Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the traditional knowledge of therapeutic potential of native crops among population of Udham Singh Nagar Uttarakhand. A structured questionnaire vetted by experts and pretested through a pilot study was developed for the study. Data on demographic characteristics, knowledge about hill crop, knowledge about their therapeutic value and their role in disease management was studied. Knowledge assessment of different categories of hill produce (cereals, vegetables, fruits, pulse, oil seeds) showed low levels of knowledge. Barring few produce (spinach, ginger and horse gram) a low percentage of people knew about multiple therapeutic uses of hill crops. Most of the respondents fell in the average group of knowledge on scoring basis. Education qualification had a positive significant relationship with the knowledge of the respondents. The study revealed that lack of awareness about therapeutic crops is the main constraint for their use and popularization.