Seed viability of active collections in ex-situ genebanks: an analysis of sorghum germplasm conserved at ICRISAT genebank

A study was undertaken to assess and analyze the seed viability data of 36,483 sorghum germplasm accessions conserved as active collection at ICRISAT genebank, Patancheru, India. The viability tests were conducted for seven years. The period of storage was less for freshly regenerated accessions while for majority of the accessions (35,221) it ranged between 5 and 21 years. The seed viability of 34,894 accessions (95.6% of the total tested accessions) was >85%, a minimum standard for orthodox seeds for conservation as active collection in international genebanks. This exercise has resulted in identifying several important areas like basic and intermediate races of sorghum, seed covering structures,the nature of endosperm, etc, critical for improving the operational procedures and protocols for the management of the ex-situ sorghum germplasm collection.