Appendix II. Glossary of technical terms

Accession	A sample (made up of seeds of a variety, strain or a population) maintained at a genetic resources centre for conservation or use.
Accession number	A unique identifier for accessions that is assigned by the curator when the accession is entered into the collection. Once assigned this number should never be assigned to another accession in the collection and should not be used again.
Characterization	The recording of those characters which are highly heritable, can be easily seen by eye and are expressed in all environments.
Collector's number	Original number assigned by the collector of the sample.
Data base	A collection of interrelated data files which can serve as an information source for many users.
Data file	A collection of data which are accessible as, a single entity.
Donor	The person or institution which has donated the seeds.
Dormancy	The condition of a viable seed which prevents germination when the conditions normally considered to be suitable for germination are provided.
Equilibrium moisture content	The moisture content at which a seed is in equilibrium with the relative humidity of the surrounding air.
Evaluation	The recording of those characters that are important for the use of a crop.
Genebank	A centre conserving seeds, which are considered as genetic resources, under suitable conditions to prolong the life of the seeds.
Genetic variability	Variation in the genetic structure of the species.
Germination	The initial stages of growth of a seed into a seedling.
Hermetic seal	An air-tight seal used to close containers.
Inventory	A list of samples (and of their characteristics) that are stored in the genebank.
Laminated aluminium foil packets	Packets constructed of a laminate consisting of an inner layer of polyethylene, a middle layer of aluminium foil and an outer layer of polyester.
Passport data	The data referring to the identification and origin of an accession.
Phytosanitory certificate	A certificate provided by Government Plant Health Personnel to certify that the seed material is free from pests and diseases.
Population sample	A sample of individuals that are representative of the population from which they were drawn.
Random sample	A sample which is drawn by random methods from a larger bulk.
Recipient	The person who receives the material or information.
Regeneration standard	The percentage seed viability at or below which the accession must be regenerated as soon as possible to produce fresh seeds.
Relative humidity	The ratio of the weight of water vapour present in the atmosphere to the weight which would saturate the atmosphere at that temperature.
Silica gel	An inert chemical which absorbs water from its surroundings and will give up this water again by evaporation when heated.
Storage life	The number of years that a seed can be stored before seed death occurs.