Regeneration of vegetable germplasm in Taiwan – and its repatriation, the role of ‘citizen regenerators’, and more support from the Ministry of Agriculture

Seed regeneration is an essential part of genebank management, to ensure that seed viability and vigor is not lost, and that there is enough material available for plant breeders the world over. Seed accessions are renewed by sowing and harvesting, and that generates fresh seed with the same characteristics as the original germplasm. This is also sometimes called seed multiplication, because the same process results in many more seed being collected that were sown. But seed regeneration is a costly exercise, and often receives low priority, especially for species, varieties or accessions for which there is low demand.

At the International Vegetable Genebank at WorldVeg headquarters, there are many accessions of Southeast Asian heirloom varieties collected in the 1990s and 2000s, with a number of the landraces now thought to exist only in Taiwan, being no longer available in their countries of origin. An ongoing project – the Taiwan Asia Vegetable Initiative – is in the process of repatriating more than 3,700 accessions to national genebanks in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. WorldVeg would like to return more, but one constraint is the need to regenerative seed before returning them.

This important activity is complemented by ‘citizen regenerators’ in Taiwan – seed companies, farmers and agricultural organizations – who work with WorldVeg to help regenerate the older accessions in its collection. They receive training in seed multiplication, learn how to follow protocols and understand phenotypic traits, and return regenerated seed – but they are also allowed to keep a portion, and thus gain access to rare landraces. A group of these ‘citizen regenerators’ met at WorldVeg headquarter in Shanhua on 7 June 2024, for example, to discuss progress. A survey that followed showed that 60% of respondents indicated that some of the multiplied germplasm accessions have the potential for further utilization, including high yield, disease resistance, good growth vigor, early maturity, high fruit setting, good fruit shape, color, aroma and taste. For further information on how to participate in this ongoing scheme, visit https://qrgo.page.link/325Ya

And now, a new project funded by the Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture is also coming to the rescue, helping WorldVeg to regenerate and multiply seeds from at least 2,600 more accessions in 2024, to ensure that there are sufficient quantities to meet demands of see requestors, and that the viability of the multiplied germplasm meets required standards. The project will also support the nutritional analysis of 50 traditional vegetables and provide analytic assistance to other research institutions, will assist with the genotyping and genetic diversity analysis of the WorldVeg okra collection and help to establish a core collection of okra genetic resources for further research and breeding, and allow for more diagnosis of viral diseases. All results will be uploaded to the open access Genesys database for researchers to use, worldwide.