Overview of the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Davis, California
Overview of the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Davis, California
Gayle M. Volk, USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, 1111 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, Colorado 80521
John E. Preece, USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, One Shields Drive, University of California, Davis, California 95616
Outline
- Introduction
- History and background
- Collections and curation
- References
- Additional information
- Acknowledgments
1. introduction
The USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Tree Fruit, Nut Crops, and Grapes (NCGR) in Davis, California is part of the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). The NPGS is a network of 19 plant genebank repositories that acquire, document, preserve, evaluate, enhance and distribute plant genetic resources (Byrne et al., 2018). The NPGS currently maintains about 600,000 plant accessions representing about 2,500 genera and 14,500 species (https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/query/summary). Plant genetic resources within the NPGS are available to research and breeding programs with over 250,000 accessions distributed annually. Each NPGS genebank location focuses on specific crops or mission components. NPGS inventory information is available on the GRIN-Global database (https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/search).
The mission of the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Tree Fruit, Nut Crops, and Grapes in Davis, California is to collect, preserve, evaluate, and distribute the genetic resources of the crops assigned as part of the U.S. National Plant Genetic Resources Program. Plant distributions are for research and breeding purposes. The NCGR maintains field crop collections of kiwifruit, persimmon, fig, walnut, mulberry, olive, pistachio, Prunus (almond, apricot, cherry, peach, plum), pomegranate, and grape. Additional information is available at the following website: https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/davis-ca/natl-clonal-germplasm-rep-tree-fruit-nut-crops-grapes.
2. History and background
Figure 1. Sign at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Davis, California. Photo credit: Gayle Volk.
The NCGR in Davis, California was established by the University of California, Davis in 1981 and was federalized in 1989. It is operated in coordination with the University of California, Davis. The Sacramento Valley of Northern California provides a Mediterranean climate with low relative humidity and low rainfall from April to November (Preece, 2020). The 30-hectare field collection at Wolfskill Experimental Orchard in Winters, California includes over 7,000 accessions representing 14 crops and 175 species of fruit and nut crops. The collections are mostly composed of older cultivars (heirlooms), breeding lines, and crop wild relatives.
Figure 2. Sign and plaque at the entrance to the Wolfskill Experimental Orchard in Winters, California. Field collections of the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Tree Fruit, Nut Crops, and Grapes in