STRATEGIES FOR USE OF GERMPLASM COLLECTIONS OF BEANS – THE CASE OF \u3ci\u3ePHASEOLUS VULGARIS\u3c/i\u3e AT EMBRAPA TEMPERATE CLIMATE

INTRODUCTION The genetic resources of plants have historically constituted the basis for the development of world agriculture comprising in such way the instrument of greater significance to the food safety of human populations. Germplasm collections make up the building for the conservation of these resources, realizing from the more traditional forms, such as are found at the level farmer’s production units, where are found the guardians of seeds, up to the most complex and institutional germplasm banks as of national and international organizations. The latter have significant numbers of entries obtained through specific expeditions for collection or through donations made by farmers, predominantly guardians of seeds. The International Centre for Tropical Agriculture-CIAT, located in Colombia, for example, has more than 36,000 entries. The uses that are given to material stored in Germplasm Banks are usually limited to the development of new cultivars in breeding programs, meaning that an extremely low number of accesses has been exploited. The present work presents the structure of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) collection at Embrapa Clima Temperado and reveals adopted strategies aiming to dynamize the use of this collection