PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES CENTRE     
Plant maintenance Plant management Sensitization Educational events Artemisia in the field
                                   

 

 

PGRC
Introduction
Strategic Objectives
Entebbe Botanic Garden
Uganda National GeneBank
Partners and Funders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACTIVITIES AT THE PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES CENTRE

  Activities at the Plant Genetic Resources Centre fall in three categories:

  1. Conservation and management of resources
  2. Research
  3. Education and Awareness
  4. Enhancing utilization of the plant genetic resources

  Conservation and management of resources

Two approaches are employed to ensure proper conservation and management, namely; ex-situ and in-situ.  Ex-situ conservation entails collecting and assembling germplasm of target plant species either in a field collection such as a botanic garden or as seed under frozen conditions in a genebank. Material is then subjected to sanitary, characterization and evaluation studies to generate information for enhancing their utilization in crop development/ improvement programs. Material is occasionally regenerated to ensure genetic integrity and to maximise its longevity.

Storage         Millet regeneration    wildrice   Wild rice  

Germplasm Storage in freezers           Regeneration of sorghum

The second approach (in-situ) promotes management of the resources where they naturally occur, and this is either on farms or natural habitats. It entails working with communities and other partners to enhance the appreciation of the importance of ensuring that PGRFA continue to be available for now and the future.

                                                  Research
The centre pursues scientific and other appropriate research programmes individually or in collaboration with other national, regional and international institutions. Research areas include; seed behaviour, genetic diversity and erosion, population structures of selected species, developing appropriate methods/ approaches for managing germplasm in-situ and ex-situ, genetic base broadening (making more desirable genes available in germplasm for breeding)  as well germplasm adaptation studies for new promising crops.

viability Viability testing Moisture content Determining moisture content

                                            

Education and Awareness

The Centre has a documentation unit which holds all the information generated on the germplasm held. In addition, the Centre also manages the National Information Sharing Mechanism (NISM) which captures information on activities that relate to PGRFA being undertaken in the country by different stakeholders and makes it publicly available on the web. The Centre also offers educational tours to the Botanic Gardens and the genebank to a wide audience including farmers and students. Training is also offered to people of all-age groups and professions in the basic concepts of conservation and utilisation of resources; principles of collecting germplasm and its documentation; and in how to change attitude and perceptions towards the resources around the people.

 

                   Enhancing utilization of the plant genetic resources

Enhancing utilization of PGRFA means ensuring that the resources are taken up by the different users and effectively used to improve production, productivity and returns. This can be by incorporating material into breeding programs, introducing germplasm to a given area to solve a specific constraint or even for direct industrial application. For this to happen, however, information about these resources must be readily available and their potential value well documented. The information availed provides an informed basis for given actions right from policy making to sectoral plans and prioritization processes. The information and knowledge generated on PGRFA by the Centre as well as by other users is made available at http://www.pgrfa.org/gpa/uga/welcome.htmx