FAQ|| Plant Genetic Resources

What are the plant genetic resources and what's their importance?
Ans. The plant genetic resources are the vital component of plant bio-diversity, precious heritage of mankind, therefore need to be collected and conserved before they are lost forever. Plant genetic resources consist of genotypes or population of land races, advanced cultivars, genetic stocks, wild and weedy species which are maintained in the form of seeds, plants, tissues etc. The great wealth of genetic diversity existing in these gene-pools holds vast potential for current and future use for the benefit of mankind. These genetic resources have a part to play in the future improvement of economically important plant species. Their importance is due to use in breeding programmes, crop improvement, developing new varieties resistant to biotic and a-biotic stresses, as they are drought /insect/pest/disease tolerant and resistant to biotic/ a-biotic stresses.

PARC has undertaken how much collection, characterization and evaluation of germplasm?
Ans. The germplasm is collected through various expeditions from different parts of agro-ecological zones of Pakistan and also acquired from national and international institutes. The following is the detail of germplasm collected, characterized and evaluated from various sources:
a. Genebank Status of PGR, NARC

S. No.	Crops	Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Cereals: Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Durum wheat (Triticum durum) Wheat (Wild species) Barley (Hordeum vulgare) Oats (Avena sativa/fatua) Rice (Oryza sativa) Maize (Zea mays) Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) Millets (Pennisetum glaucum)/related spp. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum )esculentum	2767 207 130 1274 540 2957 545 866 1007 19	10312
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Food Legumes: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Chickpea (wild cicer) Lentil (Lens culinaris)/its wild relatives Mungbean (Vigna radiata) Mashbean (Vigna mungo) Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Lobia (Phaseolus vulgaris) Vicia species Moth (Vigna acontifolia) Matri (Lathyrus speceis)	2243 90 808 643 799 212 109 172 66 148	5290
21 22 23 24 25 26	Oilseeds Oilseed brassica Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) Soybean (Glycine max) Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) Safflower (Carthamus Tinctorius) Sesame	1003 754 133 143 362 73	2468
21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31	Others: Fodder & Forages Fibre Crops Vegetables Fruits Medicinal Plants	341 357 1481 1024 1778	4981
	G.Total		23051

Common Name	Accessions	Traits Studied
Barley	933	12
Buck wheat	19	5
Chickpea	1004	14
Cowpea	335	27
Durum wheat	192	21
Lentil	423	8
Maize	428	13
Mash	1385	18
Millets	194	20
Mung	1130	17
Okra	34	33
Peas	573	23
Radish	47	23
Rapeseed/Mustard	121	15
Rice	1249	14
Sorghum	899	18
Soybean	212	20
Swank	50	5
Tomato	70	20
Vigna spp.	150	20
Wheat	2042	21

Common Name	Accessions	Technique used
Wheat	490	SDS-PAGE, 2-D Protein Analysis
Buck wheat	19	SDS-PAGE
Chickpea	10	Isozyme
Cotton	13	Isozyme
Cowpea	138	SDS-PAGE
Lentil	166	SDS-PAGE, Isozyme, RAPD
Mash	321	SDS-PAGE, 2-D Protein Analysis
Matri	12	SDS-PAGE
Medicago spp.	168	SDS-PAGE
Okra	39	SDS-PAGE
Peanut	151	SDS-PAGE
Peas	268	SDS-PAGE, RAPD
Rice	150	SDS-PAGE, RAPD, SSR
Soybean	161	SDS-PAGE
Vetch	12	SDS-PAGE
Vigna spp.	300	SDS-PAGE
Wild wheat	42	SDS-PAGE
Oilseed/Mustard	175	SDS-PAGE
Kalongi	32	SDS-PAGE, RAPD

What types of germplasm are available for scientists/ farmers and how they can benefit from them?
Ans. The germplasm of major cereals, minor cereals, food legumes, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, fiber crops, fodder & forages and medicinal plants is available for scientists and researcher for the development of new varieties. These varieties will be eventually used by farmers. The farmers will definitely benefit from newly developed varieties having better traits or genes selected from conserved plant genetic resources in gene bank.

What is the significance of medicinal plants?
Ans. There are about 6000 plant species in Pakistan; out of these only 1010 species are identified as having medicinal value. Medicinal plants, on the basis of their utility, are broadly classified as those used in healthcare system, species and aromatic plants. Medicinal plants and herbs, since ages, remained a necessary part of healthcare system throughout the world. With the technological advancement, use of synthetic drugs got a widespread acceptability, but still a large population of Pakistan and the World at large depends upon medicinal plants because of their minimum side effects and cost effectiveness.

What is the level/range of economic benefits for farmers in cultivation of medicinal plants?
Ans. Despite fluctuating market prices of herbs and their products farmers can get a handful income by cultivating medicinal plants. An economic assessment of five years farmers field trials on medicinal plants indicates that net income per acre from cultivation of Nigella sativa (Kalongi), Trachyspermum amni (Ajwain desi), Lallemantia soyleana (Tukham-e-balangoo), Plantago ovata (Ispaghol) and Foeniculum vulgare (Saunf) were in the range of Rs. 17,500; Rs. 13,300; Rs. 16,000; Rs. 14,500 and Rs. 16,800 respectively.