The Electronic Seed Storage Behaviour (ESSB) Compendium

by T.D. Hong, S. Linington and R.H. Ellis
Handbooks for Genebanks No. 4.
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute

Now available online! The seed storage behaviour compendium has been included in IPGRI's online species compendium available for searches here

Following its initial release as a hard-copy publication in 1996, the Seed Storage Behaviour Compendium has been developed into a searchable electronic database - the Electronic Seed Storage Behaviour (ESSB) Compendium. The aim is to ensure that this valuable publication is available to all those who need it and to make it easier for users to retrieve species-specific information on seed storage behaviour.

Classification of seed storage behaviour is an essential step in devising suitable ex situ conservation methods. Knowing where seed conservation can be applied without problems is essential to those planning conservation strategies. This Compendium is intended to serve as a guide for genebank managers/curators and other scientists in handling seeds and/or maintaining their collections.

The Compendium is comprised of two sections.

• Part I summarizes progress made over the past two decades in the understanding of seed physiology in relation to seed storage for genetic resources conservation.

• Part II of the publication is a summary of the literature on seed storage behaviour for over 7000 species from 251 families. Species are listed alphabetically by family and genus and are systematically classified into one of eight categories of seed storage behaviour [shown in this table].

The Compendium is intended to be used in conjunction with the IPGRI Technical Bulletin No.1 A protocol to determine seed storage behaviour by T.D. Hong and R.H. Ellis, Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, U.K.

If you wish to download a copy of the Windows version of the Electronic Compendium go to Instructions for downloading and installing the Windows version of the ESSB Compendium from the WWW. Winzip is required to unzip this file.

Both DOS and Windows versions of the database software are also available on floppy disk. If you are unable to access the Electronic Compendium from this page you can obtain a copy of the software on diskette by contacting IPGRI-WEBGRST@cgiar.org or writing at GRST c/o IPGRI Headquarters

IPGRI intends to further develop this software package in order to improve its user-friendliness as well as to incorporate new data. We, therefore, welcome your comments on both the structure and contents of the database. For further information or comments on this product, contact IPGRI-WEBGRST@cgiar.org.