Journal of Progressive Agriculture

Northeast States of India is blessed with a wide range of physiographic and ecoclimatic conditions and the geographical ‘gateway’ for much of India's endemic flora as well as fauna. It is a home of 17 crop species that represent 47% of the crop species diversity available in the country. The region receives an annual average rainfall of 2000 mm accounting for about 10% (42.5 mhm) of the country's total precipitation of 420 mhm. Forest cover in the region is 14.2 million ha which is about 54.16% of total geographical area which is higher than the national average (19.39%). By and large, the region is characterized by fragility, marginality, inaccessibility, cultural heterogeneity, ethnicity and rich in biodiversity. Floristically, the region covers 43% of the total plants species that are occurring in India. The rate of endemic species percentage is also high (39%). Two primitive variety of maize, Sikkim Primitive 1 and 2 have also been reported from Sikkim. The region is rich in medicinal plants and many other rare and endangered taxa.