Conservation of spices and tree borne oil seed crops

Abstract

Commercially important and historically prominent spices originating from different families, with immense diversity and distribution in the World are reportedly facing threats due to various factors. Despite most of the spices being grown commercially as defined varieties, there are few spices and wild relatives of all the spices which occur in the wild and are showing decline in their population requiring conservation efforts, in situ and ex situ. In vitro conservation for clonally propagated species by slow growth methods, use of minimal media, microtuber formation, synseed technology were adopted extensively in black pepper, ginger, garlic, turmeric, cardamom, and few minor spices. In vitro cryopreservation using meristematic tissues with promising success was achieved in the above mentioned species. Seed banking at -20°C temperature for orthodox seeded spices and at -196°C temperature for orthodox seeds with low viability and with short life spans and for non-orthodox seeded spices is a tested technology adopted for genepool conservation in seed producing species. In Vitro Genebanks at USA, Germany, Korea and India are undertaking sizeable diversity conservation of spices. Seed propagated species of tree borne oilseeds, due to their emerging importance are being promoted for non-edible purposes especially as biofuel crops. Post harvest handling, seed storage studies and long term storage using cryobanking was attempted in four of the most important desiccation and freezing sensitive non-orthodox seeds of jatropha, pongamia, wild apricot and neem. Long term conservation of germplasm variability was achieved with good success and cryobase collection established in India.