Location: Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU)
2020 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Critical vegetable crop seed maintained. Worldwide, vegetable breeders and other researchers need a ready source of genes to use to develop new, improved vegetable crops. ARS researchers in Geneva, New York, maintained 12,700 varieties of tomato, onion, radish, winter squash, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, tomatillo, asparagus, and other vegetables including related wild plants for the long-term needs of crop improvement. This provided the genetic diversity needed to develop vegetable varieties with disease and pest resistance, tolerance to heat, cold, and drought stress, and varieties with improved flavor, quality, and nutrition, and ensured its availability in the long-term.
2. Seed produced for vegetable crops breeding, research, and education. There is a continuing need to grow, harvest, and store seed of vegetable crops and related wild plants to have seed available to provide necessary genes for crop improvement. This is due to the loss of seed stocks over time due to aging and the depletion of seed as it is sent out around the world for breeding, research, and education. ARS researchers in Geneva, New York, ensured sufficient quantities of seed of diverse vegetable crops were available for distribution. During FY2020, approximately 159 varieties of vegetables (cabbage, radish, tomato, onion, buckwheat, and celery) were planted for the purpose of producing seed by ARS researchers in Geneva, New York, and seed samples of 40 varieties (onion, winter squash) were sent to collaborators in Parlier, California, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, for seed production. This ensures that seed is freely available upon request for qualified users worldwide. ARS researchers in Geneva, New York, distributed 10,340 samples of vegetable seed to requestors in 239 orders during the calendar year 2019, and 2,859 samples in 89 orders from January – June 2020.
