Evaluating efficiencies of maize regeneration nurseries using GRIN-Global inventory actions

Authors: Bernau, Vivian; Millard, Mark; Gardner, Candice

Submitted to: Agronomy Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/31/2019
Publication Date: 11/13/2019
Citation: Bernau, V.M., Millard, M.J., Gardner, C.A. 2019. Evaluating efficiencies of maize regeneration nurseries using GRIN-Global inventory actions [abstract]. Agronomy Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Meeting. Paper No. 120343.

Interpretive Summary: GRIN-Global (GG) is an open-source information system developed by the USDA-ARS, Bioversity International and the Crop Trust. It supports management of curated crop collections, all associated information, and actions associated with curatorial activities including regeneration, seed viability testing, seed distribution, and more. The USDA genebank in Ames, IA, the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station, conserves and provides plant genetic resources, including more than 20,000 accessions of cultivated temperate- and tropical-adapted maize and wild relatives from around the world. These diverse resources require different growing conditions in order to successfully regenerate seed for our seed supply. To support their maintenance, nursery environments in the US and Mexico are utilized. It is important to understand which materials are adapted to and will do well in various environments. It is also important to understand the relative efficiencies of the various nurseries for supporting seed increase. Due to the diversity of the material regenerated, environmental and management variation from year to year, and the lack of overlap of accessions regenerated across environments to serve as baseline controls, it is difficult to compare relative regeneration success. The maize curators in Ames used 'inventory actions' recorded in the GRIN-Global system over a ten year period to compare efficiencies of 34 nurseries grown in Ames and by external providers. Actions used for evaluation included: numbers of kernels planted, stand counts, pollination attempts, harvested ears, and stored kernels. The results of this analysis are being used to improve our Ames nursery management. Perhaps most important, through the process of analyzing historical data we identified several opportunities to improve our data collection protocols and identified key points for capturing actions that will aid in monitoring efficiency of future regenerations.

Technical Abstract: GRIN-Global (GG) is an open-source information system developed by the USDA-ARS, Bioversity International and the Crop Trust. It supports management of curated crop collections, all associated passport information, and actions associated with curatorial activities including regeneration, viability testing, distribution, and more. The North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS) genebank in Ames, Iowa, is a component of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). NCRPIS curators use GG to manage a collection of more than 20,000 accessions of cultivated temperate- and tropical-adapted maize and wild relatives from around the world. To maintain diverse material from unique environments, nurseries provided by partners and contractors in the US and Mexico are utilized. Due to the diversity of the material regenerated, environmental and management variation from year to year, and the lack of overlap of accessions regenerated across environments to serve as baseline controls, it is difficult to compare relative regeneration success. However, using 10 years of regeneration inventory actions recorded in GRIN-Global, we compared efficiencies in 34 nurseries conducted in Ames and by external providers. Inventory actions used for evaluation included: numbers of kernels planted, stand counts, pollination attempts, harvested ears, and stored kernels. Analyses revealed significant differences between nurseries for the ratio of post-thinning plant stand to kernels planted, and number of pollinations attempted per plant. However, there was not significant a difference for number of ears produced per kernel planted across all sites. We are applying these results to improve our Ames nursery management by spreading out planting dates to reduce pollinating "peaks". Perhaps most importantly, through the process of analyzing historical data, we identified several opportunities to improve our data collection protocols and identified key points for capturing actions that will aid in monitoring efficiency of future regenerations.