ARS | Publication request: SMALL GRAINS GERMPLASM COLLECTION, PRESERVATION, AND UTILIZATION

Submitted to: Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 1, 2006
Publication Date: May 1, 2006
Citation: Bockelman, H.E. 2006. Small grains germplasm collection, preservation, and utilization. (abstract) 97th Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society Book of Abstracts.p. 109.

Technical Abstract: The National Small Grains Collection (NSGC) is a component of the National Plant Germplasm System of the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). NSGC maintains collections representing the global diversity of the small grains; including wheat (Triticum), barley (Hordeum), oat (Avena), rice (Oryza), rye (Secale), triticale (X Triticosecale), and various wild relatives (including Aegilops). Presently, the collection totals nearly 129,000 accessions. The beginnings of the small grains germplasm collections date to 1897 with the organization of the USDA Seed and Plant Introduction Office. As a result of numerous plant explorations and seed exchanges, the individual collections of the small grains began to accumulate. They were maintained for the first half of the 20th century by Cereal Investigators in the USDA-Bureau of Plant Industry (eventually to become USDA-ARS). NSGC was officially organized in 1948 at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland, and moved to its present location in Idaho in 1988. NSGC freely distributes seed to scientists worldwide. In 2005 NSGC distributed 20,000 seed samples in response to 570 separate requests. Detailed passport and evaluation data are maintained on the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) on-line. The extensive evaluation data includes agronomic, disease, insect, and quality traits. Barley and oat accessions are being evaluated for beta-glucan, protein, and lipid contents.