Core subsets of base collections and priorities of national programmes: Indian perspective

Summary The establishment of representative core collections and back-up reserve collections was proposed to facilitate effective management and to promote utilization of large base collections. The priorities of the developing national PGR programmes, in the organization of components of their base collections, are different from those of IARCs since the strengths as well as limitations of the two systems vary. Unlike most IARCs, national programmes have the option of networking their active collections, maintained at several eco-sites, and linking this network to the base collection kept under long-term storage. This keeps open the option to develop situation-specific subsets for an effective germplasm utilization. There is a pressing need for a scientific re-examination of the concept of germplasm core in order better to apply it in developing core subsets in the national PGR programmes. The formulation of situation-specific subsets is advocated, as the system would be directed to users' requirements or addressed to gene bank managers' resource constraints. Arguments given in favour of developing core subsets, rather than a single core are: (i) logical; (ii) population genetic; and (iii) germplasm usage considerations. The Indian PGR programme and the emerging core context are briefly discussed, along with features of a programme designed to develop such core subsets.Abbreviations IARCs = International Agriculture Research Centers - NBPGR = National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources - NAGS = National Active Germplasm Collection Site - NGSNs = National Germplasm Screening Nurseries - GACs = Germplasm Advisory Committees