A list of descriptors was prepared the by the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR), in consultation with Professor A. Ashri, Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel. During the first International Safflower Conference, University of California, Davis, 12-16 July 1981, the IBPGR convened an Ad Hoc meeting to finalize this list of descriptors. The participants are listed in the Appendix.
This descriptor list has been prepared in an IBPGR standard format, following advice on descriptors and descriptor states from the crop experts throughout the world. The IBPGR encourages the collection of data on the first four categories of this list: 1. Accession; 2. Collection; 3 and 4 Characterization and preliminary evaluation. The IBPGR endoreses the information in categories 1-4 as the minimum that ideally should be available for any one accession. Other descriptors are given in categories 5 onwards that will enable the simple encoding of further characterization and evaluation data and which can serve as examples for the creation of additional descriptors in the IBPGR form by any user.
Although the suggested coding should not be regarded as the definite scheme, this format has the full backing of the IBPGR and is promoted world-wide. The descriptor list given here provides an international format and thereby produces a universally understood “language” for all plant genetic resource data. The adoption of this scheme for all data encoding, or at least the production of a transformation method to convert other schemes to the IBPGR format, will produce a rapid, reliable and efficient means for information storage, retrieval and communication. This will greatly assist the utilization of germplasm throughout the international plant genetic resources network. It is recommended, therefore, that information should be produced by closely following this descriptor list with regard to: ordering and numbering descriptors; using the descriptors specified: and using the descriptor states recommended.
Any suggestions for modifications will be welcomed by the IBPGR Secretariat, Rome.
