Agrobiodiversity and Crop Productivity of the Alder-Based Jhum Farming System in Khonoma Village, Nagaland, India

Alder-based jhum cultivation practiced by the Angami tribe in Khonoma, Nagaland is a traditional farming system that conserves soil nutrients and maintains agrobiodiversity. A study was conducted to assess agrobiodiversity, major soil nutrients and crop productivity of this farming system. On-farm observations found a total of 14 crops grown by the farmers; crop diversity was dominated by vegetables followed by maize, spices, pulses, and millets. Potato was the most common vegetable crop in this farming system grown by almost all the farmers, followed by cabbage. Soil nutrient analyses found 635 ± 14.9, 32.7 ± 2.4 and 30.8 ± 3.1 mg kg−1 available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, respectively. In addition, 3.81 ± 0.15% organic carbon was determined to be present in the soil. Among the cultivated vegetables, the yield of dominant field crops i.e., potato, cabbage, green leafy vegetables (lai patta) and coriander leaf was estimated to be 9.24, 15.2, 5.0 and 5.67 Mg ha−1 respectively in the year 2016, while productivity in 2017 was estimated to be 12.3, 11.3, 9.0 and 6.0 Mg ha−1, respectively. Due to this unique form of agriculture and rich natural biodiversity, the village has been recognised as “the first green village of Asia” and a tourist destination in Nagaland.