Gene Bank at Agricultural University in Tamil Nadu to benefit farmers

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), May 6 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has established a Gene Bank within its premises in Coimbatore city here, so that the farmers and breeders benefit from it.

The bank, set up at a cost of Rs 12 million, has been funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and is meant to conserve genetic resources for future use.

Germ plasm collection would be maintained to help the breeders and farmers.We have 22,000 varieties of rice, pulses, and grains in our agriculture universities. Actually, the breeders can use these varieties and the Gene Bank for the benefit of the farmer community," said Dr. Murugesa Boopathi, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

"Indirectly, farmers are being benefited with the bank that we are keeping in the agriculture university," he added.

The bank has 3,000 cubic feet of cold storage space for medium and long-term storage of plant genetic resources.

The seeds of the germ plasm intended to be stored would be processed adopting scientific principles of seed storage before depositing them in the cold room.

The estimated storage life of seeds was likely to be five to 20 years depending upon the nature of the seed.

An Internet-based database of the university's germ plasm resources would also be created for exchange and utilization among plant breeders and crop scientists.

The bank has been named after K. Ramiah, the first Indian Paddy Specialist, and the Founder Director of Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack. (ANI)