BackgroundHuman beings use plants for a multitude of purposes of which a prominent one across the globe is for their medicinal values. Medicinal plants serve as one of the major sources of income for high altitude inhabitants in the Himalaya, particularly in countries like Nepal, and Bhutan. People here harvest huge volumes of medicinal plants indiscriminately, risking their sustainability. This paper attempts to identify some of the priority medicinal plant species harvested in the wild and assess their ecological status for their judicious utilization, and to help provide policy guidance for possible domestication and support strategic conservation frameworks.ResultsOut of the 16 priority species identified by the expert group, collectors’ perception on ecological status of the priority species differed from survey findings. Chrysosplenium nudicaule (clumps) ranked as most threatened species followed by Corydalis dubia, and Meconopsis simplicifolia. Onosma hookeri, Corydalis crispa and Delphinium glaciale were some of the species ranked as threatened species followed by Halenia elliptica (not in priority list). Percent relative abundance showed irregular pattern of species distribution. High species evenness was recorded among Nardostachys grandiflora, Chrysosplenium nudicaule, Saussurea gossypiphora and Aconitum orochryseum with average species density of 8 plant m−2. Rhodiola crenulata, and Dactylorhiza hatagirea followed by Meconopsis horridula and Meconopsis simplicifolia were ranked as most threatened species with average species density of 0.4, 0.4, 5.6 and 6.0 plant m−2, respectively. The most abundant (common) species was Onosma hookeri (plant m−2). Species composition and density also differed with vegetation, altitude, slope and its aspects.ConclusionPriority species identified by expert group were found vulnerable and patchy in distribution. Survey results and collectors’ perceptions tally to an extent. Some of the species (Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Rhodiola crenulata, Meconopsis simplicifolia and Meconopsis horridula) were critically low in plant density with less than a plant per m2 while Delphinium glaciale, Fritillaria delavayi and Aconitum orochryseum were confined to narrow altitude range. Collectors were aware that most species identified in priority list are threatened and existing harvesting plan are hardly implemented as it is not pragmatic. Moreover, major chunk of medicinal plants harvested remain unaccounted as illegal harvest and marketing seemed to occur across the borders. Policing and monitoring would continue to be a challenge given the rugged terrain and harsh climate. In-depth study and further monitoring of low density species is suggested to ensure its sustainability through long term strategy development.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12898-016-0100-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A field experiment on two planting methods (direct seeding and transplanting) in finger millet was conducted using two cultivars; Samtenling Memja 1 (SM1) and IE4425 at the Agriculture Research and Development Centre (ARDC), Samtenling from July to December 2020. The study aimed to determine the best planting method that gave better yield and economic advantage in crop production. The results of the experiment showed that the transplanted finger millet recorded the highest yield (0.81 Mt ha-1) compared to directed seeded (0.65 Mt ha-1) but statistically not significant. There was a percent yield difference of 19.7 % between the two methods. Similarly, there was no significant effect between planting methods and yield components such as plant height, productive tillers, and finger numbers; but there were varietal significant effects on plant height and length of the fingers (P=0.00). However, a significantly shorter maturity duration was observed in direct-seeded millet (120 days) as compared to transplanted millet (126.5 days). Moreover, economic analysis indicates that net returns for direct seeding were considerably greater (>25%) than that of the transplanting method. Based on the study, direct-seeded finger millet could be promoted in farmers' fields considering the economic advantage and early maturity.