THE WORLD SAFFRON AND CROCUS COLLECTION: STRATEGIES FOR ESTABLISHMENT, MANAGEMENT, CHARACTERISATION AND UTILISATION

Abstract Since 2007, the European CommissionAGRI GEN RES 018 ‘‘CROCUSBANK’’ action haspermitted the creation of the alleged World Saffronand Crocus Collection (WSCC), a unique collectionwhich contains a representation of the geneticvariability present in saffron crop and wild relativesat global scale. At present the germplasm collection,housed at the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca(BGV-CU, Spain), consists of 572 preserved accessionsrepresenting 47 different Crocus species(including saffron Crocus) and is expected to increaseup to more than 600 accessions by the end ofCROCUSBANK action (May 2011). The preservedbiodiversity of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) covers awide range of the genetic variability of the crop andcurrently consists of 220 accessions from 15 countries:169 of these come from European cultivationcountries, 18 from commercial areas in non EUcountries, 26 from regions of minimal or relictproduction and/or from abandoned fields and 7 fromcommercial nurseries. The non-saffron Crocus collectioncurrently comprises 352 accessions: 179collected from the wild in 12 countries of naturaldistribution, 24 from donations of public and privateinstitutions, 91 from commercial nurseries and 58acquired from BGV-CU collection management.Here we provide a record of collections, activitiesconcerns and current strategies for documentation,conservation, characterisation, and management ofthe collection as important tools for researchers withinterest in these valuable genetic resources.