Status and Diversity of African Germplasm Collections Maintained at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

One of the major objectives of the International Crops Research Institute for the Serni-Arid \nTropics (ICRISAT) is to act as a world repository for the genetic resources of its mandate \ncrops: sorghi~mS,o t-gltirntb icolot.(L.)M ocnch: pearl millet, Petllliscrtrnt glatrc~rn(L~ .) R. Br.; \nchickpea, Ciccr nr-ietittirnl L.; pigeonpea, Cc~jjcrttirsc ajntl (L.)M ill.: and groundnut, Arachis \nIlypognen L.. The Institute also assembles and conserves the gennplasm of six minor millets: \nfinger millet; Ele~tsitlec ot.acatln (L.) Gaertn.; foxtail millet, Serai.ia irnlica (L.)P . Beauv.; \nproso millet, Pntlic~rnt sttntart.ettse Roth. ex Roem. & Schult.; barnyard nill let, Echinoclrloa \nspecies; and kodo millet, Pnspcilrrnl sc~+obicrrlntrrnL1. \nThe usefulness of any world germplasm collection, such as the one assernbled at ICRISAT, \ndepends largely on proper sampling from various agroclirnatic zones, the long-term safety \nand viability of the conserved material, the genetic diversity i t offers in both cultivated \nlandraces and their wild relatives, the accessibility of healthy seed samples along with their \npassport and evaluation data, appropriate maintenance of the gerniplasm accessions to \nminimize genetic drift, and the availability of a simple, classified and retrievable documentation \nsysteni