Collecting and regenerating populations of the Allium ampeloprasum complex from Greece

Collecting expeditions are of prime importance to acquire genetically unique material, as for many crops and their wild relatives, large gaps are present in collections worldwide. This is also true for the three species of the Allium ampeloprasum complex, native to Greece, which are considered as the crop wild relatives of cultivated leek ( ). Therefore, a collecting expedition was carried out in Greece in 2009. A total of 62 populations of A. ampeloprasum, 20 populations of A. , 19 populations of A. and three mixed species populations were sampled. The sampled populations were mostly small (less than 50 plants), but sometimes large populations (more than 10,000 plants) were encountered, especially for A. . Two different reproduction systems were observed in A. ampeloprasum, which is probably due to level differences. The sexual type was predominantly found along cultivated fields, whereas the asexual type occurred in abandoned fields together with (L). and Cistus . Regeneration protocols were developed for these species as the of cultivated leek is different from its wild relatives. Regenerating A. ampeloprasum was more difficult compared to the other two species. Ten years after the collecting mission only one-third of the collected material has been regenerated. This is partly due to the characteristics of the material and partly because the Dutch collectors and the Greek competent national authorities on Access and Benefit Sharing were not able to conclude a specific arrangement which also involved the commercial use of the material.

Mobilization of plant genetic resources from the territory of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic

Background. The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is one of the floristically unique territories in the Russian Federation. Its vegetation, especially in the mountainous and foothill areas, is very rich due to, inter alia, the extremely complex and diverse relief. Over 50% of the entire Caucasian flora is present in the republic, representing all main groups of plant formations, except subtropical and tropical ones. It seems relevant to search for and collect crop wild relatives as well as landraces of vegetables and cucurbits cultivated for a long time in the surveyed territory and adapted to local environmental conditions in order to add new genetic resources of these crops to the VIR collection.Methods. The expedition route included explorations of the foothill and highland areas of Kabardino-Balkaria, and familiarization with the seed assortment available at the markets and agricultural stores in Nalchik and Prokhladny. The target areas were surveyed from August 18 through 26, 2019, by one- or two-day trips starting from Nalchik. The length of the itinerary was about 600 km.Results. The collecting mission examined local farms and homesteads, explored the mountains, and collected 256 local and commercial cultivars of vegetable and cucurbit crops, 69 seed and vegetative samples of vegetable crop wild relatives, plus a number of fodder plant samples. Russian and foreign breeding companies whose cultivars are popular in Kabar dino-Balkaria were identified.

Fugitive Records of War

Although most research libraries accepted their reliance on the government-sponsored Library of Congress Mission, the Hoover Institution and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace did not. Its founder Herbert Hoover used the influence and reach of a former president to enable a private institution to operate where others were barred. Although eventually the Hoover Library won an authorized spot on the LCM, it largely operated in the shadows of the American military government. It drew upon an overlapping informal network of collectors, war correspondents, and intelligence agents to operate within the gray market for information in a defeated nation. These operations briefly came under scrutiny when one acquisition, The Goebbels Diaries, was published. Despite that episode, the library’s wartime collecting mission hastened the growth and prominence of the Hoover Institution as a center for the study of global politics, war, and diplomacy.

MOBILIZATION OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FROM THE TERRITORIES OF INDONESIA, SRI LANKA (CEYLON) AND NEPAL

The article is dedicated to the mobilization of plant genetic resources from the territories of Indonesia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Nepal to VIR’s collection by means of collecting explorations, germplasm requests and the exchange of accessions. The first, the longest and the only pre-war expedition to Indonesia and Ceylon was undertaken by Prof. V. V. Markovich; it lasted three years (1926–1928). He explored Java, Singapore and Ceylon, where he collected 772 germplasm samples. In 1957, D. V. Ter-Avanesyan, who worked as an agricultural attaché at the USSR Embassy in India, familiarized himself in every detail with plant resources and agriculture in Nepal. The late 1960s were marked by intensification of plant genetic resources introduction and new opportunities to organize regular collecting missions. In the period from 1960 to 1991, there were five plant exploration trips to Indonesia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Nepal. In 1960, D. V. Ter-Avanesyan visited scientific institutions in Java, got acquainted with the main trends in agriculture, and collected 302 plant samples. In 1974, A. G. Lyakhovkin took part in a specialized collecting mission launched to study and collect wild forms and cultivars of rice and various other crops from Nepal. The team visited 16 experiment stations and farms and collected 1170 accessions. In 1985, an expedition team led by E. F. Molchanov collected and studied wild and cultivated forms of subtropical plants in Sri Lanka. The team visited 5 institutes and experiment stations, 3 botanical gardens, and collected 370 accessions. In 1988, another collecting team led by L. A. Burmistrov, whose task was to study the system of nation-wide projects on crop improvement, traveled over four provinces, visited 11 scientific and academic institutions of Nepal, and collected 766 germplasm samples. The last collecting trip to Indonesia was led by N. G. Musatenko in 1991. The team collected 95 varieties and wild forms. In total, the Institute’s collecting and exploration activities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Nepal added 3496 accessions to its collections. In addition to direct collecting in Indonesia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Nepal, VIR has always been replenishing its holdings by seed requests. During the whole pre-war period, from 1925 through 1941, 256 germplasm accessions were added. All in all, from 1948 through 2018, 104 accessions were introduced from Indonesia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Nepal. The greatest number of accessions received by the Institute represented groat crops (over 1400), followed by wheat and barley (458), and industrial crops (627). In total, during the whole period of its existence, the Institute has mobilized 3843 accessions, representing 377 plant species.

Exploring and collecting perennial forage and grain legume crop genetic diversity in Voronezh and Tambov provinces (Results of the collecting mission, 2016)

Surveying vegetation in various areas within Russia is an important link to successful management of plant genetic resources. Species and forms of wild perennial legumes and forage grasses possess complex adaptability to local environments. The aim of VIR’s collecting mission to Voronezh and Tambov Provinces in 2016 was to replenish the preserved genetic diversity of leguminous and perennial forage crops with samples of interest for breeding for fodder and seed productivity and resistance to limiting environmental factors. The task of the collecting mission was to explore the territory and collect seeds of wild perennial forage and leguminous plants. The exploration route and collecting sites are indicated on the map. Geographical coordinates and descriptions of habitats were recorded for 38 collecting sites. During the survey of fourteen districts in Voronezh Province and two districts in Tambov Province, 169 plant samples were collected, including 140 forage plant accessions (33 species) and 29 leguminous ones (9 species). The most frequently occurring species were identified: Poa pratensis L., Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall., Medicago falcata L., Vicia angustifolia L. and Lathyrus tuberosus L. Plants of Onobrychis arenaria (Kit.) DC. occur throughout Voronezh Province in meadow-steppe communities. Of interest are the samples of Agropyron pectinatum (Bieb.) Beauv. collected on the northern border of its area of distribution; three species of lower-growing fescue (Festuca rubra L., F. valesiaca Gaudin. and F. pseudovina Hack. ex Wiesb.); a perennial form of Medicago lupulina L.; a sample of Lotus corniculatus L. found on chalky outcrops of the Kalach Hills; red (Trifolium pratense L.), golden (T. aureum Pollich.) and strawberry (T. fragiferum L.) clovers from the valley of the Khoper River; pisiform vetch (Vicia pisiformis L.) from Kalach District and hairy vetch (V. villosa Roth) from Povorino District of Voronezh Province. The materials collected by the team were added to the holdings of VIR and are available for further study and use in breeding.