Description
The Vegetable Gene Bank (currently at Warwick HRI, Wellesbourne) covers in particular varieties of onions (Allium), carrot (Daucus) and Brassicas; all stored as seed. Material is made widely available, both nationally and internationally. The collection is designated as a base collection by Bioversity International. Defra support of the Vegetable Gene Bank helps ensure the UK meets its international commitments under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, to protect important foods and crops and safeguard global food security.
Objectives for the current contract are:
1. To comply with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in the conservation, documentation and distribution of the genetic resources collections of Allium, Brassica, Daucus, Raphanus, Lactuca and minor vegetables (e.g. celery, spinach, endive, cress) using international standards and working practices to provide efficient management and enhance their use.
2. To organise on a quid pro quo basis duplicate ‘black box’ security storage for the Warwick HRIGRU collections, and to maintain the security duplicates of horticultural crops for other gene banks under long-term storage conditions (-200C).
3. To collaborate in the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources and the AEGIS (A European Integrated Genebank System) project as UK inputs-in-kind.
4. To collaborate in the long-term seed storage experiment with the University of Reading and the Seed Testing Station Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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