Location: Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research
Project Number: 3012-21000-017-005-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2020
End Date: Jun 30, 2025
Objective:
The objective of this agreement is to collect Malus doumeri germplasm in Vietnam through a collaboration with the Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Science, as described in a funded USDA-ARS Plant Exploration Proposal.
Approach:
Cooperator will survey and collect in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in either 2020 or 2021, depending on quarantine restrictions and access due to the novel coronavirus. The survey will confirm the availability and exact locations of M. doumeri for the collection expedition, and allow the Vietnamese scientists to establish local contacts. ARS researcher will join in the northern Vietnam expedition in fall 2021, when it will be safe to travel internationally. For each M. doumeri population, a minimum of 10 trees with fruit will be randomly sampled (when available). The team will aim to collect a minimum of 300 seeds per tree. The seeds will be split between National Genebank of Vietnam and the ARS National Plant Germplasm System. Data on the collection site and tree characteristics will be collected as was agreed upon and performed in previous collaborations. The ARS portion of the seeds will be directly shipped to USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine Center in Beltsville, MD for inspection and quarantine procedure. Once the seeds are cleared from the APHIS quarantine inspection, the seeds will be sent to the Apple Collection, USDA-ARS, Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva NY for permanent preservation, curation, and distribution and the NLGRP for secure back-up.
