The medicinal plants in Arunachal Pradesh are not only important because of the medicinal values that they have but are also significant from the economical aspect, as they open up scopes for the establishment of a full fledged industry of medicines that would include cultivation, processing, packaging, marketing and industrial application. By now around 500 varieties of medicinal herbs and plants have been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
Profile of Cultivation of The Medicinal Plants in Arunachal Pradesh
The demand for herbal medicines these days have boosted more and more of the pharmaceutical companies to cultivate the medicinal plants at Arunachal Pradesh. This not only adds to the economy of the state but also helps in maintaining the ecological balance in the state. Moreover, cultivation of the medicinal plants also help in preserving the rare species. The medicinal plants around Arunachal Pradesh can be cultivated anywhere in the farmyards, marshy areas, home gardens, jhum fallows, forest lands, river banks or roadsides, etc. The medicinal plants can be cultivated by any of the following means :
- Tubers and bulbils using appropriate techniques
- Root suckers
- Direct seed sowing
- Nursery raised seedlings
- Stem cuttings.
Species of The Medicinal Plants in Arunachal Pradesh
The most important species of the medicinal plants of Arunachal Pradesh are Withania, Dioscorea, Rauvolfia, Andrographis, Oroxylum, Aquilaria, Tinospora, Acorus, etc in low altitudes and Illicium, Taxus, Coptis, Picrorrhiza, Gymnadaenia,, Panax, Aconitum, Rubia, etc in high altitudes. They generate the maximum revenue.
The cultivation of the medicinal plants in Arunachal Pradesh are beneficial because they insure :
- Better use of land and better health of people
- Easy management of land and harvest of crops
- Abundance and availability of medicinal plants
- Economic sustainability and annual returns
- Authenticity of raw material
