Multiplication, Characterization & Evaluation Unit

 The major activities in the Evaluation unit are,

• Seed multiplication and purity maintenance- Increase the quantity of seeds for conservation and to provide seeds for users. Genetic purity is maintained by using different techniques such as caging, bagging and hand pollination to prevent cross pollination during multiplication.
• Morphological characterization to study the genetic diversity of the conserved germplasm, to identify salient features that distinguish accessions from one another and to identify useful traits which can be utilized for plant breeding aspects. For plant characterization and evaluation we use the appropriate descriptors.
• Preliminary evaluation for special attributes such as stress tolerance, resistant to pests and diseases.
• Identification of unidentified accessions.
• Pre-breeding activities.
• Maintenance of perennial germplasm.