The ARC-TSC is the custodian of a range of genebanks comprising several thousand accessions across its research stations which are situated in a variety of agri-ecozones. The genebanks house accessions of avocado, banana, citrus, coffee, granadilla, guava, litchi, longan, macadamia, mango, papaya, pecan, pineapple, exotic fruits, indigenous plants and fruits and various herbs and spices. New accessions are regularly added and characterised thus contributing towards genetic resource conservation, increasing genetic diversity for breeding new, improved cultivars as well as for the identification of tolerance to biotic and abiotic stressors, many of which are associated with climate change. The germplasm accessions are used in many of the breeding programmes for the development of new cultivars with improved horticultural traits.
Contact Percy Moila at Email: infoitsc@arc.agric.za
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