| Wild rice is an important genebank for the breeding of new rice varieties. Since the first national survey and collection of wild rice resources in Guangdong from 1978 to 1980, remarkable achievements have been made in the conservation and utilization of wild rice germplasm resources: the National Germplasm Resources Nursery for Wild Rice and Guangdong Provincial Germplasm Resources Genebank for Rice have been established in Guangzhou. Till now, 5 188 wild rice accessions have been planted and conserved at the nursery, and seeds propagated from more than 4 000 accessions have
been conserved in the genebank, covering 20 wild rice species. Two in situ conservation sites for Oryza rufi pogon have been constructed, including one in Guangzhou and the other in Maoming, respectively. A wild rice resource conservation system combining nursery, seed genebank and in situ conservation has been formed. 156 varieties were bred directly or indirectly from Guangdong wild rice germplasm resources and approved by variety approval committees of various levels, including 18 nationally-approved varieties. Moreover, the quality of most of these varieties reached the national standard, ministry standard or provincial standard of high-quality grade 3 or above, indicating that the wild rice germplasm resources play an important role in the cultivation of high-quality rice varieties. However, the following main problems still exist in the conservation, breeding and utilization of wild rice germplasm resources in Guangdong Province: the layout of in situ wild rice conservation sites is incomplete, and the natural survival of wild rice is endangered; the facilities and equipment conditions for wild rice resource evaluation are not perfect, and the in-depth evaluation is insufficient, which affects the full use of wild rice resources. It is suggested to increase the investment in wild rice conservation and evaluation, strengthen the planning, construction and management of wild rice in situ conservation sites, enhance the innovation of excellent germplasm resources of wild rice, the creation of new breeding materials and the basic researches of related applications so as to promote greater achievements in the conservation and breeding utilization of wild rice resources. |
