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The Himalayan region is a known hot spot of crop diversity. Traditional varieties (usually called primitive cultivars or landraces), having withstood the rigors of time (including harsh climatic conditions as well as attacks of insects, pests and diseases), can still be found in crop fields in rural parts of Indian Central Himalaya (ICH). These landraces harbor many desired traits from which, for example, varieties that are tolerant/resistant to abiotic/biotic stresses could be developed. In addition to the above benefits, landraces provide a basis for food security and a more varied and interesting diet. Some landraces are also known to be of medicinal value. These, along with some lesser known hill crops, are often referred to by different names such as under exploited crops, crops for marginal lands, poor person crops, and neglected mountain crops. The Himalayan region continues to be a reservoir of a large number of landraces and cultivars whose economic and ecological potential is yet to be fully understood and/or exploited.Indians have had a history of rice cultivation since ancient times. Farmers, including tribals inhabiting the IHR, still cultivate a plethora of landraces of rice and thus directly contribute towards on-farm conservation of valuable germplasm and help in the preservation of crop diversity. The present paper looks at the on-farm conservation of rice germplasm, which is still practised in the Kumaun region of ICH.

An efficient in vitro regeneration protocol and field performance of a multipurpose bamboo species Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees et Arn. Ex Munro has been demonstrated using single node cuttings taken from the lateral branches of a 20-year-old bush. Axillary buds on the nodal explant sprouted within 10 days of culture on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium without any plant growth substance. High-frequency proliferation was induced on the propagules (small clusters with 3-5 multiple shoots and rhizomatous portions). Subsequent removal of the shoots (about 1.5 cm) from the rhizomatous portion of propagules (shoot cut) influenced the plantlet formation capacity. A multiplication of about 20-folds was achieved on MS medium supplemented with 8 lM BAP and 1 lM NAA. Rooting efficiency was also markedly enhanced ([90%) when the propagules, following shoot cut, were placed on to MS medium supplemented with 100 lM IBA for 10 days and then transferred to IBA-free medium. This is the first report from this species where 20-fold increment in multiplication was observed at the end of second subculture followed by [90% rooting. The hardened plants, established in the field, exhibited normal growth; their physiological performance has been monitored at 6-month intervals. The rate of photosynthesis increased from 3.55 lmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 (hardened, ready for field transfer) to 5.44 lmol m -2 s -1 (6 months of field transfer); following a year of plantation net photosynthesis recorded was 14.0 lmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 while after 1.5 years it was 12.76 lmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 . These values were compared with those observed for the mother bush. Genetic fidelity of these regenerants was established by RAPD analysis advocating clonal propagation of this species through nodal segment culture and its commercial cultivation.