Browsing by Subject "Cash crops"
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Item Food Self-sufficiency and Underutilized Crops in Mid-Hills, Nepal: A Case Study of Hastichaur VDC, Gulmi District.(Department of Botany, 2015) D.C., RenuFood security has been the global issues. Realizing the importance of food self sufficiency and underutilized crops in achieving the household food security, the study of household food self-sufficiency and underutilized crops situation in Hastichaur Village Development Committee (VDC) of mid hill region was done. The majority of the population of study area depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. And most of them have less land holding size. Local varieties such as millet, barley, buckwheat, amaranth and sorghum etc. were once important cereals in the rural areas of hills and mountain in Nepal. These crops have high nutritional values and can grow on marginal land with low agricultural inputs. Today, these crops are grown in limited scale considering ‘poor people’s food’ and are being replaced by imported food and grains. The study shows that, of total cereal production in the study area, the percentage occupied by underutilized crops as millet and barley was high in comparison to national and district percentage. The production of buckwheat, amaranth and sorghum was very limited, just for their own use only. The food sufficiency situation was found poor in the study area. The food self-sufficiency by direct interview shows majority of the respondents (43.66%) has food up to 6 months only and on the basis of average calorie demand and available calorie the food self-sufficiency was 5.65 months. The main reason for this food self-insufficiency was low landholding (p<0.001), large family size (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.001) and less use and production of local crops (p=0.005). These are further supported by lack of irrigation and advanced agricultural technology, low production, lack of manpower, difficult to harvest local crops, change in food preference and farmer’s interest towards other cash and commercial food crops. The food deficit was maintained by buying in market, engaging in off farm activities, borrowing and so on. Millet was produced in large amount but most of the production was used for the preparation of local alcohol and fodder for animal. Increasing production and adding value to these underutilized crops can enhance the household food self-sufficiency and livelihood of marginal people.Item In-Vitro Mass Propagation of Withania Somnifera (L.) Dunal(Department of Botany, 2008) Shukla, Durga DuttWithania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Ashwagandha), of the family Solanaceae is an important medicinal plant and a major source of alkaloid and steroid (withanolids), which is regularly used in pharmaceutical industries. The present study describes the procedure for micropropagation of W. somnifera. The morphogenetic responses of various vegetative parts (shoot-tip, node, root and leaf) were studied in MS medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of phytohormones. Seeds were pretreated with GA3 (50 and 100 mgl-1) for 24 hours and 80% germination was achieved. All the explants were taken from in-vitro germinated plant. Among the different explants tested, multiple shoot formation was achieved from shoot-tip and nodal explants in MS + 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mgl-1 kinetin. Nodal explants were selected for mass propagation protocol because: it formed maximum number of shoots. Shoots were started to differentiate after one week of culture and after 8 weeks an average of 16.25 shoots/explant were formed on MS + 1 mgl-1 kinetin. Increase in concentration of kinetin was most effective for callus formation. For further multiplication of shoot, adventitious shoots with callus at the base were sub cultured on MS + 0.5 mgl-1 kinetin and multiple shoots (14.25 to 14.5 shoots/culture) were protruded out. Auxins, (IAA, IBA and NAA) were supplemented in MS medium to induce rooting. Among these auxins, IAA at 0.5 mgl-1 was found to be the most effective concentration for rooting of in-vitro propagated shoots (50 roots/shoot). Rooted plantlets were transferred on the pot containing coco-pit, sand, sand-soil mixture (50% each) and coco-pit + garden soil mixture (50% each). Only few weeks of survival is recorded in last two combination of hardening medium.