DOI: 10.54207/bsmps1000-2004-61s5xa ISSN: 0971-9431

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch.: A promising medicinal crop under cold desert Agroecosystem in North Western Himalaya

Yashwant Rawat, Santaram Oinam, Subhash R. Vishvakarma, Jagdish Kuniyal
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The present study was conducted in the cold desert region of the Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh. Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. an endangered medicinal herb, was studied in terms of its distribution pattern, cultivation practices and problems in cultivation. Seed germination showed better results in hot chamber in the month of May, June and July. Seeds sown in hot chamber at 30oC showed better germination (99±1.33%) in the month of June in comparison with cold chamber at 20oC. Energy and monetary efficiencies revealed output/input ratio of 7.5 and 0.8, respectively. Introducing of seasonal cash crops like Pea, Potato and Hop, need for a mandatory permit for cultivation and export, longer cultivation cycle (3 years), lower and continuously fluctuating market rates were found to be the main causes of discarding kuth cultivation in the valley. The possibilities for its revival and popularising kuth cultivation have been discussed in the present study.

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