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Vavilov's seed-bank legacy underpins India's National Genebank
खबर में क्यों?
Vavilov built the first seed bank in Leningrad - which ICAR body guards India's crop diversity now?
Nikolai Vavilov's pioneering seed-bank work underlies modern gene banks, including India's NBPGR-run National Genebank.
Why it matters: GS-3 core; factual, Prelims-type
What you need to know
2 मिनट
Nikolai Vavilov, a Soviet botanist, pioneered the study of the geographic centres of origin of cultivated plants and built one of the world's first large seed banks in Leningrad in the early 20th century to preserve crop genetic diversity.
His work laid the scientific foundation for modern gene banks, including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway and India's National Genebank, maintained by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR).
Such collections safeguard crop diversity against threats like climate change, pests and disease.
स्रोत: Topper IAS editorial (PIB / The Hindu / Indian Express)
मुख्य तथ्य
Remember these
- Nikolai Vavilov, a Soviet botanist, pioneered study of geographic centres of origin of cultivated plants
- Vavilov built one of the world's first large seed banks in Leningrad in the early 20th century
- India's National Genebank is maintained by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)
- The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway follows the same seed-preservation tradition
- Seed banks safeguard crop genetic diversity against climate change, pests and disease
प्रीलिम्स · मेन्स
How the exam will ask it
प्रीलिम्स
- Nikolai Vavilov pioneered the study of geographic centres of origin of cultivated plants.
- India's National Genebank is maintained by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR).
- The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway is a modern gene bank in the same tradition Vavilov began.
- NBPGR functions as India's institute for conserving crop germplasm.
मेन्स
GS Paper 3 - Science and Technology / Agricultural biodiversity conservation. Issue: climate change, pests and disease threaten crop genetic diversity that underpins food security; provision/institution: India's National Genebank, run by NBPGR, and global counterparts like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault conserve this germplasm ex-situ. Way forward lies in strengthening such repositories and international germplasm exchange to build agricultural resilience.
Quick recall
Answer before you reveal
India's National Genebank, which conserves crop genetic diversity in the tradition pioneered by botanist Nikolai Vavilov's early seed banks, is maintained by which institution?
- Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education
- Botanical Survey of India
- Central Institute for Cotton Research
- National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources
उत्तर देखें
उत्तर: D — Correct: National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources - the ICAR institute that maintains India's National Genebank. • Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education - wrong: focused on forestry, not crop germplasm. • Botanical Survey of India - wrong: focused on flora surveys/taxonomy. • Central Institute for Cotton Research - wrong: a single-crop research institute.
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