Download - Oman Country Report
Ali H. Al LawatiTh R h C ilThe Research Council
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
2nd Coordinating Board Meeting of the Near East and North Africa Plant g gGenetic Resources Network (NENA- PGRN)
National Gene Bank - Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt18 - 20 September 2012
Content – Current StatusCollectionsConservationConservation,Documentation, and Utilization (Plant breeding and biotech)RegulationsgChallengesC l iConclusion
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The State of DiversityThe State of Diversity Important native crop species that are grown in
Oman back to 3000 BC areOman back to 3000 BC are:
Oman has wide spectrum of PGRFA – 194 species (16% of about 1200 vascular plants).p p
Fruits: Dates, banana, lime, mango
C l d i l Wh t b l Cereals and grain legumes: Wheat, barley, sorghum, cowpea, chickpea, lintel
Vegetables: Onion, garlic, cucumber, g gmuskmelon, sweet potato, carrots
Forages: alfalfa (Medicago sativa) , sorghum, buffal grass (Cenchrus ciliaris), finger milletsbuffal grass (Cenchrus ciliaris), finger millets
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Collection of PGRFA – historical t i itrivia First collections were undertaken jointly j ywith the International Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (Currently known as Bioversity International) in 1980 1987 Bioversity International) in 1980, 1987, 1988, and 1990.
Additional two main missions were conducted jointly with ICARDA: 1998: Sixty‐eight seed accessions of both forage
and pasture species were collected from the p pnorthern regions of Oman
2002: Twenty‐three seed accessions of both forage and pasture species were collected from g p pthe mountains of southern (Dhofar) region
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Collection of PGRFA Other national collections for vegetable crops such as cucumber, carrots, garlic, onions, melons, sweet potatoes were initiated in the mid of eighties of the potatoes were initiated in the mid of eighties of the last century.
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Collection of PGRFA ‐ Current SQU initiated a collection of legume crop (2008‐2010) in collaboration with MAF. Total collection was 305 accessions for 10 species. accessions for 10 species.
Since 2006 till 2011 Oman Botanic Garden collected accessions for more than 350 species of wild and CWR species. The collection was documented electronically.
Small collection missions focusing on particular species for example for banana. About 12 accessions were collected from Oman mountains and oasis.
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C ti itConservation – ex situ About 1ooo accessions of seeds were collected and About 1ooo accessions of seeds were collected and conserved the gene bank belonging to 15 species.
At least 350 species (about 1000 accessions) of wild and At least 350 species (about 1000 accessions) of wild and CWR were conserved in Oman Botanic Garden
C ll t d i f b t i d b Collected accessions of about 70 species are conserved by international centers such as ICARDA, IITA and national institutes such as USDA and IPK in Germany.
Number of accessions that conserved in these international organization totally could reach to about thousand accessionsaccessions.
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ConservationConservation Ex situ conservation (Field genebanks): about twelve th d i f f it t di t ib t d i thousands accessions of fruit trees ‐ distributed in 19 research farms
Fruit Species Number of accessionsFruit Species Number of accessionsDate palm 4390Coconut palm 2400 – 2450 Banana , Mango 1200 – 1400 eachPomegranate 375G 245Grape 245Olive, Apricots, Almond, Cherries, Pears, Peaches,
20 – 60 eachC e es, ea s, eac es,Apples, GuavaFigs, Custurd apples, Plums 6 – 10 8
Conservation Field genebanks of 244 pasture plants and 103 medicinal plant species were established at Rumais between 2004 and 2005
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Conservation – in situ 20 fenced areas in the rangelands that cover about 171 ha. Approximately 177 thousand pasture shrubs and trees of different species were recordeddifferent species were recorded.
These areas include several rangeland grass and herb species as well as many CWR and wild plants for food.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs established several protected areas in the countryseveral protected areas in the country.
There is no information what these protected areas contains in term of species and plant communities. p p
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DocumentationDocumentationGeRMS: Genetic Resources Managementg
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Documentation New perspective:
Initiative by Animal and Plant Genetic Resources to tot bli h N ti l D t b f Pl t A i l establish a National Database for Plants, Animal,
Marine, and Microorganisms species. May 2012, a workshop initiated by TRC and Bioversityy , p y yInternational, for concerned stakeholders, was conducted to observe the opportunity to use GRIN‐Global as the platform such database Global as the platform such database.
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National Information Sharing MechanismMechanismwww.pgrfa.org
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Utilization Morphological Characterization:
Date palms, mangoes, bananas, limes, and other fruit ttrees.
Wheat, barley, dry peas, and broad beans Grasses: Cenchrus ciliaris L Coelachyrum piercei Grasses: Cenchrus ciliaris L, Coelachyrum piercei, Lasiurus hirsutus L, Panicum turgidum L, Pennisetumdivisum,
Rangelands shrub species. Forages: alfalfa
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Utilization Molecular Characterization:
Date palms: Omani cultivars and GCC cultivars Using SSR and AFLPUsing SSR and AFLP Diversity within Omani cultivars Exploring for more SSR for date palms
Alfalfa – 2004 2011Alfalfa 2004, 2011 Crop Improvement:
Date palm ‐ 1985 Wheat: started in 2001/2002
New cultivars will be released in 2012/2013 Barley ‐ 2004y Alfalfa ‐ 2010
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Utilization Seed distribution of local wheat and barley cultivars.
C i f i bl d l i hi Conservation of native vegetable and legume crops within farmers communities, in situ conservation.
Propagation and distribution of some rangeland, native forage species to the farmers.
Since 2010 Graduate students involved in genetic diversity thesis by SQU for broad beans cowpea and fenugreek thesis by SQU for broad beans, cowpea, and fenugreek.
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Legislation There are 12 Royal decrees issued related to plant genetic resources most of the concerning
Plant variety protection – Breeders right a Royal Decree published in 2009 based on UPOV Convention 1991published in 2009 based on UPOV Convention 1991. In May 2012 and in collaboration with UPOV a bylaw for the decree to be drafted.
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CollaborationEstablishment of Animal and Plant Genetic Resources Center
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Internationally: Collection missions Capacity building in different fields of collection, conservation documentation and utilizationconservation, documentation and utilization.
International Treaty of PGRFA ‐MTAs
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Challenges Activities appear scattered among different stakeholders
D l f N i l C ll b i Development of National Collaboration: More coordination and collaboration among stakeholders Identifying the gaps between the conserved PGR and the y g g ptargets in term of . the inter‐ and intra‐specific diversity conserved ex situ and the diversity existing in situ.
Capacity building in terms of staff and facilities required Capacity building in terms of staff and facilities required especially in the field of conservation and utilization.
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Conclusion Collection activity is going on to cover species of food and agriculture as well other species.agriculture as well other species.
Conservation is more ahead for field genebanks of fruit trees compared to ex‐situ conservation of seeds.
D t ti i t i f f l t i d t b Documentation is present in form of electronic database, but needs improvement/replacement. Also, integration of different databases.
Characterization: morphological and molecular, but li i d bli i i ll f f i D d limited publication especially for fruit trees. Data and information not recorded as databases.
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Utilization, started for wheat and barley in classical form, for fruit species used as mother
f itrees for propagation.
Legislation: present to some extent. International Conventions needs to be implemented as national laws laws.
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Challenges
National Collaboration
Capacity BuildingCapacity Building
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