Crop Genebank Knowledge Base

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Monitoring in field banks of forage grass genetic resources

Contributors to this page: ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Jean Hanson); CIAT, Cali, Colombia (Rainer Schultze-Kraft); Bioversity International/ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Alexandra Jorge).

Germplasm testing in field banks

Health diagnosis in field banks

  • It should be carried out annually or if any disease symptoms are noticed.
  • When established from seeds use the same procedures as for health in forage seed genebanks.
  • The same pests and disease apply for field grown plants.

Routine monitoring of field banks

Methods and frequency

  • Survival rates - Check survival monthly (most forage grasses that have to be maintained in a field genebank are perennial and regular monitoring is important to ensure survival).
  • Vigour - Record vigour monthly.
  • Pests and diseases - Inspect for pests and diseases monthly (this is sufficient to identify any pests or diseases and rescue the plants if problems are detected).
  • Replacement by other weeds - Rogue out plants of other species regularly and at flowering time. Check taxonomy at least once in a year.

Recording information during routine monitoring of field genebanks

The following information should be recorded for each step:

  • Accession number (an ID number).
  • Genus (genus name of the plant, entered in full).
  • Species (species name of the plant, entered in full).
  • Field genebank site name (a code to indicate the site of seed production).
  • Plot number (the plot number at the production site).
  • Date of monitoring (date when data is collected).
  • Name of staff (name of staff recording the data).
  • Damage [a score of 1-5 (where 5 is damaged) on amount of damage (specifying insect, disease etc)].
  • Vigour [assessment of vigour of the plants on a scale of 1-5 (where 5 is high)].

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International Agricultural Research Centres who worked together to make this site possible:
Africa Rice Center | Bioversity International | CIAT | CIMMYT | CIP | ICARDA | ICRISAT | IFPRI | IITA | ILRI | IRRI |