FAO WIEWS code of the institute where the accession is maintained. The codes consist of the 3- letter ISO 3166 country code of the country where the institute is located plus a number (e.g. COL001). The current set of institute codes is available from http://apps3.fao.org/wiews/wiews.jsp. For those institutes not yet having an FAO Code, or for those with ‘obsolete’ codes, see ‘Common formatting rules (v)’.

This is the unique identifier for accessions within a genebank, and is assigned when a sample is entered into the genebank collection (e.g. ‘PI 113869’).

Original identifier assigned by the collector(s) of the sample, normally composed of the name or initials of the collector(s) followed by a number (e.g. ‘FM9909’). This identifier is essential for identifying duplicates held in different collections.

FAO WIEWS code of the institute collecting the sample. If the holding institute has collected the material, the collecting institute code (COLLCODE) should be the same as the holding institute code (INSTCODE). Follows INSTCODE standard. Multiple values are separated by a semicolon without space.

Name of the institute collecting the sample. This descriptor should be used only if COLLCODE cannot be filled because the FAO WIEWS code for this institute is not available. Multiple values are separated by a semicolon without space

Address of the institute collecting the sample. This descriptor should be used only if COLLCODE cannot be filled since the FAO WIEWS code for this institute is not available. Multiple values are separated by a semicolon without space.

Identifier of the collecting mission used by the Collecting Institute (4 or 4.1) (e.g. ‘CIATFOR-052’, ‘CN426’).

Genus name for taxon. Initial uppercase letter required.

Specific epithet portion of the scientific name in lowercase letters. Only the following abbreviation is allowed: ‘sp.’

Provide the authority for the species name.

Subtaxon can be used to store any additional taxonomic identifier. The following abbreviations are allowed: ‘subsp.’ (for subspecies); ‘convar.’ (for convariety); ‘var.’ (for variety); ‘f.’ (for form); ‘Group’ (for ‘cultivar group’).

Provide the subtaxon authority at the most detailed taxonomic level.

Common name of the crop. Example: 'malting barley’, ’macadamia’, ‘maïs’.

Either a registered or other designation given to the material received, other than the donor’s accession number (23) or collecting number (3). First letter uppercase. Multiple names are separated by a semicolon without space. Example: Accession name: Bogatyr;Symphony;Emma.

Date on which the accession entered the collection where YYYY is the year, MM is the month and DD is the day. Missing data (MM or DD) should be indicated with hyphens or ‘00’ [double zero].

3-letter ISO 3166-1 code of the country in which the sample was originally collected (e.g. landrace, crop wild relative, farmers’ variety), bred or selected (breeding lines, GMOs, segregating populations, hybrids, modern cultivars, etc.).

Location information below the country level that describes where the accession was collected, preferable in English. This might include the distance in kilometres and direction from the nearest town, village or map grid reference point, (e.g. 7 km south of Curitiba in the state of Parana).

Latitude expressed in decimal degrees. Positive values are North of the Equator; negative values are South of the Equator (e.g. -44.6975).

Degrees (2 digits) minutes (2 digits), and seconds (2 digits) followed by N (North) or S (South) (e.g. 103020S). Every missing digit (minutes or seconds) should be indicated with a hyphen. Leading zeros are required (e.g. 10----S; 011530N; 4531--S).

Longitude expressed in decimal degrees. Positive values are East of the Greenwich Meridian; negative values are West of the Greenwich Meridian (e.g. +120.9123).

Degrees (3 digits), minutes (2 digits), and seconds (2 digits) followed by E (East) or W (West) (e.g. 0762510W). Every missing digit (minutes or seconds) should be indicated with a hyphen. Leading zeros are required (e.g. 076----W).

Uncertainty associated with the coordinates in metres. Leave the value empty if the uncertainty is unknown.

The geodetic datum or spatial reference system upon which the coordinates given in decimal latitude and decimal longitude are based (e.g. WGS84, ETRS89, NAD83). The GPS uses the WGS84 datum.

The georeferencing method used (GPS, determined from map, gazetteer, or estimated using software). Leave the value empty if georeferencing method is not known.

Elevation of collecting site expressed in metres above sea level. Negative values are allowed.

Collecting date of the sample, where YYYY is the year, MM is the month and DD is the day. Missing data (MM or DD) should be indicated with hyphens or ‘00’ [double zero].

FAO WIEWS code of the institute that has bred the material. If the holding institute has bred the material, the breeding institute code (BREDCODE) should be the same as the holding institute code (INSTCODE). Follows INSTCODE standard. Multiple values are separated by a semicolon without space.

Name of the institute (or person) that bred the material. This descriptor should be used only if BREDCODE cannot be filled because the FAO WIEWS code for this institute is not available. Multiple names are separated by a semicolon without space.

The coding scheme proposed can be used at 3 different levels of detail: either by using the general codes (in boldface) such as 100, 200, 300, 400 or by using the more specific codes such as 110, 120 etc.

Information about either pedigree or other description of ancestral information (i.e. parent variety in case of mutant or selection). For example a pedigree 'Hanna/7Atlas//Turk/8Atlas' or a description 'mutation found in Hanna', 'selection from Irene' or 'cross involving amongst others Hanna and Irene'.

The coding scheme proposed can be used at 2 different levels of detail: either by using the general codes (in boldface) such as 10, 20, 30, 40 or by using the more specific codes such as 11, 12 etc.

FAO WIEWS code of the donor institute. Follows INSTCODE standard

Name of the donor institute (or person). This descriptor should be used only if DONORCODE cannot be filled because the FAO WIEWS code for this institute is not available.

Identifier assigned to an accession by the donor. Follows ACCENUMB standard.

Any other identifiers known to exist in other collections for this accession. Use the following format: INSTCODE:ACCENUMB;INSTCODE:identifier;… INSTCODE and identifier are separated by a colon without space. Pairs of INSTCODE and identifier are separated by a semicolon without space. When the institute is not known, the identifier should be preceded by a colon.

FAO WIEWS code of the institute(s) where a safety duplicate of the accession is maintained. Multiple values are separated by a semicolon without space. Follows INSTCODE standard.

Name of the institute where a safety duplicate of the accession is maintained. Multiple values are separated by a semicolon without space.

If germplasm is maintained under different types of storage, multiple choices are allowed, separated by a semicolon (e.g. 20;30). (Refer to FAO/IPGRI Genebank Standards 1994 for details on storage type.)

The status of an accession with regards to the Multilateral System (MLS) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Leave the value empty if the status is not known

The remarks field is used to add notes or to elaborate on descriptors with value 99 or 999 (= Other). Prefix remarks with the field name they refer to and a colon (:) without space (e.g. COLLSRC:riverside). Distinct remarks referring to different fields are separated by semicolons without space.