An overview of maize landraces of the North-Eastern Himalayan region of India with special reference to ‘Sikkim Primitive’ - a unique landrace with extraordinary prolificacy

Maize landraces serve as a goldmine for novel genes pertaining to tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, adaptability, and nutritional quality traits. Worldwide, maize landraces are cultivated in specific areas for their unique characteristics, as preferred by the farming community. In India, the North-Eastern Himalayan (NEH) region is rich in diverse maize landraces, some of which are unique globally. However, the utilization of these maize landraces in breeding programmes has been limited. Here, we discussed the importance of maize landraces as a source of diverse traits, besides mentioning some of the most promising landraces available globally. We presented the extent of genetic diversity present in NEH-based maize landraces using morphological, cytological, biochemical, and molecular markers. The distinctiveness of Sikkim Primitive - a unique landrace for its extraordinary prolificacy has been mentioned in detail. We also mentioned the genetic and genomic analysis undertaken on Sikkim Primitive for dissecting prolificacy in maize.