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Genetic resources conservation is vital to global food security and poverty alleviation. IITA genetic resources center plays a major role in the conservation of seed crop germplasm in order to prevent the genetic erosion of these crop species and as well maintain a genetic base for crop improvement. IITA Genetic resources center maintains a germplasm collection of seeds crops such as Cowpea, Soybean, Maize, Bambara groundnut, African yam bean, wild Vigna and some Miscellaneous Legumes.
The seeds are maintained at both medium and long term cold storage at a temperature of 5 o C and -20 o C respectively. Seed regeneration, processing and distribution are the recurrent activities of the seedbank usually occasioned by low seed stock following distribution to requestors or sometimes due to low viability of seed lots conserved over the years. The special procedural standards involved in the above activities for the conservation of these germplasm collections in the seedbank are described in this operational manual.