Located at the north-eastern part of India, Nagaland is a relatively unexplored area having had only few studies on the faunal diversity, especially concerning insects. Although the practice of entomophagy is widespread in the region, a detailed account regarding the utilization of edible insects is still lacking. The present study documents the existing knowledge of entomophagy in the region, emphasizing the currently most consumed insects in view of their marketing potential as possible future food items. Assessment was done with the help of semi-structured questionnaires, which mentioned a total of 106 insect species representing 32 families and 9 orders that were considered as health foods by the local ethnic groups. While most of the edible insects are consumed boiled, cooked, fried, roasted/toasted, some insects such as Cossus sp., larvae and pupae of ants, bees, wasps, and hornets as well as honey, bee comb, bee wax are consumed raw. Certain edible insects are either fully domesticated (e.g., Antheraea assamensis, Apis cerana indica, and Samia cynthia ricini) or semi-domesticated in their natural habitat (e.g., Vespa mandarinia, Vespa soror, Vespa tropica tropica, and Vespula orbata), and the potential of commercialization of these insects and some other species as a bio-resource in Nagaland exists.

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This study assessed whether the slash-burn practice (jhum) induced disturbance on the above-ground biological inputs (plant biomass and forest floor litters, FFLs) had any influence on the soil processes in terms of soil enzyme activities. The jhum cycles of 5, 10 and 15 years from Mizoram and 5, 10 and 20 years from Nagaland were considered. Litter (adjacent fallow phase/secondary forest) and soil samples (burnt and unburnt cropping phases) were collected from three slopes (summit, shoulder and backslope) from each site and were analyzed for soil physicochemical and biochemical properties. Accumulation of FFLs increased significantly with the increasing length of fallow phase and accumulation dynamics showed an increasing trend in the order January > April > August > November. Values of bulk density (BD), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), avail-P and avail-K in soils under burnt sites were found higher relative to their values in unburnt sites and the reverse trend was true in case of soil organic carbon (SOC) and avail-N. Except BD, values of these soil properties were significantly higher in the longer fallow phase compared to that in shorter fallow phase (P<0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test). The activity of soil enzymes viz. amylase (AMY), β-glucosidase (GSA), dehydrogenase (DHA), aryl-sulphatase (ASA), acid-phosphatase (PHA) and protease (PRO) were differed significantly between burnt and unburnt or among fallow phases (P<0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test). The activities of DHA, GSA, PRO and PHA in burnt soils were decreased, whereas ASA activity increased relative to unburnt soils. Activities of AMY, GSA, DHA, ASA, PHA and PRO were significantly higher in longer fallow phase than that in shorter fallow phase. In exception under burnt condition, AMY and GSA activities were significantly lower in longer fallow phase than that in short fallow phase. In conclusion, burning of biomass releases a higher quantum of plant available nutrients in jhum soils momentarily, which can support better crop growth under longer fallow lengths. However, burning practice negatively impacted the biochemical processes of jhum soils indicating a gradual decline in the inherent nutrient cycling potentials of soils under jhum cycles.

Nagaland is a transborder state in India. It borders Myanmar and is inhabited by four teen indigenous tribes, collectively known as the "Nagas." The aboriginal Naga tribes have a rich knowledge, based on their natural resources, of indigenous folk medicine. After centuries of trial, often at the risk of the loss of hum an life, they have learned to utilize local plants to cure different ailments. Their beliefs and folk practices are based on past experience with various diseases and their cures. Presented here is an account of 109 plant species that have medicinal uses among the tribes. As none of these have been recorded earlier, the local and scientific names as well as the uses of the plants are pro vided.