Further progress in collecting, documenting, and conserving plant genetic resources was made by ICARDA in 2002, and the Center's germplasm collection continued to grow. Studies of ICARDA's wild barley core collection, the genus Aegilops and the six closely related taxa of the Vicia sativa aggregate, yielded new insights into the genetic diversity of these groups. Germplasm was characterized and multiplied, and more than 16,000 samples dispatched to users in 28 countries. In West Asia, the promotion of in situ conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity continued in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. In CAC, a regional genetic resource network instituted in 1999 was further strengthened, to promote the conservation of the region's genetic resources. Allied to this was the updating of related facilities, and the provision of capacity-building training. Progress was also made in providing an internet-based inventory of barley genetic resources throughout the world. Seed health testing continued, and a number of ICARDA's genebank accessions were cleaned of seed-borne viruses.

Germplasm Collection

In 2002, ICARDA's germplasm collections grew by 1331 new accessions, to reach a total of 128,462. A unique set of 692 accessions resulted from plant collection missions to Jordan, Romania, Syria and Turkmenistan (Table 25). Most valuable were 585 unique accessions of barley and bread wheat, originating from the germplasm collections of Vavilov and his colleagues in 1920s and 1930s and donated by the Vavilov Institute (VIR), St Petersburg, Russia.

Molecular analysis of ICARDA's wild barley core collection

Out of the total of 1679 accessions of barley's wild progenitor (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum), held at ICARDA, a core collection was established, consisting of 150 accessions originating from 17 countries. The genetic diversity of the core collection was studied using AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) molecular markers. Accessions were grouped by origin into 22 geographic sub-regions, and the total genetic variation of the samples was partitioned by analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Twenty-three percent of the total variance was among the geographic groups, while most of the variance (77%) occurred within the groups. Discriminant analysis showed a well-defined geographic pattern of genetic diversity in wild barley, as 94% of the original

Wild relatives of wheat, including Aegilops species, are a valuable source of genes for stress tolerance and adaptation to harsh environments. To better understand relationships among the species, the genetic diversity of the genus Aegilops was evaluated and its phylogeny studied. To this end, the genetic variation of diploid Aegilops species was investigated using the AFLP technique. Four primer combinations were used to analyze intraspecific genetic diversity, while 15 primer combinations were used to analyze interspecific phylogenetic relationships. Genetic diversity within the Aegilops species was categorized into three classes based on the level of diversity found: i.e. the highly variable species (Ae. speltoides and Ae. mutica, syn. Amblyopyrum muticum), species with a medium level of variation (Ae. umbellulata, Ae. caudata, Ae. bicornis and

Patterns of genetic and taxon diversity in the Vicia sativa aggregate

Common vetch (Vicia sativa ) is an important forage legume, not only in the CWANA region, but also in other parts of world. Therefore, ICARDA researchers used AFLPs to study the geographic distribution of genetic diversity in the Vicia sativa aggregate, a complex of six closely related taxa. The study demonstrated that the center of diversity for the aggregate is located in the Mediterranean (Fig. 17). The highest level of diversity and a relatively high concentration of rare alleles were found in the South Mediterranean floristic province, in the north of Tunisia in particular. The East Mediterranean floristic province was also found to have a high level of diversity. A genetic bottleneck was observed in South Asia, with low diversity and no rare alleles being found east of Iraq. A significant

correlation was found between the number of subspecies present in an area and the average diversity within the subspecies. This indicates that, for the Vicia sativa aggregate, the number of subspecies in a region can be used as a predictor for genetic diversity levels.

Germplasm multiplication, characterization and utilization

In the 2001/02 growing season, a total of 2500 accessions were characterized using 15 to 30 descriptors. A representative set of barley, wheat, lentil, chickpea, pea and faba bean landrace accessions from Afghanistan (271 in total) was selected from ICARDA's genebank. These were multiplied in large plots in the field, and characterized for a number of agro-morphological characters. Priority was given to seed multiplication to replenish seed stocks, since demand for germplasm from ICARDA's genebank has further increased in 2002. A total of 16,300 seed samples were dispatched, on request, to external users in 28 countries. This included the repatriation of indigenous germplasm to Afghanistan, Jordan and Palestine, a total of 271, 1350 and 1000 accessions, respectively. An additional 4700 seed samples were distributed to breeders and scientists within ICARDA.

Community-based agrobiodiversity conservation in West Asia

ICARDA's project for the conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It aims to promote community-driven in situ conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. ICARDA is responsible for regional coordination and networking among the national components and provides, in cooperation with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), necessary technical backstopping and training.
     During the 2002 season, the project had a significant impact at community, national and regional levels. Summaries of its achievements are given below.
     The project has increased the use of wild fruit trees in reforestation efforts. More than 17,000 seedlings were planted during public-awareness campaigns run in Syria, while Forestry Departments in Jordan, Palestine and Syria increased the use of targeted species in their afforestation and reforestation programs. In Jordan, the project has helped to create a biodiversity unit within the Forestry Department. Similarly, biodiversity and genetic resources units were created within the General Council for Scientific Agricultural Research in Syria and the Ministry of Agriculture in Palestine. The project has also assisted local NGOs and individual farmers in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria in the creation of 11 agrobiodiversity nurseries, focusing on multiplying the seedlings of landraces and of wild relatives of targeted fruit trees. Seven field genebanks and 11 in situ conservation sites have been developed by the project in the four countries, in addition to the enrichment of existing genebanks with more than 500 accessions of target species.

An inexpensive water harvesting technique using stones.

Processing local products, especially on
how to produce malban from grapes.

was also organized, in collaboration with the private sector in Lebanon and the local community of Ham. Additionally, a permanent agrobiodiversity store was created at Al-Haffa (Syria) and a weekly market organized at Ajloun (Jordan), both of which will allow local communities to sell products derived from their local agrobiodiversity.
     The project has also been very active with regard to increasing public awareness of the importance of conserving dryland agrobiodiversity. This has been achieved through

the organization of agrobiodiversity fairs in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria;

• participation in agricultural fairs organized in Syria and Jordan;
• the introduction of biodiversity conservation into education systems (school curricula development is in progress, biodiversity clubs are being created in Palestine, and school gardens have been created, painting contests have been organized. Six MSc and two BSc studentships have also been created in areas related to the conservation of target species);
• distribution of T-shirts, hats and calendars;
• collaboration with a rural theater, in order to prepare a play entitled "Life Box." This considered the agrobiodiversity of the project sites at which it was performed;
• participation in more than 25 radio and TV interviews, and the development, in collaboration with UN Geneva TV, of a regional documentary film on the importance of preserving West Asian agrobiodiversity. This will be broadcast by 77 international channels; and
• contributions to more than 10 regional and international conferences.

     The project is currently contributing to the development of different national policies and legislation. With the help of an FAO expert, the Syrian Component of the project has drafted legislation regarding access to and exchange of genetic resources. The Jordanian and Lebanese Components have contacted the FAO, in order to achieve the goal in their respective countries. The Regional Component organized the first Arab workshop on "The Implications of International Agreements on the Development of National Policies and Legislations Related to Biodiversity Conservation." This was conducted in collaboration with ACSAD, ICARDA, IPGRI, UNEP's Regional Office for West Asia, FAO, and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. The workshop was held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo in May 2002. It was attended by guest speakers, and more than 55 participants representing the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq, and the GEF-UNDP projects in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Important recommendations were made to the Arab League by participants whose aim is the better coordination of efforts to conserve biodiversity in the Arab world.
     Project Managers have been very active with regard to empowering local communities. They helped to create local cooperatives (in Lebanon, for example), organized donor visits to project sites, and developed proposals intended to obtain small GEF grants to support both local communities and collaboration with other projects.
     The project continued its efforts to develop the scientific basis of the in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity, and has contributed to the development of new proposals focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity.

Plant Genetic Resources in Central Asia and the Caucasus

The CAC region is rich in plant diversity. Many of the world's economically important domesticated crop species originated in the area. Thus, besides the landrace material native to the area, it also contains many of the progenitors and wild relatives of these domesticated species, which contain unique combinations of potentially useful genes.
     ICARDA's long-standing relationships with national programs ensure that the countries concerned benefit from the results of collection missions. This is most readily achieved through the ICARDA genebank, which now houses one of the world's largest germplasm collections. Between 1998 and 2001, ICARDA, in collaboration with NARS and VIR, organized collection missions to all eight countries, during which 1442 accessions of ICARDA's mandate crops were collected.

Conserving plant genetic resources: a new regional network

Due to financial constraints, the region's national genetic resource institutes' links with other research institutes have become weak. The national institutes' abilities to collect, conserve, and document local and exotic genetic resources needed to be enhanced, to allow them to secure germplasm for national breeding programs. Therefore, in 1999, the Central Asia and Transcaucasia Network on Plant Genetic Resources (CATCN PGR) was established, involving all eight CAC countries. Within this network, eight PGR units were established to focus on field crops in the region. ICARDA supported the training of PGR documentation specialists, and provided the eight units with computers, so that they could produce inventories and documentation concerned with the PGR in their countries. In addition, to highlight the aims and achievements of the ACIAR-funded PGR-CAC project, raise awareness of the importance of PGR work in the region and act as a networking and information sharing device, an Internet website was developed in 2002.
     A regional meeting of the CATCN-PGR network was organized jointly by ICARDA and IPGRI in Tashkent in June 2002. The meeting was attended by the scientists involved in two working groups: one on cereals and the other on medicinal plants. A total of 23 specialists from the eight CAC countries participated, along with scientists from ICARDA and IPGRI. During the working sessions, they reviewed PGR activities for the period 1999-2002 and developed a work plan for 2002-2004. This meeting was followed by the CATCN-PGR Steering Committee Meeting of National Coordinators (NCs), which was attended by all eight NCs as well as by representatives from IPGRI and ICARDA. Participants discussed issues related to the strengthening of PGR activities in the region and approved the proposed work plan for 2002-2004.

New facilities, new opportunities

Great improvements in PGR facilities have recently been made in CAC: in 2002, an upgraded genebank, and three genetic resource centers were inaugurated. At the request of Uzbek PGR scientists, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management of Uzbekistan, ICARDA, IPGRI and USDA jointly upgraded the Uzbek genebank facility at the Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry (UzRIPI) in Uzbekistan. This medium-term storage facility could serve as a genebank for the whole region, and will allow seed quality to be conserved for 10-15 years. Thus, replanting of stored accessions can now be undertaken every 10-15 years, rather than every 2-3 years.
     At the request of PGR scientists from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, ICARDA provided financial support for the initial stages in the development of seed storage facilities, including the purchase of new equipment.

This type of ICARDA-supported PGR activity in the area has led to the inauguration of Plant Genetic Resource Centers in each of the above countries.
     Based on requests made by the Director General of the Agrarian Science Center in Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Agriculture in Armenia, and the Agrarian Academy in Georgia, in 2002 ICARDA organized a visit by the genebank expert from ICARDA's Genetic Resources Unit (GRU) to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Ways of strengthening the Caucasian Plant Genetic Resources conservation program were assessed, and the potential for seed storage facilities in the three countries were appraised. National and international funding proposals are now being developed to support their development.

Training and human capacity building

A regional training and coordination workshop for Plant Genetic Resource Units was held in Tashkent in April 2002. Organized by the CGIAR Program Facilitation Unit and GRU-ICARDA, the meeting was attended by 24 scientists from the eight CAC countries. The meeting assessed the progress made by the units over the last 12 months, discussed solutions to operational problems, and gave training on updating the database system to document ex situ collections, and in using e-mail.
     Capacity building through training continued. In February and April, documentation specialists from Georgia and Armenia visited Australia for two months, for documentation training and to attend courses on working with modern genebanks and on the Australian PGR network. In September, a documentation specialist from Azerbaijan visited the Vavilov Institute for two weeks, in order to receive PGR, genebank, and documentation training. Two scientists from the Uzbek PGR Unit attended a three-and-a-half-month English language course in Tashkent. Another twelve scientists from PGR Units in Georgia (1), Kazakstan (1), Kyrgyzstan (2), Tajikistan (3), Turkmenistan (2) and Uzbekistan (3) will attend the same course in 2002/03. Finally, in October and November, three documentation officers from the Caucasus attended an on-the-job training program at ICARDA, in which they learnt to design and construct a web-page. The product of this initiative will soon be published, and will act as a valuable networking and information
service tool.

Global inventory of barley genetic resources

The FAO estimates that more than 300,000 accessions of barley are conserved in numerous ex situ collections. There is no doubt that there is a significant overlap between these collections, but the extent of tshis overlap is unknown. What is more, although some collections can be accessed via the Internet, differences in separate systems, both in the format of the data and in the interfaces offered, prevent users from efficiently accessing information on conserved material. During 2002, ICARDA began a collaborative project (involving organizations with large collections of barley) which aims to compile a Global Inventory of Barley Genetic Resources.
     The project is supported by the CGIAR Systemwide Genetic Resources Program (SGRP) and the Inventory will be published on the Internet using the Systemwide Information Network for Genetic Resources (SINGER) platform. Currently the database holds passport data on over 165,000 accessions conserved in 40 institutes (Table 26), and the challenge is to cross-reference the accessions across collections.

Seed health testing

During 2002, approximately 12,000 incoming, and 18,000 outgoing seed samples were tested at the Seed Health Lab (SHL). This volume of seed constituted 15 shipments imported from 13 countries and 270 shipments exported to 94 different countries worldwide. Tilletia controversa was the most frequently found quarantine pathogen, contaminating incoming bread wheat seeds. The percentage contamination in shipments varied, reaching up to 38% (in seed from Turkey) and 100% (in seed from Russia).
     During the period April-June 2002, SHL personnel carried out field inspections and roguing of infected plants with seed-borne diseases at Tel Hadya Station. The planted area was rather large (more than 200 ha) during this season, due to additional plots being used to produce seed for Afghanistan. In spite of a prolonged period of humidity during the season, the occurrence of seed-borne diseases was limited in most crops. However, black chaff (a bacterial disease of wheat) was found in some bread wheat plots. In station fields, scientists look for the following: spot blotch, barley stripe, scald, loose and covered smuts, net blotch, barley stripe virus (on barley), black chaff, common bunt, loose smut (on bread wheat), ascochyta blight, chocolate spot, wilt/root rot, downy mildews, and Orobanche spp., and Cuscuta spp. (on legume crops).
     During 2002, the SHL also gave individual training courses on seed health testing and field inspection to six trainees from Iraq, Syria and Jordan (two per country). The SHL also gave training on aspects of seed health through (1) a two-week seed quality course held at the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute (SPII), Karaj, Iran; (2) a one-week seed science and technology course held in Kabul, Afghanistan, and (3) a four-day course on the production and processing of indigenous forages, held at Sharjah, UAE.

Cleaning seed-borne viruses from ICARDA genebank accessions

Fifty-eight lentil accessions, planted in the field for multiplication (1000 plants per accession), were tested in ICARDA's Virology Laboratory for the presence of seed-borne virus infection. This effort was intended to eliminate all infected plants during the late flowering stage (April-May), and only seeds from healthy plants were harvested and stored. A total of 2180 accessions of barley seed were tested for the presence of Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus (BSMV): 233 accessions were found to be infected. The virus-free accessions will be stored in the genebank, and accessions with virus-infected seeds will be cleaned.

Seed-borne virus testing for international nurseries

About 183 faba bean accessions (100 seeds per accession) were tested in ICARDA's Virology Lab for the presence of Broad Bean Stain Virus (BBSV), Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus (BYMV) and Pea Seed-borne Mosaic Virus (PSbMV). Fifty accessions were found to be infected with a seed-borne virus. A total of 383 lentil accessions were evaluated in the field by testing fresh leaf samples (400 plants per accession) for the presence of seed-borne virus infection: 217 accessions were found to be virus-free. In addition, seed samples from 286 lentil accessions (400 seeds per accession) were tested, during August, for the presence of seed-borne viruses. Of these, 132 accessions were found to contain one or more seed-borne infections and were disqualified from being dispatched.