Country gets first digital herbarium

BSMARU develops the plant and seed museum

The crop botany department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMARU) has developed the country’s first and biggest digital herbarium in the form of a crop database to disseminate the knowledge of crop science to learners at a convenient way.

The descriptions and high-quality images of more than 1,500 crop species/varieties have been uploaded on the digital herbarium website as a virtual database at www.dhcrop.bsmrau.net.

Sources say the department has also established a digital herbarium lab and a herbal museum under a sub-project ('Establishment of Digital Herbarium and Herbal Museum for Improving Academic and Research Capability in Crop Botany') of the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP). Both graduate and undergraduate students of the Agriculture Faculty will use the herbarium lab, where around 25 students will get practical knowledge on crop plants.

Moreover, the herbal museum has around 1,000 live crop specimens collected from different parts of the country. Around 300 seed samples of various crop species/varieties have been collected and preserved in the seed museum, the sources say.

Digital herbaria have become popular around the world for their easy usability and maintenance. Moreover, digital herbaria and plant databases are now used for quick identification of plants.

The sub-project manager, Prof. Md Abdul Baset Mia, told The Independent recently: “One of the most important visions for the development of the digital herbarium was to disseminate the knowledge of crop science at the doorstep of learners. We always keep in mind that the materials should be presented in such a way that the content ignites the learner's hunger of knowledge.”

“It’s the first digital herbarium in our country.  Digital herbaria have been developed where high-quality images of crop plants, video clips of different crop plants, their description and taxonomic positions, among others, are available. Such information are extremely beneficial for students and academicians,” he said.

"Developing a digital herbarium is a continuous process. It’s a computerised programme. As part of the process, whole plants and parts of plant species are collected and preserved in a systematic way for establishing a crop museum. This museum is helpful in disseminating practical knowledge of plants, plant materials, and crop varieties,” he added.

Pointing out the comparison between a conventional herbarium and a digital one, Baset Mia said: “A conventional herbarium is very delicate and difficult to move somewhere else. Its preservation is costly; it can’t be displayed to a large number of students at a dispersed location.”

“So, we decided to make a digital version of the materials including the entire lifespan of a plant through descriptions, images and video clips,” he added. “The crop botany department of BSMARU will supervise the operation of the laboratories. The ICT cell of the varsity will maintain the website,” he noted.

 

Country gets first digital herbarium

BSMARU develops the plant and seed museum

The crop botany department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMARU) has developed the countrys first and biggest digital herbarium in the form of a crop database to disseminate the knowledge of crop science to learners at a convenient way. The descriptions and high-quality images of more than 1,500 crop species/varieties have been uploaded on the digital herbarium website as a virtual database at www.dhcrop.bsmrau.net. Sources say the department has also established a digital herbarium lab and a herbal museum under a sub-project (Establishment of Digital Herbarium and Herbal Museum for Improving Academic and Research Capability in Crop Botany) of the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP). Both graduate and undergraduate students of the Agriculture Faculty will use the herbarium lab, where around 25 students will get practical knowledge on crop plants. Moreover, the herbal museum has around 1,000 live crop specimens collected from different parts of the country. Around 300 seed samples of various crop species/varieties have been collected and preserved in the seed museum, the sources say. Digital herbaria have become popular around the world for their easy usability and maintenance. Moreover, digital herbaria and plant databases are now used for quick identification of plants. The sub-project manager, Prof. Md Abdul Baset Mia, told The Independent recently: One of the most important visions for the development of the digital herbarium was to disseminate the knowledge of crop science at the doorstep of learners. We always keep in mind that the materials should be presented in such a way that the content ignites the learners hunger of knowledge. Its the first digital herbarium in our country. Digital herbaria have been developed where high-quality images of crop plants, video clips of different crop plants, their description and taxonomic positions, among others, are available. Such information are extremely beneficial for students and academicians, he said. Developing a digital herbarium is a continuous process. Its a computerised programme. As part of the process, whole plants and parts of plant species are collected and preserved in a systematic way for establishing a crop museum. This museum is helpful in disseminating practical knowledge of plants, plant materials, and crop varieties, he added. Pointing out the comparison between a conventional herbarium and a digital one, Baset Mia said: A conventional herbarium is very delicate and difficult to move somewhere else. Its preservation is costly; it cant be displayed to a large number of students at a dispersed location. So, we decided to make a digital version of the materials including the entire lifespan of a plant through descriptions, images and video clips, he added. The crop botany department of BSMARU will supervise the operation of the laboratories. The ICT cell of the varsity will maintain the website, he noted.