Ferula assa-foetida cultivation starts in India

Heeng(Ferula assa-foetida) cultivation starts in India for the first time. First-plantation of Heeng was done in Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Director CSIR-IHBT.Heeng (asafoetida) is one of the widely used spices in Indian cuisine since time immemorial. There is no production of heeng in India and currently about 1,200 tons of raw heeng worth Rs 600 crore is being imported annually from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan. Introduction of the crop will reduce the import. The country's first asafoetida plant was planted in the village of Quaring under Lahaul at an altitude of about 11 thousand feet above sea level. The plant of asafetida seeds brought from Afghanistan has been scientifically developed in the laboratory of Himalayan Institute of Biosampled Technology at Palampur. The Institute has prepared 6 varieties of asafoetida plants at the Research Center at Palampur.

CSIR Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) has introduced six accessions of heeng from Iran through the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, and standardized its production protocols under Indian conditions.Heeng is a perennial plant and it produces oleo-gum resin from the roots after five years of plantation. It can be grown in unutilized sloppy land of cold desert regions. ndia consumes 50% of asafetida produced in the world. The annual consumption of asafoetida in the country is around 1200 tonnes. India imports 90% asafetida from Afghanistan, 8 from Uzbekistan and 2% from Iran.