Exploration and Collection of Plant Genetic Resources in India: Status and Priorities

Plant exploration and germplasm collection is the foremost activity in PGR management system aimed at augmenting genetic resources for ex-situ conservation and utilization by end users. Organized PGR collecting was initiated in India way back in 1946, and so far, 2.82 lakhs accessions representative of nearly 1,695 crops/species have been collected through 2,838 explorations undertaken across the country mainly in collaboration with ICAR crop-based institutes and SAUs. Till two decades back, the focus has been shifted mainly on the collection of cultivated variability which has resulted in fair representative collections for important crops from across India. Now, increasing importance has been entrusted to crop wild relatives, minor fruits and wild edibles species, which has resulted in a phenomenal share of wild germplasm (18%) in the total collection. This communication highlights the collection trends, salient achievements made, emerging issues, and the priority areas which need adequate addressing for meaningful germplasm collections.