CIP's Genebank Conserves More Than 4,000 Varieties of Potato for Future Generations (IMAGE)

International Potato Center / Centro Internacional de la Papa

CIP's Genebank Conserves More Than 4,000 Varieties of Potato for Future Generations

Caption

Conserving the genetic resources of potato and sweetpotato has been a major priority of CIP since its founding in 1971. CIP maintains the largest collections of potato (more than 4,000 varieties) and sweetpotato (more than 8,000 varieties) in the world. The genebank holds over 80% of the world's native potato and sweetpotato cultivars and over 80% of the known species of wild potato. It also maintains more than 1,500 accessions of native Andean root and tuber crops (ARTCs). CIP conserves and preserves the genetic diversity of these valuable crops so that future generations can benefit from the amazing benefits of these treasured crops -- much of which is yet to be discovered. By maintaining these collections, CIP conserves this diversity in perpetuity so new discoveries can be made.

Credit

International Potato Center/Memac Ogilvy

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