ABSTRACT:

Economic aroids are likely to have an increasingly important role in food security and agro-biodiversity. Vietnam is located within the Southeast Asian region that appears to be a cradle of origin for aroid crop species. Aroids have had long cultural and economic history among the diverse ethnic communities within Vietnam. There is not only a wealth of biological diversity among the economic aroids of Vietnam, but also a wealth of local knowledge concerning the planting, care, harvest, storage and use of aroids. The Plant Resources Center (former Plant Genetic Resources Center) is a focal point of the National Plant Genetic Resources conservation network in Vietnam and has conducted field surveys, collecting missions, and conservation efforts for economic aroids and related knowledge in Vietnam. We will introduce the previous history, study, and utilisation of aroid collections at the Plant Resources Center. The Center currently maintains 600 accession of Colocasia, 100 accessions of Xanthosoma, 16 accessions of Amorphophallus, 12 accessions of Alocasia and more than 32 unidentified accessions. We will also discuss aroid conservation strategies for Vietnam in the future.