Forages Genebank
ILRI’s genebank collection of nearly 20,000 forage accessions is the most diverse in terms of species.
The 20 most numerous species account for just 29% of almost 20,000 accessions. The collection holds more than 1,000 species, the vast majority of which (97%) are wild species rather than cultivars or landraces.
The genebank has recently undergone major renovation to replace the aged, prefabricated structure with a fully modern genebank.
Characterization of forages at ILRI looks in detail at phenotypic variation, particularly in nutritional traits, and resistance to pests and diseases. The goal is to identify accessions that offer better performance for use as part of sustainable farming systems and as best bets for further evaluation and possible improvement.
To promote the use of forages throughout sub-Saharan Africa, ILRI’s genebank operates a Herbage Seed Unit that offers training to national scientists and technicians and provides selected starter quantities of seed for multiplication and distribution.
Forage grasses
Forage legumes
Key performance indicators of CGIAR genebanks, 2012-2021
HINT: Use the search key to filter the data. For descriptions of performance indicators, click here.| Indicator | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Total number of accessions | 18,850 | 18,716 | 18,640 | 18,634 | 18,627 | 18,638 | 18,639 | 18,662 | 18,662 | 18,662 |
| 2. Total number of accessions that are currently available | 7,655 | 6,794 | 8,182 | 9,182 | 9,690 | 10,321 | 0 | 2,555 | 3,212 | 3,865 |
| 3. Number of seed accessions | 18,850 | 18,716 | 18,640 | 18,634 | 18,627 | 18,638 | 18,639 | 18,662 | 18,662 | 18,662 |
| 4. Number of vegetatively-propagated accessions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5. Number of live plant accessions | 1,291 | 1,542 | 1,526 | 1,514 | 1,516 | 1,538 | 1,531 | 1,548 | 1,524 | 2,015 |
| 6. Number of seed accessions held in long-term storage and safety duplicated at two levels | 1,341 | 3,515 | 3,515 | 3,515 | 3,515 | 3,515 | 3,904 | 5,269 | 5,051 | 5,051 |
| 7. Number of vegetatively-propagated accessions in cryopreservation or safety duplicated as in vitro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8. Number of wild species accessions | 7,545 | - | 2,555 | 2,241 | 2,208 |
Genebank operations, 2012-2021
HINT: Use the search key to filter the data| Indicator | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Number of accessions with passport & characterization data available | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 17,020 | 17,031 | 17,016 |
| 2. Number accessions received | 0 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3. Number accessions regenerated | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 130 | 0 | 80 | 85 |
| 4. Number accessions multiplied | 1,036 | 1,074 | 1,220 | 1,037 | 720 | 802 | 799 | 1,161 | 890 | 21 |
| 5. Number accessions health tested | 1,096 | 768 | 1,016 | 777 | 1,981 | 1,366 | 1,204 | 3,211 | 3,802 | 5,135 |
| 6. Number accessions cleaned | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 120 | 177 | 51 | 1,602 | 255 |
| 7. Number accessions viability tested | 522 | 571 | 1,730 | 1,164 | 1,171 | 838 | 928 | 2,651 | 1,623 | 1,788 |
Number of samples distributed to users within and outside the CGIAR, 2012-2021
HINT: Use the search key to filter the data. For descriptions of performance indicators, click here.| Indicator | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Total number external germplasm requests | 33 | 37 | 45 | 19 | 28 | 26 | 22 | 27 | 20 | 21 |
| 2. Number of samples distributed within the CGIAR | 13 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 29 | 10 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 880 |
| 3. Number of samples distributed outside the CGIAR | 541 | 1,357 | 1,002 | 474 | 686 | 1,050 | 364 | 1,077 | 567 | 1,105 |
| 4. Total number of samples distributed | 554 | 1,357 | 1,037 | 474 | 715 | 1,060 | 432 | 1,077 | 567 | 1,985 |
| 5. Number of accessions distributed within the CGIAR | 12 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 29 | 10 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 376 |
| 6. Number of accessions distributed outside the CGIAR | 470 | 1,062 | 693 | 350 | 608 | 888 | 358 | 1,077 | 567 | 894 |
| 7. Total number of accessions distributed | 482 | 1,062 | 728 | 350 | 637 | 898 | 426 | 1,077 | 567 | 1,270 |
| 8. Total number of accessions distributed outside the CGIAR with SMTA | 358 | 1,077 | 567 | 894 | ||||||
| 9. Total number of unique accessions distributed outside the CGIAR with SMTA | 809 | 358 | 1,077 | 493 | 857 |
Genebank Platform publications, 2017-2020
Recent publications with at least one CGIAR genebank staff as author. HINT: Use the search key to filter the data.| Authors | Article title | Publication name | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negawo, A.T., Jorge, A., Hanson, J., Teshome, A., Muktar, M.S., Azevedo, A.L.S., Lédo, F.J.D.S., Machado, J.C., Jones, C.S. | Molecular markers as a tool for germplasm acquisition to enhance the genetic diversity of a Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) collection. | TROPICAL GRASSLANDS-FORRAJES TROPICALES | READ |
| Kumar, A., Mulatu, F., Assefa, Y., Hanson, J., Jones, C.S., | First report of Johnsongrass mosaic virus infecting Urochloa mosambicensis in Ethiopia. | Plant Disease | READ |
| Kuwi, S.O., Kyalo, M., Mutai, C.K., Mwilawa, A., Hanson, J., Djikeng, A., Ghimire S.R. | Genetic diversity and population structure of Urochloa grass accessions from Tanzania using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. | Brazilian Journal of Botany | READ |
| Ellis, R.H., Nasehzadeh, M., Hanson, J., Woldemariam, Y. | Medium-term seed storage of 50 genera of forage legumes and evidence-based genebank monitoring intervals. | Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution | READ |
| Negawo, A., Teshome, A., Kumar, A., Hanson, J., Jones, C. | Opportunities for Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum) Improvement Using Molecular Genetics. | Agronomy | READ |
| Muktar M, Teshome A, Hanson J, Teressa A, Habte E, Domelevo Entfellner J, Ki-Won Lee, Jones C. | Genotyping by sequencing provides new insights into the diversity of Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) and reveals variation in genome-wide LD patterns between collections | Scientific Reports | READ |
| Ellis R, Nasehzadeh M, Hanson J, Ndiwa N, Woldemariam Y. | Medium-term seed storage of diverse genera of forage grasses, evidence-based genebank monitoring intervals, and regeneration standards | Genet Resour Crop Evol | READ |
| Habte E, Muktar M, Teressa A, Sang-Hoon Lee, Ki-Won Lee, Jones C. | An overview of Teff (Eragrostis teff Zuccagni) Trotter ) as a potential summer forage crop in temperate systems | Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland Science | READ |
| Wang, Z.; Wang, X.; Zhang, H.; Ma, L.; Zhao, H.; Jones C.S.; Chen, J.; Liu G. | A genome-wide association study approach to the identification of candidate genes underlying agronomic traits in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) | Plant Biotechnology Journal | READ |
| Sartie, A., Woldemariam, Y., Hanson, J. & Ndiwa, N. | Developing improved methods for cost effective viability monitoring of Aeschynomene abyssinica and A. americana | Seed Science and Technology | READ |
| Habte, E., Muktar, M.S., Abdena, A., Hanson, J., Sartie, A.M., Negawo, A.T., Machado, J.C., Ledo, F.J.S. & Jones, C.S | Forage performance and detection of marker trait associations with potential for Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) improvement | Agronomy | READ |
| Teressa, A., Assefa, Y., Hanson, J., Abdena, A., Muktar, M.S., Habte, E., Sartie, A.M. & Jones, C.S | Genotyping-by-sequencing reveals population structure and genetic diversity of a Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) | Diversity | READ |
| Halewood, Michael, Nelissa Jamora, Isabel Noriega, Noelle Anglin, Peter Wenzl, Thomas Payne, Marie-Noelle Ndjiondjop, Luigi Guarino, P. Kumar, Mariana Yazbek, Alice Muchugi, Vania Azevedo, Marimagne Tchamba, Chris Jones, Ramaiah Venuprasad, Nicolas Roux, | Germplasm Acquisition and Distribution by CGIAR Genebanks | Plants | READ |
| Aina, A. I. , Ilori, C. O. , Ekanem, U. O. , Oyatomi, O. , Potter, D. , Abberton, M | Morphological characterisation and variability analysis of African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa hochst. ex. A. rich) harms | International Journal of Plant Research | READ |
| Oluwole OO, Olomitutu OE, Paliwal R, Oyatomi OA, Abberton MT, Obembe OO. | Preliminary Assessment of the Association between DArT-SEQ SNP and some Nutritional Traits in African Yam Bean. | Trop J Nat Prod Res | rel=noopener" target="_blank">READ |
| Kumar, A., Hanson, J., Jones, C., Yilikal, A & Mulatu, F. | Screening and characterisation of virus causing yellow leaf disease of Tephrosia in Ethiopia | Australasian Plant Pathology | READ |
| Yan, Q.; Wu, F.; Xu, P.; Li, J.; Chen, D.; Sun, Z.; Gao, L.; Lu, L.; Muktar, M.; Jones, C.; Yi, X.; Zhang J. | The elephant grass (Cenchrus purpureus) genome provides insights into anthocyanidin accumulation and fast growth | Molecular Ecology Resources | READ |