Genetic and germ plasm stocks worth conserving

The relative costs and benefits of genetic stock collections and germ plasm collections are discussed. The status of national and international collections is compared with the needs of plant breeders and geneticists. There is an international need for germ plasm systems that emphasize the use and employment of materials rather than acquisition and storage. For base collections to function, they must provide for regeneration, characterization, documentation, and evaluation of their materials. The quality of a germ plasm system should be judged on the basis of the quality of the materials available to scientists. Adequate quantities of high-quality seed that are of known provenience, spanning the range of known genetic diversity, promptly delivered, and well described constitute the minimum that should be expected. All too often such minimal requirements are not met.