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Farmers' Knowledge of Wild Musa in India Farmers' FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF WILD MUSA IN INDIA Uma Subbaraya National Research Centre for Banana Indian Council of Agricultural Reasearch Thiruchippally, Tamil Nadu, India Coordinated by NeBambi Lutaladio and Wilfried O. Baudoin Horticultural Crops Group Crop and Grassland Service FAO Plant Production and Protection Division FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2006 Reprint 2008 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to: Chief Publishing Management Service Information Division FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to: [email protected] © FAO 2006 FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF WILD MUSA IN INDIA iii CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi FOREWORD vii INTRODUCTION 1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY AND METHODS 3 AGRO-ECOLOGIES IN THE AREAS OF EXISTING WILD MUSA 5 Genetic diversity of wild bananas 9 MUSA AND ITS EVOLUTION 13 WILD MUSA SPECIES IN INDIA 15 Section Eumusa 15 Diversity of Musa balbisiana 16 Bhimko l6 Elavazhai 17 CONSERVATION OF MUSA GENETIC DIVERSITY BY ETHNIC GROUPS 19 ETHNOBOTANICAL KNOWLEDGE OF MUSA SPECIES 23 FARMERS’ PRODUCTION PRACTICES ON THE ECOSYSTEM 25 Jhum cultivation 25 Implications of Jhum cultivation 26 Ethnic groups of northeast Indian states 28 CHARACTERIZATION OF WILD MUSA GERMPLASM 31 POTENTIAL AND CONSTRAINTS OF USING WILD MUSA 33 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 35 iv FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF WILD MUSA IN INDIA Page REFERENCES 37 ACRONYMS 39 TABLES Table 1. Details of exploration zones 6 Table 2. Types of questionnaires used during the surveys and exploration process 7 ANNEXES Annex 1. Occurrence of Musa species in different geographical locations in India 40 Annex 2. Ethnobotany of bananas and plantains 42 Annex 3. Drivers–effects framework showing a synthesis of causes and effects of biodiversity loss revealed by the case study on “Farmers’ Knowledge of Wild Musa in India” 46 FIGURES Fig. Title 1. Areas of India where wild Musa occurs 5 2. Natural habitats of wild Ensete superbum in Western Ghats 8 3. Natural habitats of wild Musa spp. in Andaman Islands 8 4. Natural habitats of wild Musa spp. in Nicobar Islands 8 5. Musa sanguinea 9 6. Musa balbisiana var. Andamanica 9 7. Musa rosacea 9 8. Musa balbisiana 9 9. Ensete glaucum 10 10. Musa itinerans 10 11. Musa rosacea 10 12. Buds of several wild and semi-wild species at different stages 10 13. Fruits and seeds of Ensete glaucum 11 14. Fruits and seeds of Ensete spp. 11 15. Fruits and seeds of wild Musa spp. 11 16. Musa nagensium with elegant black pseudostem 15 17. Natural clump of Musa aurantiaca 15 18. Bhimkol 16 FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF WILD MUSA IN INDIA v Fig. Title 19. Elavazhai 17 20. Conservation of wild Musa species around the family pond 19 21. Conservation in a backyard garden 19 22. Conservation around sacred trees of the village 20 23. Conservation around the village school complex 20 24. Wild Musa acuminata along watercourse 21 25. Musa velutina hybrid conserved by the locals 21 26. Ensete glaucum conserved and pampered as a garden plant 22 27. Assam women providing ethnobotanical information on Musa 22 28. Cut pseudostem of Ensete glaucum for sap collection 23 29 Sap of Ensete glaucum collected for medicinal properties 23 30. Yet to open flower buds of wild bananas sold in the market as vegetable 23 31. Packed leaves of Musa balbisiana sold as dining plates 24 32. Mature flower buds of wild bananas sold as vegetable 25 33. Inner core of the pseudostem of wild bananas sold for salad 25 34. Forest clearing – Jhum cultivation 26 35. Forest burning – Jhum cultivation 26 36. Forest being cleared inhabited with wild bananas in Andaman and Nicobar Islands 21 27 37. Developmental activities like roads and bridges enable destructive human incursion 27 38. Discussion with Naga tribes 28 39. Akka tribe of West Kemeng 28 40. Adi tribe of Siang 29 41. Apathani tribe of Subansiri 29 42. Nitshi tribe of Kemeng district 29 43. Monpa of Tavang district 29 44. Wild species collected for fibre extraction by northeast tribal women 31 45. Handicrafts made from wild banana fibre 31 46. Raw banana fibre dyed different colours 33 47. Primitive cultivar with breeding potential 33 48. Unknown leaf spot disease on wild Musa spp. in their natural habitat 34 49. Banana Streak Virus (BSV) 34 vi FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF WILD MUSA IN INDIA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Explorations resulting in this overview were funded by the National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB, Trichy) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), India and the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP), Montpellier, France. Gratitude is expressed to these organizations, as well as to support from the FAO/Netherlands Partnership Programme (FNPP) on Agrobiodiversity. Thanks are extended in particular to H.P. Singh, S. Sathiamoorthy and M.S. Saraswathi for their technical support. The assistance from P. Durai, G. Rajagopal and M. Manishavasagam is greatly acknowledged. Thanks also go to all the individuals, village groups and local communities who provided, through informal conversation, the indigenous knowledge with regard to distribution, diversity and use of wild and cultivated species of bananas. Gratitude is expressed to Ivan Buddenhagen, Consultant and Professor Emeritus, University of California at Davis, USA for the scientific review and technical editing of this document. Thanks are also extended to Adrianna Gabrielli for the final editing and Rita Ashton for formatting and preparing the camera-ready text. The responsibility for the contents of this study rests entirely with the author. All photographs have been provided by the author. Finally, NeBambi Lutaladio, Agricultural Officer, Horticultural Crops Group of the Crop and Grassland Service (AGPC), FAO, is thanked for his efforts and dedication which made possible the release of this publication. Eric A. Kueneman Chief Crop and Grassland Service FAO Plant Production and Protection Division FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF WILD MUSA IN INDIA vii FOREWORD India is a treasure chest of biodiversity that hosts a large variety of plants and animals. It has been one of the major centres of origin and distribution for both wild and cultivated bananas (Musa spp.), especially for balbisiana-derived hybrids. Due to the antiquity of bananas in India, their great diversity and long history of domestication, bananas are interwoven with national heritage and culture and have great socio-economic significance. The rich genetic diversity is an irreplaceable resource, providing materials for introduction, domestication and improvement programmes as well as opportunities for the search and selection of Musa genotypes resistant to pests and diseases. The broad genetic pool maintained by farmers can be used for future banana crop improvement as banana is essentially a clonally propagated crop with many sterile species, which makes progress through conventional breeding slow and difficult. Due to the limited number of landraces and commercial varieties available and their asexual reproduction, bananas have a narrow genetic pool that makes them vulnerable to pests and diseases. As a result, new breeding methods and tools, including biotechnology and mutation breeding, will be helpful to develop resistant bananas for cultivation without the threat of genetic drift. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is committed to preserving agricultural biodiversity as a way of helping people develop a suitable livelihood base for their own resources. The Organization has long been concerned with conservation and sustainable use issues, which have been the focus of various Regular Programme work and field-based activities. With regard to bananas, FAO is concerned about the disappearance of wild bananas and how human presence and expansion affect their biology, especially in Southeast Asia. The Organization calls for greater use of genetic diversity for strengthening breeding programmes in developing countries and for promoting awareness of the inevitable consequences of a narrow genetic base in crops and the need for a broader genetic base, especially in the case of commercial bananas. The present case study provides an insight into the indigenous technical knowledge regarding multiple uses of wild and cultivated bananas for the benefit and advantage of the local population in India. The study provides a picture of distribution of wild and cultivated Musa species of interest in the country; it sets out the vital role of local knowledge in conserving biodiversity and ecosystem function in the different agro-ecological zones of India where Musa species occur. The study also describes in detail the involvement of the tribal and farming communities in the conservation, maintenance, perpetuation and
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