Germplasm Introduction of Underutilized and New Crops

The region of South Asia is very diverse in its physiology, agro-ecology and climate, and possesses rich diversity in cultivated crops. Several under-exploited and underutilized species occur which include native diversity and also, well acclimatized species introduced particularly in the past few decades. In India, a total of 25,077 accessions of over 60 underutilized and new crops have been introduced since independence. Out of these, 3,361 accessions of 21 underutilized plants have been evaluated under the aegis of All India Coordinated Research Project on Underutilized Crops, which led to identification of 395 promising lines. Some of these materials, have been very useful as food and industrial crops and through germplasm evaluation several promising varieties have been released for cultivation at national level. To mention among them are Suvama in amaranth, Himpriya in buckwheat, BRS I in rice bean, VH 821 in faba bean, Arizona-2 in guayule and EC 33198 in jojoba. These are now well adapted to diverse agro-ecosystemsl agricultural systems. Further, about 70 species of underutilized crops have been identified to have promise in Asia Pacific region and can playa pivotal role in diversification of the agriculture, management of wastelands and meeting the nutritional requirements of the people.