ABSTRACT
Richard L. Wilson United States Department of Agriculture, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
I. INTRODUCTION
The use of appropriate crop species and genotypes is the foundation upon which agricultural production is built; therefore, availability of germplasm for selecting appropriate crops and varieties is critical to the future of agriculture. Germplasm has been variously defined as ". . . the source of the genetic potential of living organisms" [70], or ". . . the array of plant materials, assembled or not, that serve as a basis for crop improvement, or related research" [12].
