Collecting wild crop relatives in the northwestern steppes of Kazakhstan

• Published in: Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter (IPGRI/FAO) no. 141; pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Greene, S.L. (USDA - ARS National Temperate Forage Legume Germplasm Resources Unit, WA (United States of America)), Hannan, R, Afonin, A, Dzyubenko, N.I, Khusainov, A
• Format: Publication
• Language: English
• Published: Rome (Italy) IPGRI/FAO 2005
• Subjects: CROPS; DRUG PLANTS; FEED CROPS; GENETIC VARIATION; GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS; GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS; KAZAKHSTAN; LETTUCES; LUCERNE; ONIONS; PLANT COLLECTIONS; STEPPES; WILD PLANTS

The Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world in terms of land area. Almost 6000 plant species can be found in diverse ecosystems, including a wealth of wild crop relatives. A joint collecting trip between the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), USA; Saint-Petersburg State University Department of Geography, Russia; the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), Russia; and the Pri-Aral Plant Germplasm Experimental Station, Kazakhstan was conducted in 2000 in the northwest part of the country, including the Mãgodzor Mountains. Species of interest were the perennial relatives of cultivated alfalfa, and wild relatives of onion, lettuce, forage grasses, and medicinal plants. Eighty nine sites were visited and a total of 432 accessions, representing 43 genera, were collected. To support the collecting trip and post-collection site analysis of sites, a GIS database was developed. Five distinct ecogeographic areas were travelled through. Most areas supported a rich diversity of species, although genetic erosion was evident in certain areas