Ignored Medicinal Rice in Chhattisgarh needing immediate attention.by Pankaj Oudhia
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Ignored Medicinal Rice in Chhattisgarh needing immediate attention.by
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| Contributor:Dr. Pankaj Oudhia QA and TEM | eResDocs Formal report Free form Table of Contents Display Full eArticle | ID: 219 |
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| Abstract |
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| Chhattisgarh is known as Rice bowl of India. Since time immemorial rice is undercultivation in Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh is considered as one of the centres of Rice origin. This is the reason much diversity in Rice plants can be seen in the state. Although now a days Rice is undercultivation as food crop and there is no emphasis on quality and farmers are paying attention for quantity but in early days many high quality Rice varieties were undercultivation in the state. Badshah Bhog, Tulsi Manjri, Dubraj etc. are well known quality Rice with peculiar aroma. Chhattisgarh is also known for its Medicinal Rice. There are hundreds of plant types used traditionally as Medicinal Rice in almost all parts of Chhattisgarh. This is only region in the world where such large number of Medicinal Rice is available. Gathuan, Bhejri, Alcha, Laicha, Resari, Nagkesar, Kali Moonchh, Maharaji, Baisoor, Udanpakharu etc. are some promising examples. (More research articles by Pankaj Oudhia are available on-line at Pankaj Oudhia) |
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Gathuan is used for the problem of Gout. New mothers are suggested to take cooked grains of Alcha in order to treat their children having boils. Medicinal Rice Karhani is given for Rheumatism. To regain the vigor and strength after the childbirth the new mothers are advised to take Maharaji Rice grains. Nagkesar is considered boon for the patients having the problem of respiratory troubles. Resari is used as animal tonic. The cattle facing the problem of placenta retention are given Medicinal Rice Bhejri with Gud (Jaggery). The cooked grains of Laicha is given to the pregnant women in order to protect the new borne from skin disease called Laicha. The patients having poor vitality are suggested by the traditional healers to take the cooked grains of Udanpakharu. The plant juice of Kalimoonchh is considered beneficial for skin troubles. It is applied externally. These are some Medicinal Rice types about which the information is available in form of document. There are hundreds of Medicinal Rice plants about which the information is still undocumented. Through the ethnobotanical surveys conducted in different parts of Chhattisgarh, I have tried to document this important traditional medicinal knowledge. I have written over 450 research articles on this aspect.  In Chhattisgarh very few traditional Medicinal Rice types are undercultivation. The introduction of High Yielding Varieties has limited the area under Medicinal Rice. There is no systematic market for Medicinal Rice .The farmers were growing it to cater their own needs. The varieties giving higher yield and returns motivated the farmers to stop the farming of Medicinal Rice. Fortunately we still have few farmers who have cultivated Medicinal Rice in early days. Shri Sahadev Chouhan from Khudmudi village was in surprise that why the modern youth is asking for Medicinal Rice, a thing of past. He was cultivating ten types of Medicinal Rice types earlier. He has also used it successfully for the health care of his family members. At present the traditional healers, aware of medicinal qualities of Medicinal Rice are cultivating Medicinal Rice but at very small scale and to fulfill their requirement round the year. This is positive sign that these traditional healers are still using it as medicine. But most of the healers are very old and if their knowledge is not documented timely we will loose it with the healers. Besides using the Medicinal Rice the natives and traditional healers also use the insects attacking on these plants as medicine. They prepare different herbal dishes using Medicinal Rice. These herbal dishes are not only tasty but also used to treat many diseases. The soil collected near to the medicinal rice plants is considered as medicinal soil. Possibly the Allelochemicals released from Medicinal Rice roots enrich the soil. Even the weeds growing in association with Medicinal Rice plants are considered as medicinally useful. You can imagine the extent of damage caused due to introduction of new high yielding varieties. The traditional healers engaged in using Medicinal Rice informed that they grow it organically. There is specific time of sowing and harvesting. Also there is specifc traditional method for preparation of Rice based dishes. At Germplasm centre of Indira Gandhi Agricutlural University, Raipur many of the above mentioned Medicinal Rice types can be seen but there are many questions regarding its genetic purity. They are raising it by adopting modern farming practices. Although they are growing it organically but seed treatment is done by chemical fungicide. Also they are not evaluating the medicinal properties of these types. They are growing it every year. Many traditional healers informed that Medicinal Rice should not be raised every year. There is a need to document the traditional medicinal knowledge about Medicinal Rice without any delay. Also there is a need to establish separate Germplasm for the Medicinal Rice and in this process the help of expert Traditional Healers should be taken. The commercial cultivation of Medicinal Rice should also be promoted .I feel that through Medicinal Rice types the Chhattisgarh farmers earn much and make the proverb "The paddy and poverty goes together” absolutely wrong. |
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| Rice as a medicinal plant in Chhattisgarh, India Article on medicinal rice at BBC Hindi |
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