Viability of genebank oryza species conserved at -20◦c for different durations

2019

English

Viability of two hundred and six (206) local and exotic rice germplasm conserved at CSIR- Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute were determined after 0 – 34 years of conservation at -20◦C. Seed viability was determined through germination of seeds. The seeds were first surface sterilized and plated on wet filter paper and maintained at room temperature. Thirty five percent (28.16%) of the 206 tested accessions showed germination above the regeneration threshold of 85% whilst 48% of the accession showed no (0%) germination. The germination percentage of 23.79 accessions ranged between 3.85 – 79%. A weak negative (r = -0.13052) correlation was established between duration of storage and seed viability. The results suggest loss of some rice germplasm and reduced viability to levels unacceptable for further storage and distribution purposes. Baseline data has been generated to study further storage behavior of viable accessions. It is suggested that a complete audit of the viability of the rice collection is done to forestall further losses

Bissah, M. N.; Tetteh, R.; Darko, R.; Osei-Kofi, P. S.