National Plant Tissue Culture Repository, NBPGR, New Delhi.
Annual and biennial seed crops belonging to the orthodox crop species are generally amenable for preservation in seed ‘Gene Banks’ at low (+ 10°C) and ultra low (−20°C) temperatures. Until now it has proved to be the best means of germplasm storage all over the world. For several vegetatively propagated plant species, in-vitro conservation techniques now of fer new possibilities. Pollen preservation is yet another important method by which part of genome can be preserved, although it plays only a complementary role. However, recent researches in cryopreservation indicate that seeds, meristems, shoot tips, buds and both zygotic and somatic embryos as well as embryonic axes can be preserved and the trends indicate that perhaps these can be preserved for indefinite period without loss of viability or deterioration in quality and genetic integrity. Cryopreservation work undertaken presently at National Facility Plant Tissue Culture Repository, (NFPTCR) using seeds, pollen, and in-vitro cultures has made significant progress and the information has been briefly presented in this paper.
