The list of multi-crop passport descriptors is developed jointly by IPGRI and FAO to provide consistent coding schemes for common passport descriptors across crops. These descriptors aim to be compatible with future IPGRI crop descriptor lists and with the descriptors to be used for the FAO World Information and Early Warning System (WIEWS) on PGR.
The list should NOT be regarded as a minimum descriptor list, since many additional passport descriptors are essential for the description of crops and need to be recorded. This document lists an initial set of common passport descriptors at the multi-crop level. At a later stage the list could be expanded with additional multi-crop descriptors. E.g. descriptors dealing with the use of germplasm are currently not included, but their suitability for inclusion at the multi-crop level will be investigated. Future expansion could even result in the development of more specialized lists of common descriptors at the crop group level.
Hazekamp, T., Serwinski, J., & Alercia, A. (1997). Multicrop passport descriptors. In E. Lipman, M. W. . Jongen, T. J. L. van Hintum, T. Gass, & L. Maggioni (Eds.), Central Crop Databases: Tools for Plant Genetic Resources Management(pp. 87–90). Rome (Italy), Wageningen (The Netherlands): International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, CGN.
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 number or an acronym as specified in the Institute database that will be made available by FAO. Preliminary codes (i.e. codes not yet incorporated in the FAO Institute database) start with an asterisk followed by a 3-letter ISO 3166 country code and an acronym.
This number serves as a unique identifier for accessions and is assigned when an accession is entered into the collection. Once assigned this number should never be reassigned to another accession in the collection. Even if an accession is lost, its assigned number should never be reused. Letters should be used before the number to identify the genebank or national system (e.g. IDG indicates an accession that comes from the genebank at Bari, Italy; CGN indicates an accession from the genebank at Wageningen, The Netherlands; PI indicates an accession within the USA system)
Original number assigned by the collector(s) of the sample, normally composed of the name or initials of the collector(s) followed by a number. This item is essential for identifying duplicates held in different collections. It should be unique and always accompany subsamples wherever they are sent.
Genus name for taxon. Initial uppercase letter required.
Specific epithet portion of the scientific name in lowercase letters plus authority (only provided at the most detailed taxonomic level). Following abbreviation is allowed: "sp."
Subtaxa can be used to store any additional taxonomic identifier plus authority (only provided at the most detailed taxonomic level). Following abbreviations are allowed: “ssp.” (for subspecies); “var.” (for variety); “convar.” (for convariety); “f.” (for form).
Either a registered or other formal designation given to the accession. First letter uppercase. Multiple names separated with semicolon.
Name of the country in which the sample was originally collected or derived. Use the ISO 3166 extended codes, (i.e. current and old 3 letter ISO 3166 country codes)
Location information below the country level that describes where the accession was collected starting with the most detailed information. Might include the distance in kilometers and direction from the nearest town, village or map grid reference point, (e.g. CURITIBA 7S, PARANA means 7 km south of Curitiba in the state of Parana) 10.
Degrees and minutes followed by N (North) or S (South) (e.g. 1030S). Missing data (minutes) should be indicated with hyphen (e.g. 10-S).
Degrees and minutes followed by E (East) or W (West) (e.g. 07625W). Missing data (minutes) should be indicated with hyphen (e.g. 076-W). 12.
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.
| Code | Term | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Unknown | |
| 1 | Wild | |
| 2 | Weedy | |
| 3 | Traditional cultivar/Landrace | |
| 4 | Breeder’s line | |
| 5 | Advanced cultivar | |
| 99 | Other | Elaborate in REMARKS field |
The coding scheme proposed can be used at 2 different levels of detail: Either by using the global codes such as 1, 2, 3, 4 or by using the more detailed coding such as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.
| Code | Term | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Unknown | |
| 1 | Wild habitat | |
| 1.1 | Forest/woodland | |
| 1.2 | Shrubland | |
| 1.3 | Grassland | |
| 1.4 | Desert/tundra | |
| 2 | Farm | |
| 2.1 | Field | |
| 2.2 | Orchard | |
| 2.3 | Garden | |
| 2.4 | Fallow | |
| 2.5 | Pasture | |
| 2.6 | Store | |
| 3 | Market | |
| 3.1 | Town | |
| 3.2 | Village | |
| 3.3 | Urban | |
| 3.4 | Other exchange system | |
| 4 | Institute/Research organization | |
| 99 | Other | Elaborate in REMARKS field |
Code for the donor institute. The codes consist of the 3-letter ISO 3166 country code of the country where the institute is located plus number or an acronym as specified in the Institute database that will be made available by FAO. Preliminary codes (i.e. codes not yet incorporated in the FAO Institute database) start with an asterisk followed by a 3-letter ISO 3166 country code and an acronym.
Number assigned to an accession by the donor. Letters should be used before the number to identify the genebank or national system (e.g. IDG indicates an accession that comes from the genebank at Bari, Italy; CGN indicates an accession from the genebank at Wageningen, The Netherlands; PI indicates an accession within the USA system)
Any other identification number known to exist in other collections for this accession. Letters should be used before the number to identify the genebank or national system (e.g. IDG indicates an accession that comes from the genebank at Bari, Italy; CGN indicates an accession from the genebank at Wageningen, The Netherlands; PI indicates an accession within the USA system). Multiple numbers can be added and should be separated with a semicolon
The remarks field is used to add notes or to elaborate on descriptors with value “99”(=Other). Prefix remarks with the field name they refer to and a colon (e.g. COLLSRC:roadside). Separate remarks referring to different fields are separated by semicolons.