Are you familiar with the Underutilized and unexploited  species (NUS) crops?

Neglected and underutilized species (NUS) can be defined as agricultural species, which are of secondary priority in research and development but have an important role in sustaining the farming system, human nutrition, food security, and socioeconomic fabric. NUS are species, varieties/breeds which have not been officially researched, released, registered, or commercialized but are often ignored by researchers, plant breeders, and policymakers (Padulosi, Thompson, and Rudebjer 2013). Nepal has huge potential for NUS crops. Some of them are listed below:

1. ·       Nepal ranks 49th in the world for biodiversity richness.
2. ·       Among 577 cultivated species in Nepal, 484 are indigenous and 93 are introduced. About 85% of these cultivated crop species are neglected and underutilized.
3. ·       The use of landraces in research and breeding is only about 5%.
4. ·       Nepal ranks 10th in Asia and 31st in the world in flowering plant diversity MFSC, 2014). This diversity is mainly attributable to climatic variation created by altitudinal gradients. However, about 95–100% of the germplasm in some agricultural crop species used for research, breeding, and production is of foreign origin (Joshi et al. 2016).
5. ·       Just three crops, viz., rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and maize (Zea mays L.), cover 83% of the total cultivated area.
6. ·       Nepal represents 3.2% of the global angiosperm and flora diversity.

Criteria to be NUS crops

Over time, crops may be excluded from the NUS category, once priority is given to them by research and development institutes. For example, previously, finger millet (Eleusine coracana Gaerth.), and common buckwheat were considered NUS but not anymore, because this crop has been given some priority for research in Nepal. The following are the criteria for a crop to be considered an NUS (Joshi and Shrestha 2018; Joshi et al. 2019):

1. ·       Cultivated and semi-domesticated crop species
2. ·       Have food, nutritional, economic, and cultural value
3. ·       Availability of landraces and diversity within crop species
4. ·       Indigenous species and not exotic or introduced species
5. ·       Not included in the formal seed system (i.e., not registered and no varietal release)
6. ·       Not commercially cultivated
7. ·       Zero or very low investment from public and private sectors for research and development.
8. ·       Zero or little attention from researchers, extension services, policymakers and decision-makers
9. ·       Scientific information is not available or very poorly documented.
10. ·       Marginalized by research and development organizations and underutilized with reference to their potential.

 Some NUS crops of Nepal:

·       Foxtail millets

·       Pearl millets

·       Blood/Red amaranth

·       Tora

·       Tapioca, cassava

·       Rice bean

·       Horse gram

·       Small pea

·       Faba bean

·       Fenugreek

·       Watercress

·       Walnut

·       Jack fruits

·       Wood Apple

·       Linseed

There are more NSU crops in Nepal expected above the listed crops. The list differs from country to country. Let’s hear about the NUS crops of your region in the comment section below?

References:

Bal Krishna Joshi, Renuka Shrestha, Devendra Gauchan & Anil Shrestha (2019): Neglected, underutilized, and future smart crop species in Nepal, Journal of Crop Improvement, DOI: 10.1080/15427528.2019.1703230

LanceF.Merrick, StevenR.Lyon,Kerry.Balow ,KevinM.Murphy  ,StephenS.Jones  and Arron H. Carter (2020): Utilization of Evolutionary Plant Breeding Increases Stability and Adaptation of Winter Wheat Across Diverse Precipitation Zones