BACKYARD FARMING OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) IN TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES..

A wide spectrum of agrobiodiversity can be found in home gardens across the globe, in a variety of environments. Many ancient agricultural landscapes across India still include home gardens with indigenous veggies. There are signs that the area under home gardens is shrinking as infrastructure for commercial crop growing in small crop holdings of traditional agricultural landscapes becomes more available and expands. The goal of this research was to characterise backyard vegetable growing in Adilabad District, Telangana, India, as well as backyard okra cultivation in conventional agricultural settings. During 2010-2012, the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Regional Station, Rajendranagar, in partnership with the Vegetable Research Station, Rajendranagar, undertook a preliminary database survey, a preliminary baseline survey, and a systematic field survey in Adilabad District. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Domestic vegetable production was found to be under conventional agricultural practises in tribal communities, out of the four areas investigated for backyard vegetable cultivation (urban, peri-urban, rural, and tribal areas). Abelmoschus esculentus, Abelmoschus ficulneus, Abelmoschus tuberculatus, and Abelmoschus tetraphyllus were found in the research region. In the research region, A. esculentus was the only cultivated crop species that was being produced, used, or traded by local tribal communities. Okra farming techniques were primarily household, with the majority of the crop consumed as food at home and the surplus sold at local markets on a weekly basis. Indigenous landraces of okra were mostly grown in backyards using traditional farming practises in marginal, subsistence, rainfed, zero-input, mixed cropping settings. In okra farming techniques, more or less natural agriculture was seen. Commercialization of okra products based on traditional production systems is more likely to be sustainable because the system requires less external inputs to run and be commercially viable. Tribal communities must take the lead in pursuing initiatives that focus on production, consumption, conservation, and commerce, all with the goal of supporting the conservation and long-term usage of local okra cultivars through self-help groups and community-based institutions.

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