Status and Composition of Plant Genetic Diversity in Nepalese Home
Gardens
Abishkar Subedi, Rojee Suwal, Resham Gautam, Sharmila Sunwar and Pratap
Shrestha
ABSTRACT
Home gardens can be considered one of the important centres of experimentation, species
domestication, and crop improvements.They represent an important reservoir of diversity of
plant species and have immensely contributed to the maintenance, promotion and in situ
conservation of plant genetic resources. Being an integral part of the Nepalese farming
systems and playing an important role in the livelihood of the community, scientific
investigations on the states, roles, diversity and dynamics of home gardens are severely
lacking. Therefore, a study on home garden diversity in two different agro-ecological zones
of Nepal viz. Ilam and Gulmi district (hill) and Jhapa and Rupandehi (terai) were surveyed to
document the diversity, local status and basic information on use/values. A total of 254
species of 197 genera belonging to 76 families have been taxonomically identified and
verified. The list is excluding of the ornamental plants which were 210 species or varieties of
flowers. Hill regions' home gardens are comparatively rich in plant diversity and distinct in
composition to the ones in terai region. Several species of home gardens of Nepal have
been maintained for their multiples use-values. In many home gardens across the sites, a
large number of wild species have been domesticated for their unique use-values and many
home garden species were cultivated in larger system to fetch their market potential. The
details of inventory of home garden plant diversity, their composition, diversity, distribution
and use-values have been illustrated in the present paper.
Key words: Plant diversity, home garden, conservation, extent, distribution diversity
INTRODUCTION
Home gardens are sources of food and nutrition, and therefore are important contributors to
food security and livelihoods of farming communities. Home gardens have been regarded as
the micro-environments within the agro ecosystem that preserve the function and resilience
of the larger ecosystem. Further, home gardens are important centres of experimentation,
species domestication, and crop improvements as well as refuges for unique genetic
diversity (Engels 2002). Therefore, home gardens represent a dynamic, complex and multi-
layered system, in which farmers can maintain levels of diversity, including cultural, genetic
and agronomic diversity over many years.
In Nepal, home garden refers to the traditional land use system around a homestead, where
multi-purpose trees, shrubs, herbs, annual and perennial agriculture crops, spices,
medicinal, ornamental plants and livestock are managed by family members to fulfil their
multiple requirements (Shrestha et al., 2002). About 72% of total households of Nepal have
been maintaining home–gardens occupying an area of 2-11% of total land holdings (Gautam
et al., 2004).
Despite being an integral part of the Nepalese farming systems and playing an important
role in the livelihood of the community, scientific research on the states, roles, diversity and
dynamics of home gardens is severely lacking. Due to the lack of information home
gardens, have never been treated as important contributors to food security for the welfare
of farming communities and to on-farm management of genetic resources by the
implementers and policy makers of agricultural research and development. Realizing the
contribution of home gardens to maintain biodiversity for food and nutrition security, the