Taro (Colocasia esculenta) accessions were collected from 15 provinces of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The collection, totalling 859 accessions was collated for characterization and a core collection of 81 accessions (*10%) was established on the basis of characterization data generated on 30 agro-morphological descriptors, and DNA fingerprinting using seven SSR primers. The selection of accessions was based on cluster analysis of the morphological data enabling initial selection of 20% accessions. The 20% sample was then reduced and rationalized to 10% based on molecular data generated by SSR primers. This represents the first national core collection of any species established in PNG based on molecular markers. The core has been integrated with core from other Pacific Island countries, contributing to a Pacific regional core collection, which is conserved in vitro in the South Pacific Regional Germplasm Centre at Fiji. The core collection is a valuable resource for food security of the South Pacific region and is currently being utilized by the breeding programmes of small Pacific Island countries to broaden the genetic base of the crop.
The objectives of the paper are twofold: to review valuation methods for plant genetic resources and to develop methods to estimate the past and potential future benefits, both domestic and international, of existing germplasm collections in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The analysis concentrates on PNG's more important plant subsistence food crops: banana, sweet potato, and taro together with aibika. The paper documents the movement of germplasm in the food crops both within PNG and to international collections. Curators of and breeders using PNG germplasm material are surveyed concerning the future usefulness of this material, and their responses are reported and evaluated. Benefits are valued in terms of the value of future breeding in these species.
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