and distribution of plant germplasm, through representation of all of the units' views by committee members.

• Develop policies for the conduct of the national plant germplasm program and for its relationships to international plant germplasm programs.

• Develop research and service proposals and justification for adequate funding of regional and national plant germplasm activities.

• Advocate mutually agreed upon proposals with experiment station associations and USDA agencies.

• Serve as the principal way in which station interests can be presented and harmonized with federal interests at a technically informed level.

Crop advisory committees are crop-specific groups that provide the NPGS with expert advice on germplasm collection, management, exploration, crop descriptors, evaluation, and enhancement. On the committees, crop specialists include breeders, geneticists, pathologists, and entomologists who are considered the best qualified to assess the status of collections, vulnerability, improvement efforts nationally, foreign scientific developments, the impact of new technology, and how well users' needs are met (National Plant Genetic Resources Board, 1984; Shands et al., 1989; White et al., 1989). Thirty-nine committees have been established. They are intended to review research plans; report on national and international developments; make recommendations on germplasm exploration, evaluation, and enhancement and on training, staffing, and facilities; and provide a forum for commodity groups to make their concerns known to the NPGS.

The committees produce reports, analyses, and recommendations. Their reports vary in detail, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. They are received, compiled, and filed by the NPGS without organized review, analysis, or response. The reports are not widely disseminated or published in the scientific community, although very brief summaries appear in DIVERSITY, an international news journal for the plant genetic resources community published by Genetic Resources Communications Systems, Inc. The committee reports are not ignored, but there is no mechanism for using them to set national priorities and develop plans.

The committees are administratively supported, in part, through the National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, but receive no travel or other operational support apart from an annual meeting of the chairs,

Front Matter (R1-R16)

Executive Summary (1-20)

1 Managing Crop Genetic Resources (21-42)

2 Elements of the National Plant Germplasm System (43-86)

3 Administration of the National System (87-106)

4 Prescription for Effectiveness (107-144)

References (145-148)

Glossary (149-153)

Abbreviations (154-155)

Authors (156-160)

Index (161-173)