Crop diversity is the foundation of our agricultural future, providing key traits to ensure continued production in a rapidly changing world.

Our laboratory safeguards the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) collection, other seed collections, and microbial collections. With almost a million accessions, we are responsible for preserving the world’s largest collection of plant and microbial genetic resources stored under one roof.

Our research generates effective strategies and methods for progressively improving the efficiency of managing and using crop diversity, so these precious resources are ready to meet agricultural challenges, here in the U.S. and around the world.

Learn more about the National Plant Germplasm System.

Infographics: Genebanks and Conservation, Global Food Security