Revista Digital Universitaria ISSN: 1607 - 6079 | Publicación mensual | 1 de mayo de 2015 vol.16, Núm. 5
ABSTRACT
In this paper two conservation strategies are presented: In situ conservation through community seed banks where the Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) predominate, and ex situ conservation through germplasm banks. In Mexico, there are 26 community banks, where an ample variety of native species cultivated under the milpa system are preserved. In those banks, local farmers actively participate in conservation and improvement tasks. The National Forest, Crops and Livestock Research Institute (INIFAP), has the National Genetic resources Center, with advanced facilities, equipment and technology and current capacity to preserve 800,000 seed accessions, whose main objective is long-term preservation of germplasm, both economically relevant and NUS. There is a need for increasing the number of NUS collections, both in community banks and in the ex situ collections of germplasm banks, as well as for generating information on NUS characterization and use promotion.
Keywords: community bank, in situ conservation, ex situ conservation, germplasm banks, Neglected and Subutilized Species
The NUS as Genetic Resources for the Conservation of Crop Biodiversity
Flavio Aragón Cuevas, José Fernando de la Torre SánchezKeywords: community bank, in situ conservation, ex situ conservation, germplasm banks, Neglected and Subutilized Species