Which Indian organization has been entrusted with the responsibility for collection plant genetic resources (PGR)?
Exploration and germplasm collection is one of the primary activities of plant genetic resources management. It aims at tapping germplasm variability in different agri-horticultural (crop) plants, their wild relatives and related species. In this context, it is an initial step to back up all the related PGR activities. This activity received much attention in India with the establishment of central agency for this purpose in 1946 in the Division of Botany, IARI, New Delhi. Late Dr. Harbhajan Singh, an eminent plant explorer also known as Indian Vavilov gave momentum to this activity in India. Plant exploration and collection activities have been further systematized after the creation of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in 1976. This activity received greater impetus from 1985 and in the next 12-13 years i.e., up to 1998, emphasis was mainly laid on crop-specific collaborative explorations. With the help of World Bank aided National Agricultural Technology Project
