Traditional crop diversity, agricultural calendar and indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) in Spiti valley of the Indian trans-Himalaya

Mast Ram Negi, Ashish Kumar, Rajan Kotru · 2026 · International Journal of Farm Sciences

Summary. This study documents 28 traditional crop landraces and indigenous farming knowledge in Spiti valley, India's trans-Himalayan region. Researchers surveyed 120 households and found that 42.85% of traditional crops are declining due to labor shortages, youth outmigration, changing diets, and climate variability. Indigenous knowledge systems for land measurement, crop calendars, and irrigation management remain vital for sustainable resource management and climate adaptation. The findings call for community-based conservation of traditional crops to preserve agrobiodiversity and cultural heritage.

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@article{negi-2026-traditional-crop-diversity-agricultural-calendar,
  title   = {Traditional crop diversity, agricultural calendar and indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) in Spiti valley of the Indian trans-Himalaya},
  author  = {Mast Ram Negi and Ashish Kumar and Rajan Kotru},
  journal = {International Journal of Farm Sciences},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5958/2250-0499.2026.00020.0},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.5958/2250-0499.2026.00020.0}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Traditional crop diversity, agricultural calendar and indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) in Spiti valley of the Indian trans-Himalaya
AU  - Mast Ram Negi
AU  - Ashish Kumar
AU  - Rajan Kotru
JO  - International Journal of Farm Sciences
PY  - 2026
DO  - 10.5958/2250-0499.2026.00020.0
UR  - https://doi.org/10.5958/2250-0499.2026.00020.0
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.5958/2250-0499.2026.00020.0

Countries

India

Regions

Asia

Categories

indigenous-innovation, climate-and-environment, food-systems, general-innovation

Added

2026-09-01