Seed longevity of maize conserved under germplasm bank conditions for up to 60 years.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

The long-term conservation of seeds of plant genetic resources is of key importance for food security and preservation of agrobiodiversity. Nevertheless, there is scarce information available about seed longevity of many crops under germplasm bank conditions.

Methods

Through germination experiments as well as the analysis of historical monitoring data, we studied the decline in viability manifested by 1000 maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) seed accessions conserved for an average of 48 years at the CIMMYT germplasm bank, the largest maize seedbank in the world, under two cold storage conditions: an active (-3 °C; intended for seed distribution) and a base conservation chamber (-15 °C; for long-term conservation).

Key results

Seed lots stored in the acti

SUBMITTER: Guzzon F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8103804 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature