ABSTRACT
Coffee genetic resources, both ex situ and in situ, are facing many challenges. Key among them are genetic erosion in ex situ collections due to loss of trees as a result of ageing, susceptibility to pests and diseases, ecological conditions unsuitable for their growth, inappropriate cultivation methods and hybridization in the field (Anthony et al., 2007; Krishnan, 2013; Krishnan, et al., 2013a; Vega et al., 2008). Key threats to in situ populations of coffee include deforestation and land degradation, human population pressures leading to conversion of land to agriculture and global climate change (Davis et al., 2012; Gole et al., 2002; Krishnan, 2013; Labouisse et al., 2008).
