At the request of the Bangladesh seed industry and with financial support from seed companies, WorldVeg South Asia organized a three-day training course on “Maintaining Seed Quality” from 16 – 18 January 2017 at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) in Gazipur.

The course was led by Andreas Ebert, former WorldVeg Genebank Manager, and coordinated by South Asia staff Bharathi, Razu Ahmed and Fajal Mukul. Participants learned about genebank management, seed storage and other related topics in BARI’s laboratories and field facilities.

Andreas helped senior and mid-level seed company genebank specialists gain knowledge on the components of quality seed, the global germplasm sources available for breeding, and practices to maintain seed quality during germplasm regeneration and storage, germplasm characterization, and trait screening.  Some of the practical sessions were conducted at the Plant Genetic Resource Center (PGRC) on the BARI campus, and in the Seed Processing Laboratory, long and mid-term seed conservation unit, and in vitro conservation lab. Mr. Malek and Mr. Rezwan from BARI assisted in conducting the practical exercises.

At the conclusion of the training, participants requested WorldVeg to organize additional training courses emphasizing hands-on practice in breaking seed dormancy, and on issues related to seed management for farmers.

Story and photos: Bharathi Lakshmi