Inventory of the traditional rice varieties in farming system of southern Assam: A case study

Farmers in the rural parts of the North eastern region are still known to retain traditional rice varieties in their farming systems. In the present study, an attempt was made to inventorise the traditional rice varieties cultivated in a village in Barak Valley, North east India. A total of 18 rice landraces were collected from the study site retained by the farmers because of their dietary, cultural and social value. The traditional rice varieties possess several stress tolerant properties. Such properties act as positive factors in the retention of the rice landraces in the face of the increasing propaganda for cultivation of high yielding rice varieties. Traditional rice varieties represent important genetic reservoirs with valuable traits and there is an urgent need to provide proper incentives and encourage the farmers to cultivate rice landraces to help in the in situ conservation of this important gene pool.