Collecting Plant Genetic Resources from Gurez, An Underexplored Remote Valley of Jammu & Kashmir State of India

For the first time, systematic exploration and germplasm collection trips were conducted across Gurez Valley, a remote locality near Line of Control with Pakistan in Bandipore district of Jammu and Kashmir during 2015 and 2017. Almost all the villages up to Chakvali (Tulail) were surveyed. A total of 68 accessions belonging to 28 species including 34 accessions of wild germplasm were collected from altitudinal variation of 2403–3491 meters above sea level. Fagopyrum tataricum subsp. potanini and Crataegus pseudoheterophylla were collected for the first time, besides good variability in wheat, maize and common bean. Other significant collections included common and tartary buckwheat, hull-less barley, field pea, black cumin, caraway, and wild germplasm of Allium stracheyi, Elymus spp., Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. turkestanica and Malus baccata. Once a common crop, proso millet was seen cultivated only by a lone aged farmer in the entire tract, thus becoming almost an extinct crop in that area. This paper highlights information on the germplasm collected/observed, cultivation practices, genetic erosion and future exploration potential.