Germplasm Collection, Preservation, and Utilization

An effective germplasm program involves four major facets: acquisition, maintenance, evaluation, and enhancement. This chapter includes those major facets, with primary emphasis on U.S. oat germplasm. Several organizations, institutes, laboratories, boards, and committees in the USA and around the world focus on a variety of problems concerned with germplasm conservation and utilization. The International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) was established in 1974 to create and coordinate a worldwide network of germplasm resource conservation centers. The IBPGR has been effective in assisting various international, regional, and national research centers in acquiring, multiplying, storing, documenting, evaluating, and distributing germplasm. Base and working oat germplasm collections are maintained at several locations around the world. The Directory of European Institutions Holding Crop Genetic Resources Collections indicates that Avena germplasm is held at more than 40 locations in Europe.