Exploring the potential of Indonesia rice germplasm collection to support its utilisation

Abstract

Indonesia is rich in rice germplasm that has the potential to support sustainable agriculture through a variety of development programs. This germplasm must be explored for its superior characteristics to be used optimally. This paper presents the efforts to explore the characters and genetic potentials of Indonesian rice germplasm collected at the Agricultural Genebank. Data were extracted from research reports from 2016−2022. Some rice accessions were characterised and evaluated through the characterisation and evaluation program. Of the 3,335 rice accessions managed by the Agricultural Genebank, 706 have been observed for their morpho-agronomic characteristics, 960 for molecular characteristics, and 113 for functional qualities. Resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses was evaluated in 700 and 250 accessions, respectively. A large number of data points have been generated. These valuable data were recorded, reported, and safely archived. Recommendations to address the remaining challenges and optimise germplasm utilisation are 1) expanding the characterisation-evaluation program to the whole collection and 2) developing an updated, communicative, and user-friendly information system to disseminate and facilitate the utilisation of rice germplasm collections. This study is useful for getting a comprehensive overview of germplasm management and setting further strategies for more efficient germplasm management.