Manual of seed handling in genebanks

Abstract

This manual and its accompanying self-learning module provide detailed procedural guidlines and lessons for staff who do not have the opportinity to attend courses on seed conservation and genebank management. It focuses on seed handling procedures and does not cover documentation, collecting or characterization procedures in great detail. The manual discusses and presents some of the common procedures in handling seeds in genebanks. These steps include germplasm acquisition and registration; seed cleaning; seed moisture content determination and drying; seed quality testing which includes viability testing; health testing, and testing for inadvertent introduction of transgenes; seed packaging and storage; germplasm distribution; and the last one is germplasm monitoring and regeneration. At the end of the manual one finds annex on international policies and frameworks influencing access to and exchange of germplasm; serological methods for detecting plant pathogens; glossary; and specialized equipment for gene banks. And the module is a stand-alone self -learning tool organised into units and lessons and it is intended to be used in conjuction with the manual. Each lesson includes learning objectives, a description of procedures; learning checks to assess understanding, problem scenarios for applying learning to a pratctical situation and lesson summaries. In addition each lesson contains a glossary of commonly used genebank terms, references to further reading, and detailed photographs to illustrate the steps in seed-handling procedure.