How to Improve a Genebank Collection: 15 Years of Progress.

Progress in genebank management occurs over long periods of time. Though annual or 5-year reports may only show minimal progress, genebank managers should concentrate on longer term results. At the Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit in Griffin, GA, a number of needed improvements in the genebank collection were identified in 2001. No germination testing was being conducted, most accessions were stored at 4C, availability and distribution quality were inadequate, backups of accessions at a second location were not complete, and -18C seed storage facilities were limited. These areas for improvement were tackled systematically. A germination testing program was initiated in 2002 with testing conducted on all new regenerations immediately and progressively testing all older accessions. By 2016, 93% of the collection was tested for germination. Backup of accessions at a second location was increased by conducting critical backups on small seed samples to prevent them from being lost. By 2016, backups at Ft. Collins, CO, had increased from 85% to 98% of the collection. Concentration on seed regeneration resulted in accession availability improving from 83% to 90% in 2016. Seed storage space at -18C was increased from 98.6 to 176.2 m² with a new 4C seed storage addition and subsequent conversion of a previous large 4C cold room to -18C. Accessions stored in -18C for better seed longevity increased from 40% to 85% of the seeded accessions in 2016. Moveable storage shelves were completed in all five cold rooms to maximize seed storage space enabling collection size to grow from 81,660 to 92,215 in 2016. Improvements in accession availability and quality have resulted in distribution of accessions for research and education increasing from 16,917 in 2001 to 35,376 in 2015.