Project Number: 1275-21000-227-04
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 17, 2006
End Date: Sep 17, 2011

Objective:
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.

Approach:
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.