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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » National Clonal Germplasm Repository » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #208048
Title: Fruit and Nut Genebanks in the US National Plant Germplasm System

Author
item Postman, Joseph
item Hummer, Kim
item Stover, Eddie
item Krueger, Robert
item Forsline, Philip
item Grauke, Larry
item Zee, Francis
item Ayala-Silva, Tomas
item Irish, Brian

Submitted to: Pomona
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2007
Publication Date: 4/20/2007
Citation: Postman, J.D., Hummer, K.E., Stover, E.W., Krueger, R., Forsline, P.L., Grauke, L.J., Zee, F.T., Ayala Silva, T., Irish, B.M. 2007. Fruit and Nut Genebanks in the US National Plant Germplasm System. Pomona.

Interpretive Summary: The year 2005 marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Repositories by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), devoted to clonally propagated, horticultural fruit and nut crops. During this quarter century, facilities in Hilo, Hawaii; Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; Miami, Florida; and Riverside, California were developed to preserve collections of tropical and subtropical fruit and nut crops. Facilities in Brownwood, Texas; Corvallis, Oregon; Davis, California; and Geneva, New York preserve the temperate crops. Each of these facilities has assembled internationally recognized, globally diverse collections of genetic resources for their assigned crops. Unique cultivars or selections are maintained as growing plants, evaluated for descriptive or useful traits, documented in a national public database, and freely distributed as clonal propagules to researchers and other germplasm users around the world. Seed collections represent wild populations for some crop relatives. These eight genebanks maintain 30,000 accessions representing 1,600 species of fruit and nut crops and their wild relatives, and they distribute more than 15,000 accessions annually. While originally conceived as working collections for crop improvement, NPGS genebanks have also become invaluable preserves for rare species and historic cultivars, sources of raw materials for basic plant genetic research, and living classrooms for public education. These collections protect our horticultural heritage for now and for future generations.

Technical Abstract: The year 2005 marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Repositories by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), devoted to clonally propagated, horticultural fruit and nut crops. During this quarter century, facilities in Hilo, Hawaii; Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; Miami, Florida; and Riverside, California were developed to preserve collections of tropical and subtropical fruit and nut crops. Facilities in Brownwood, Texas; Corvallis, Oregon; Davis, California; and Geneva, New York preserve the temperate crops. Each of these facilities has assembled internationally recognized, globally diverse collections of genetic resources for their assigned crops. Unique cultivars or selections are maintained as growing plants, evaluated for descriptive or useful traits, documented in a national public database, and freely distributed as clonal propagules to researchers and other germplasm users around the world. Seed collections represent wild populations for some crop relatives. These eight genebanks maintain 30,000 accessions representing 1,600 species of fruit and nut crops and their wild relatives, and they distribute more than 15,000 accessions annually. While originally conceived as working collections for crop improvement, NPGS genebanks have also become invaluable preserves for rare species and historic cultivars, sources of raw materials for basic plant genetic research, and living classrooms for public education. These collections protect our horticultural heritage for now and for future generations.