Improving the identification, handling and storage of “difficult” seeds ...

Crops to be considered for conservation include:
▪ Orchard fruit crops
▪ Oil Producing crops “Essential Oil Crops”
▪ Spices and herbs
▪ Root Crops
▪ Beverage Crops
▪ Medicinal
In- situ/on-farm conservation
Traditional farmers have formerly maintained a high diversity of crops and old varieties on their
farms. This is now diminishing with the substitution by modern varieties, although some farmers
still maintain their old varieties. There is evidence that the older varieties are less demanding in
terms of fertiliser than the newly introduced varieties.
The result of the PGRFA inventory shows that many varieties of major fruit crops that were
conserved in field gene banks are still to be found on farmer’s land and private gardens. On-farm
conservation is stressed with farmers during inventory visits and it is envisaged that is the way
forward in view of the limited land resources.
PGRDS encourages the use of farm saved seeds as a means of PGRFA conservation. Saving seeds
of the better yielding varieties, which are adapted to the local condition and resistant to pests and
diseases is a common practice amongst traditional farmers. Such crop includes beans, tomatoes,
cucumber, pumpkin, bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) and snake gourd (Tricosanthes
cucumerina).
Germplasm storage facilities (question 5.3)
There are two types of germplasm storage facilities available at the Tropical Fruit Nursery. These
are the short-term storage and the field gene banks. Most of the seeds are stored up to 6 months then
they are sown on the field for bulking up and the surplus seeds are stored. Seeds stored at the
Tropical Fruit Nursery are Vigna unguiculata, Solanum mammosum, Citrus sp. and other fruits such
as Psidium guajava, Carica papaya, Annona muricata, Annona squamosa. There are certain
varieties of seeds which are stored for short period which will later be used at the nursery for root
stock e.g. Solanum mammosum and Citrus sp.
Storage of orthodox seeds
There are no facilities for cold storage conservation of orthodox seeds. Nor is there any in-vitro
storage method. However, since the most important crops for the PGRDS have been fruits and root
crops, field gene banks conservation has been an appropriate method up to now.
Field gene banks
Major collections were established at Grand Anse Crop Research Station in the late 1970s and a
large collection of fruit trees was also planted at Beau Vallon in the early 1980s including both
imported tropical fruit species and locally collected varieties. The Beau Vallon field bank was
incorporated into a state farm in the 1980s. When the state farm system ended the field gene bank
area was allocated for, as a result of which only a few of the original collection is left growing now
on private property.
The PGRDS maintains 8 ha of farm to include collections of major and minor tropical fruits.
Superior cultivars are grafted on suitable rootstocks and are made available to farmers and the
general public from the plant nursery. The Persea americana, Psidium guajava and Mangifera
indica orchards (field gene bank) comprises of 4.8 ha, coconut 2.4 ha and banana 1.2 ha. There are