Comparing costs for different conservation strategies of garlic (Allium sativum L.) germplasm in genebanks

Abstract

The maintenance of plant genetic resources in living plant collections (genebanks) causes costs due to employment of staff, usage of buildings, equipment and consumables. Since this is especially challenging in vegetatively propagated material, studies were performed for the case of garlic, which is one of the major vegetatively maintained crops in the genebank of IPK Gatersleben. Data were recorded to compare various scenarios of the main strategies field maintenance and cryopreservation. A spreadsheet tool was developed to be used for cost assessment and for drawing conclusions concerning the most effective way of maintenance. Field culture is cheaper in the short term, whereas after a break-even point cryopreservation becomes the more efficient storage method in the long term. This breakeven point depends on the particular scenario, which is determined by various factors such as field and in vitro multiplication rates of various genotypes, presence of bulbils in a part of the genepool, the sample size of the accessions as well as the number of stored accessions in cryopreservation. The comparative discussion is exemplified for a 1-year field rotation versus cryopreservation using either in vitro plantlets or a combination of bulbils and unripe inflorescence bases as organ sources. For the more expensive use of in vitro plants cryopreservation becomes less costly than field culture only after 13 years, whereas this is the case already after 8-9 years when using a combination of bulbils in winter and inflorescence bases in summer.

Challenges and Prospects for the Conservation of Crop Genetic Resources in Field Genebanks, in In Vitro Collections and/or in Liquid Nitrogen

“…Subsequent maintenance of such cryopreserved accessions, however, is rather low since this only demands regular filling up of the cryotanks with liquid nitrogen. Therefore, the break-even point when costs of field conservation are equal to that of cryopreservation is achieved after 8 to 13 years [21]. This estimate is very similar to the calculation made for bananas where the cumulative costs between in vitro and in cryo equate after 15 years.…”

“…The soil quality and the continental climate in Central Germany, including mild winters, reduce the risk of pest and diseases and provide optimum growth conditions for a longer term. However, each 5 or 6 years, the Allium gardens are replanted to overcome the problem of soil exhaustion [21].…”

Assembly and characterisation of a unique onion diversity set identifies resistance to Fusarium basal rot and improved seedling vigour

“…Conserving biodiversity is critical for the future sustainability of crop production by providing diverse alleles for exploitation in breeding programmes (Keller et al 2013). Central Asia is the centre of diversity for many Alliums and has been a source of wild species exhibiting potentially useful traits (Simon 2005; Pandey et al 2008; Baldwin et al 2012a; Havey and Ghavami 2018).…”

“…There is also considerable variability between onion cultivars for important traits such as bulb colour/size, time to maturity and pungency suggesting that genetic diversity within A. cepa exists (Griffiths et al 2002). Given the increasing speed of genetic erosion in A. cepa and related species (Keller et al 2013), genebanks play a crucial role in the conservation of genetic diversity so that it can be further exploited to discover alleles for beneficial traits. A good example of the value of a closely related species is the introgression of downy mildew resistance into A. cepa from A. roylei (Scholten et al 2007).…”

Propagação in vitro de barueiro (Dipteryx alata Vog.)

“…Mesmo diante de tantos fatores positivos da micropropagação, pesquisas nesta área com barueiro ainda são bastante escassas. Esta escassez se torna mais preocupante ao se enfatizar que o desenvolvimento de trabalhos de cultivo in vitro permite o resgate de germoplasma e a preservação de material ameaçado; a redução no período de germinação, com isenção de pragas e doenças e a uniformização do tamanho das plantas obtidas, inclusive com completo enraizamento (KELLER et al, 2013). Contudo, a primeira etapa desses estudos é o estabelecimento de protocolos eficientes para propagação.…”