Plant genetic resources: a review on the various conservation strategies to explore and the sustainable utilization of accessible germplasm

In the whole of Africa and Nigeria in particular, a larger proportion of the forest and plant genetic resources are being depleted at a grossly uncomfortable rate, a consequence of increasing population pressure, agricultural land degradation, urbanization and neglect. It is no gainsaying therefore that in this present dispensation, conservation and sustainable utilization and also proper management of germplasm are pressing priorities the world over. Many conservation methods and techniques exist that could be deployed to safeguard the threatened/endangered population of most of these valuable germplasm. This paper reviews the various techniques inherent in the ex situ and in situ strategies of conservation and also bring to the fore how these techniques could be harnessed in promoting conservation through the various types of genebanks towards ensuring the sustainable use of the accessible germplasm.