2007 Annual Report
1a.Objectives (from AD-416)
The objective of this collaborative research program is to support the development of the national plant genetic resources programs in the five Central Asian Countries of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgystan, and the three southern Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia; collect and document wild origin and cultivated germplasm from the member countries and send collected germplasm and related information to appropriate sites within the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System.
1b.Approach (from AD-416)
ARS scientists will attend meetings of the Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Program (CACRP) managed through the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Through this participation, ARS will collaborate with member country scientist to collect and document wild origin and cultivated germplasm from the member countries. Scientists will participate in plant explorations in member countries organized through the ICARDA CACRP program. Properly documented wild collected and cultivated germplasm will enter the U.S. NPGS and be available to scientists for research, training and breeders purposes.
3.Progress Report
This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project: 1275-21000-170-00D PLANT EXPLORATION TO ACQUIRE CROP GENETIC RESOURCES. Activities in FY 2007 supported the development of Plant Genetic Resources Units in the 8 countries of the Central Asian and Caucasus region. Through this collaboration support for the genebank facilities in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia was provided. Training in database management and English language was provided to genebank personnel in all 8 countries. A plant exploration for forage legumes and grasses in the Republic of Georgia was undertaken. Seed and associated documentation resulting from this exploration was shared with the genetic resources programs in Georgia, Armenia, Syria and the U.S. All activities within this agreement were monitored by email and a visit by the
U.S. PI to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.
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