Context: Due to efforts of CSIR constituent laboratory, Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, farmers of the remote Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh taking up cultivation of asafoetida (Heeng) to utilize vast expanses of waste land in the cold desert conditions of the region.

• CSIR-IHBT brought in seeds of asafoetida and developed its agro-technology.
• Asafoetida is one of the top condiments and is a high value spice crop in India.
• India imports about 1200 tonnes of raw asafoetida annually from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan and spends approximately 100 million USDper year.
• Lack of planting material of Ferula assa-foetida plants in India was a major bottleneck in cultivation of this crop.
• Asafoetida best grows in dry and cold conditions.
• “The plant can withstand a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 degree, whereas during winters, it can survive in temperatures up to minus 4 degree. During extreme weather, the plant can get dormant.

Asafoetida

• Asafoetida is endemic to Iran and Afghanistan, the main global suppliers. It thrives in dry and cold desert conditions.
• Raw asafoetida is extracted from the fleshy roots of Ferula assa-foetida as an oleo-gum resin.
• There are about 130 species of Ferula found in the world, but only Ferula assa-foetidais the economically important species used for the production of asafoetida.
• In India, we have other species Ferula jaeschkeana (western Himalaya (Chamba, HP)), and Ferula narthex from Kashmir and Ladakh, which are not the species that yield asafoetida.

What are some of the benefits of asafoetida?

• Published studies list out a range of medicinal properties of heeng, including relief for digestive, spasmodic and stomach disorders, asthma and bronchitis.
• The herb is commonly used to help with painful or excessive bleeding during menstruation and pre-mature labour.
• Being an anti-flatulent, the herb is fed to new mothers.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1665796

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