Gene bank opened in TNAU

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), a pioneer in agricultural research and technology development, Friday opened Gene Bank facility on its campus.

Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
(TNAU), a pioneer in agricultural research and technology
development, Friday opened Gene Bank facility on its campus.

The Rs 1.2 crore bank, provided by the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research, was the first of its kind in any State
Agricultural University in the country and was meant for
conservation of genetic resources for future use, Dr P Murugea
Bhoopathi, TNAU Vice-Chancellor, said at the inaugural
function.

Germplasm collections of cultivars, land races and wild
species would be maintained in the Gene Bank and it has an
estimated 3,000 cubic feet of cold storage space for medium
storage and long term storage of plant genetic resources.

It was planned to store nearly 50,000 germplasm entries,
including land races and wild species, apart from commercially
cultivated varietie crops like rice, millets,pulses, oilseeds,
cotton, forages, fruits, vegetables, spices,medicinal and
aromatic plants, forest treets and bioenergy crops, Dr K
Thiyagarajan, Director, Centre for Plant Breeding and
Genetics, TNAU, said.

The estimated storage life of seeds without loss of
viability was likely to be five to 20 years, depending upon
the nature of seed, he said.

PTI

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