Agricultural Genetic Resources of Nawalparasi East

Nawalparsi east (also known as Nawalpur) is a district located in Gandaki province, formed by the division of Nawalparasi district under the constitutional procedure in 2072 B.S. It falls under subtropical type of climatic region. Nawalparasi district has annual average temperature of about 30⁰C and minimum temperature of about 15⁰C. Geographically, it consists of inner terai in east-south and west-south region, and hills in northern, north-east and north-west regions. Hilly area extends from north of the Mahabharat range and along the range towards southern Narayani river. The hilly area lies at the elevation of 500 to 1936 meter above sea level. The region consists of high altitude peaks like Devchuli (1936 masl), Badhchuli (1765 masl) and Mahalpokhari (1032 masl). Different rivers like Giruwari, Arun, Jhahari, Kerung, Tuyir, Dhanewa etc. flows through this region towards southern sides and ends on Narayni river, while rivers like Deusat, Fulmaadi, Nirandi, Bungdi etc. flows towards northern side and ends on Kaligandaki river. Rhododendron, pinus species are found in higher elevation while Saal, Sisao are found at lower elevation of the regions. Inner terai includes the areas located at east-south of the district. This region is located at the elevation of 300 to 500 metre above sea level. This region is characterized by the presence of Saal forest and paddy, maize and wheat as major agricultural produce. This diversified geography has made the possibility of diversified agricultural resources. Diversified agriculture contributes to genetic resources of the district.

View from Nawalparasi high hill

Nawalparasi East has high potential for agricultural produce. Different types of crops are found in the district like cereals, legumes, spices, fruits, vegetables and so on. The high altitude regions favor the production of fruits while the lower regions favor cereal and vegetable production. Similarly, legumes, spices, oilseed crops and tuberous crops are also found in the district. Different fruits like mango, avocado, guava, papaya, banana, pineapple, litchi, jackfruit, citrus species like mandarin, acid lime, sweet orange etc. are found in the district. Avocado, mandarin and sweet orange are found at high elevated north facing slopes as cool air circulate through the slope which serves as a favorable factor for the mentioned fruit’s growth. However, avocado is in initial stage of establishment on household level. Acid limes are planted towards south facing slope and southern plain area as they are more tolerant to hot climate than other citrus species. Sun kagati-1,2 are famous varieties of acid lime grown, however in recent years, the acerage of Tehrathum local is also increasing. Local varieties of mandarin either seed propagated or grafted on trifoliate orange are grown in the region. Mango and guava are found throughout the regions however their population is quite low in high altitude area. Litchi, banana, jackfruit, papaya, pineapple etc. are found in tropical to sub-tropical regions of the district.

Mandarin tree

Acid lime tree

Cereals like paddy, maize, wheat, barley, buckwheat, millet are also found. Paddy, maize and wheat are cultivated on large scale, however, introduction of improved varieties and shifting from locally available genetic resources has led to loss of genetic resources in these cereals. People are still using locally available seeds for barley, buckwheat, millet and other minor cereal crops. Similarly, legumes, tuberous crops, oilseed crops, coffee and spices are also found in the district. Farmers use locally available seeds for legumes (like lentils, black gram, chick pea, moong bean, soybean and masyang), oilseed crops, tuber crops (yam and sweet potato), coffee and spices. Farmers involved in commercial agriculture uses improved varieties for kidney bean, pea, broad bean and other legumes which are generally cultivated as vegetables. In case of potato, both local and introduced varieties are grown as per market requirements. Varieties of paddy grown in the district are Sabitri, War, Sukha dhan, Mansuli, Sama, Gorakhnath and so on. Anadi dhan is local rice found in the region which is characterized by its stickiness and mostly consumed during festival time. Rampur composite, indian variety, arun, manakamana-1,2 are the varieties of maize grown in the district. Manakamana -1 had been developed by using local landraces. Nawalpure jhuse til-1 is variety of Niger developed from local landrace. Similarly, nawalpur khairo til-1, the variety of sesame is also developed from local landrace.

Cauliflower

Vegetables are also grown in Nawalparasi East. Vegetables like cucurbits, okra, eggplant, cole crops, spices, leafy vegetables and so on are found in the districts. Bhaktapur local, raja, dynasty, nepatusi etc are the variety of cucumber grown. Srijana, surye and some local tomato are grown in the region. Arka anamika is the famous variety of okra in the district. Pusa purple long is the famous variety of eggplant. Akabare khursani and jire khursani are local varieties of chilly in the district. Mushroom are cultivated as well as naturally found in the forest. Both poisonous as well as edible mushrooms are found in natural Saal forest.

Table 1: Commonly available varieties of some agricultural crops

S.N.	Crop	Varieties
1.	Rice	Sabitri, War, Sukha dhan, Mansuli, Sama, Gorakhnath, Anadi dhan
2.	Maize	Rampur composite, Arun-2, Manakamana-1,2, and indian hybrid varieties like CP, ZK 502, Kanak-51, MH 1107
3.	Wheat	NL, Bhrikuti, Gautam
4.	lentil	Simal
5.	Mustard	Goldee, Rampur pahelo, Rampur rato
6.	Black gram	Local maas, kalo maas, T-9( indian hybrid)
7.	Niger	Jhuse til-1
8.	Sesame	Nawalpur khairo til-1
9.	Cucumber	Bhaktapur local, raja, dynasty, nepatusi
10.	Tomato	Local: manakamana, lapsi gede, BL-410 Hybrid: srijana, samjhana, surye,manisha
11.	Eggplant	Pusa purple long
12.	Okra	Arka anamika
13.	Chilly	Akabare khursani and jire khursani are local varieties
14.	Cauliflower	Japanese hybrid varieties like silvercup, snow mastic, white cup
15.	Cabbage	Hybrid varieties like kshitiz, green coronate, T-621

 

Table 2: Sources and status of agricultural resources in Nawalparasi East in FY 2075/76.

S.N	Type of source	Crop name	Area (ha)	Production (MT)	Productivity (MT/ha)
1	Cereals	Paddy (rainy)	18949	85357	4.50
2		Paddy (spring)	1756	7261	4.13
3		Maize(rainy)	2512	5562	2.21
4		Maize(spring)	2515	5900	2.35
5		Maize(winter)	560	3250	5.80
6		Wheat	7550	15050	1.99
7		Buckwheat	5	10	2.00
8		Barley	55	85	1.55
9		Millet	19	24	1.26
10	Legumes	Lentil	3400	3850	1.13
11		Pigeon pea	105	53	0.50
12		Broad bean	130	290	2.23
13		Kidney bean	48	52	1.08
14		Pea	85	89	1.05
15		Bean	117	139	1.19
16		Chick pea	64	49	0.77
17		Soybean	21	26	1.24
18		Black gram	20	15	0.75
19		Horse gram	5	3	0.60
20		Moong bean	15	15	1
21		Masyang	5	4	1.80
22	Oilseed	Mustard	1150	1250	1.09
23		Rapeseed	1200	1460	1.22
24		Sunflower	300	420	1.40
25		Sesame	31	29	0.94
26		Flaxseed	250	200	0.80
27		Niger	4	5	1.25
28		Groundnut	20	32	1.60
29	Tuber	Potato (rainy)	200	3000	15
30		Potato(winter)	1500	31000	20.67
31		Yam	7	140	20.00
32		Sweet potato	11	183	16.64
33	Fruits	Pear	19	319	16.79
34		Citrus	73	410	5.62
35		Mango	211	1700	8.06
36		Banana	550	7500	13.64
37		Litchi	115	1150	10.00
38		Jackfruit	15	145	9.67
39		Pineapple	9	45	5.00
40	Plantation	Coffee	5	7	1.4
41	Spice and condiments	Ginger	750	8920	11.89
42		Turmeric	32	33	10.31
43		Chilly	39	320	8.21
44		Garlic	26	121	4.65
45		Onion	55	650	11.82
46		Coriander	19	20	1.05
47	Fungi	Mushroom	7000	120	0.02

Source: PIU. 2077. Annual Book 2076/77. Prime Minister Agriculture Mordernization Project, Project Implementation Unit, Kawasoti, Nawalparasi Bardaghat Susta East, Nepal

Medicinal plants are also richly found in Nawalparasi East. Different medicinal plants locally named as Harro, barro, amala, timur, sajiwan, kurilo, gurjo, bojho, rittha, vyakur, lapsi, bel etc. are found. However, these medicinal plants aren’t grown commercially in the region. People use these plants as an important sources of medicine and have been using since ancient times.

There is decreasing trend in overall diversity of major crops and genetic erosion is apparently visible in forest. Commercialization of agriculture, weak policy and regulatory framework, climate change, population growth and youth migration from rural areas has been affecting the extent and distribution of agro-diversity in last 10 years. Earthquake in April 12, 2015 damaged many local crop diversities in many locations. Many farmers could not save seeds of number of crop species. Extension of area for agriculture production, establishment of new settlement, and various types of development activities that have resulted in loss of forests and unique habitat of wild species of crops, which has been ultimately threatening the agro-diversity of the district. Meanwhile, we can see over exploitation of selected tree species, absence of sustainable management practices, inappropriate application of silvicultural techniques, and fragmentation of forest land are major causes for the loss of genetic diversity of the forest tree species. Commercialization of agriculture has led to the introduction of improved varieties. Loss of genetic resources in rice, banana, cucumber, tomato is highly due to replacement of wild and local varieties by modern varieties and rice bean, horse bean, foxtail millet due to low priority by growers and consumers.