, and (ii) the potential or known value of the wild relatives of those crops for crop improvement. The region contains 745 CWR species related to 64 human food and beverage crops that are of high socioeconomic importance and 100 of these are of immediate priority for conservation action. The results of this study show that the SADC region contains a wealth of CWR diversity that is not only of value for food and economic security within the region but also globally. Furthermore, this study represents the first step in developing a CWR conservation and sustainable use strategy for the region, where its implementation would contribute to food security and well-being.

Seed quality is a critical aspect in agriculture as well as in the long-term conservation of plant genetic resources in genebanks. Since potential seed longevity depends on initial quality, genebank curators need to be aware of the best management practices that contribute to the production of high quality seed during routine germplasm regeneration/multiplication. Among the factors influencing initial seed quality, those related to crop management, including plant nutrient and water supply during crop growth, climatic conditions during seed development and maturation, as well as the harvest and drying practices are of considerable significance. Seeds of high quality can be obtained by planting in suitable areas/fields and at appropriate times, applying good crop management practices, adoption of proper harvesting and drying techniques, careful handling and processing to minimize mechanical injuries and unwanted seed mixing with other accessions, and ensuring minimum deterioration before reaching the designated storage. However, seed production and post-harvest handling highly depend on the biology and agronomy of the species. As germplasm collections contain a wide range of diversity for morphological and agronomic characters and that there might well be critical gaps in knowledge among genebank staff or about the species in question, genebanks may also need to embark on research to gain crop specific knowledge on optimal seed production procedures to improve seed quality.

The conservation of plant genetic diversity underpins the future of agriculture and food security and is critical to ensure the ability of future generations to cope with global environmental changes. Yet plant genetic resources, including those of horticultural crops and their wild relatives, are increasingly being lost, with irreversible global implications. Despite recognition of the value of plant genetic diversity by breeders and farmers, its exact status and trends are largely unknown, and investments in its conservation and monitoring are dwindling. This calls for the development of innovative cost-effective conservation strategies and technologies ex situ, on farm and in the wild. A brief overview will be presented of the technological advances and approaches for: ex situ conservation (seedbanks, in vitro, cryopreservation DNA banks, field collections and botanic gardens), on-farm management (involving community-based management), and in situ conservation (in wild habitats). Strategies for prioritizing, measuring and monitoring the trends in genetic diversity, including a Red List system for threatened cultivated plants will also be presented and discussed. To cope with future challenges, especially climate change, global collaboration between the agriculture and environment sectors will be required. We will need more effective conservation and freer exchange of information and germplasm. This will require an effective information mechanism that will connect data about the status and trends of plant diversity to decision makers for conservation and development outcomes.

Crop wild relatives (CWR) play a key role in providing genetic diversity for crop adaptation and improvement and their in situ conservation is the most appropriate action to safeguard them, as it allows new diversity to be generated. Knowledge about contemporary evolutionary processes, adaptive responses to climate change, and trends in genetic diversity status should support the identification of target populations for in situ management and monitoring actions. Generating this knowledge requires monitoring and assessing diversity at various time points. Analyses of past trends have been particularly limited for CWR due to patchy, scarce availability of historical data and seed material, which would constitute a historical baseline for comparison with contemporary populations. Past germplasm collecting missions and their associated documentation can contribute to filling this gap. We analysed as a potential resource the Bioversity Collecting Database, which includes sample-level records for over 200,000 landrace and CWR samples mainly collected between 1975 and 1995. 27% of the samples collected are wild species, of which 73% are georeferenced. The database links original sample passport data with collecting reports and with accession numbers from the genebanks conserving the collected material, which allows the seeds collected to be tracked. This data resource was used to implement a study on temporal variation in wild barley. Wild barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum), originally collected in 1981 and stored in genebanks, was re-collected from historical sites in Jordan. Most original accessions from the 1981 mission were traced in genebanks and phenotypic and molecular marker data compared between the 1981 and 2012 collections.

In Kenya, spider plant (Cleome gynandra L.) has gained popularity among consumers due to its nutritional and medicinal values. In the local markets, bundles of leafy shoots as well as uprooted young plants are offered at fairly high prices in many parts of Kenya. Existing evidence suggests that spider plant is endowed with higher level of nutrients than its exotic counterparts. The leaves contain over and above the normal recommended adult daily allowance of vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. However, quality of spider plant seed is affected by one or more factors that cause negative response during seed handling and storage. The purpose of this research was to increase insight into how the seed quality of spider plant is affected by different packaging containers, seed moisture content and storage temperatures, with a view to finding out the optimal method of packaging and storing of these seeds. This study was carried out using seeds dried above silica gel to four target moisture levels: 20%, 10%, 5% and 2% moisture content. Dried seeds were sealed in aluminum foil packets and polyethylene packets and stored at three storage temperatures: ambient (22oC to 30oC), 5oC and minus 20oC for three and six months. After each storage period, seed samples were drawn and viability and vigour tests carried out. Data sets were factorially combined and subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)and descriptive analysis. Means separation was by Least Significance Difference (LSD).Levels of significance, means and standard deviations were obtained for various data sets. Seed stored for six months at 5% moisture content and minus 20oC recorded the highest seed quality. There were no significant differences between seeds packaged in aluminum foil packets and polyethylene packets. In this study, a germination of 85% was recorded for seed dried to 5% moisture content and stored at room temperature. Therefore, on the basis of these findings, farmers can dry their seeds at about 5% moisture content, package them in polyethylene (since readily available) and store at room temperatures for six months.

ABSTRACTThis paper examines how the use of genebank materials has changed from 1996 to 2006 using a similar survey by Dudnik et al. (2001) of reports published in 1996 as a baseline. Articles published in four journals generally used by genetic resource scientists were analyzed in each 2006 issue, as was done by Dudnik et al. in 2001. Studies involving genebank materials were selected and the following data were recorded: species used, locations of studies, affiliation of researchers, and sources of the materials and their uses. The analysis identified 320 studies in which a total of 57,935 accessions from 148 genebanks were used. Crop wild relatives were targeted in 20% of the studies. The study showed that a much higher percentage of accessions came from developed (87%) than from developing countries (7%) while 6% were supplied by CGIAR centers. The results in 2006 revealed an increase in the proportion of studies using genebank materials as compared to 1996. Genebank materials were used primarily for studies of genetic diversity, agromorphological and nutritional quality characteristics, biotic resistance, and mapping. Of the institutions carrying out the studies, 93% were from the public sector. However, there are still some barriers that limit the exchange of germplasm across borders. This implies that greater awareness among policymakers will be needed to facilitate the necessary exchange of plant genetic resources between countries to improve agricultural production.

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.

The aim of this paper is to understand the determinants of on-farm diversity of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) farmers in Rajasthan, in terms of: the patterns of use of intra-specific diversity, the characteristics of both the agricultural systems and the farmers who conserve agro-biodiversity, as well as the factors that motivate farmers to grow a diverse crop. Two hundred pearl millet farming households in the 10 largest pearl millet producing districts of Rajasthan were surveyed using structured interviews about household socio-economics and use of crop genetic diversity. This analysis shows that landrace cultivation has decreased in the last ten years. Additionally, an asset-based poverty index, was created in order to classify households into three poverty groups. It was found that affluent farmers maintain a greater degree of varietal diversity on farm than poorer farmers. Irrigation and income are key determinants which affect these patterns of on-farm diversity.

Nipa (Nypa fruticans) is one of the most widely distributed and useful palm in the mangrove forests in the South, Southeast Asia and Oceania. Its distribution area is known to be larger in ancient lime than at present, as evidenced by its fossils found in North America, South America, Egypt and Europe. Nipa has a wide diversity of use. Traditionally it is used as roof materials, cigarette wrapper, medicine and its sap is fermented to alcohol. Recently, research on nipa has focused on its potential use as a biofuel crop because it has several advantages compared with other biofuel-alcohol crops. For example it has high alcohol content, no competition with other crop for agricultural land and no bagasse disposal problem. In spite of such usefulness, scientific reports on biology of nipa are limited. Information on genetic diversity, cytogenetics and chemical composition are lacking for nipa plant. On the other hand, morphological characters of nipa have been described in many reports. This paper attempted to provide a general review of the nipa plant based on available literatures.