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Crops

Each CGIAR genebank has a mandate to conserve specific crops.

Annex 1 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture lists the genera and species that come under the Treaty’s Multilateral System and that are managed under agreements between the Centers and the Treaty. Annex 1 lists 35 crop genera. CGIAR genebanks are conserving 30 crops but not all of them listed on Annex 1 of the treaty.

Number of accessions per crop

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Crop name Genebanks Number of accessions
Andean roots and tuber crops CIP 2,526
Banana Bioversity and IITA 1,959
Barley ICARDA 32,790
Beans CIAT 37,938
Cassava CIAT and IITA 9,339
Chickpea ICRISAT and ICARDA 36,513
Cowpea IITA 17,051
Faba bean ICARDA 10,034
Forages CIAT, ICARDA and ILRI 70,514
Grasspea ICARDA 4,451
Groundnut ICRISAT 15,622
Lentil ICARDA 14,597
Maize CIMMYT and IITA 30,055
Pea ICARDA 6,132
Pearl millet ICRISAT 23,841
Pigeonpea ICRISAT 13,783
Potato CIP 7,209
Rice IRRI and Africa Rice 151,765
Small millets ICRISAT 11,797
Sorghum ICRISAT 41,582
Sweetpotato CIP 8,054
Trees: Fruits and multipurpose ICRAF 14,582
Wheat CIMMYT and ICARDA 199,248
Yam IITA 5,839

Number of accessions is based on the SMO report based on 2018 data.

Regeneration

A crucial element of genebank operations is to ensure that their accessions are kept viable and at high quality for as long as possible. Even under the highest standards of management, however, germplasm deteriorates with time and needs to be regenerated. For many genebanks around the world this is a complex, time-consuming process, each species requiring different procedures, and as a result a regeneration backlog has built up. To help genebanks undertake the important work of regeneration, the Crop Trust partnered with Bioversity International to draw on the expertise of CGIAR genebanks to compile a set of species-specific guidelines for the regeneration of important crops.

The Genebank Platform is making these guidelines available from this website, as part of the information about each crop.

Can you help?

The information on each crop is not exhaustive. If you feel you have useful information to add for any crop, please contact us on [email protected].

Crops

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