Editorial
Gazala H Khan, Asif B Shikari,
Abstract
More than 100 landraces have been documented from Kashmir valley, however, majority of them stand replaced from farmer’s field by the high yielding varieties, and have been confined to some specific pockets of the valley. The preference for high yielding varieties has led to genetic erosion and loss of these valuable landraces which once were cultivated for several traits like taste, aroma, other unique quality features and medicinal use. The reasons attributed to loss of heritage rice’s of Kashmir include their low yield potential and susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses particularly to paddy blast.