Coix: an underutilized functional food crop of Mizoram

Genet Resour Crop Evol https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-023-01587-8 NOTES ON NEGLECTED & UNDERUTILIZED CROPS Coix: an underutilized functional food crop of Mizoram Jeetendra Kumar Soni · B. Lalramhlimi · Amit Kumar · Omprakash Navik · Lungmuana · Lalhruaitluangi Sailo · S. Doley Received: 2 January 2023 / Accepted: 20 April 2023 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023 Abstract Coix (Coix lacryma-jobi) comes under underutilized crops as it is neither cultivated commercially on a large scale nor widely traded. The Northeastern region of India harbours a rich diversity of Coix. This crop has diverse varieties from food to ethnic ornaments worn by the Mizo people. The softshelled type (var ma-yuen), locally called ‘Mim’ has been an important cereal crop among the Mizo rural communities for a long time. The grains are highly nutritious and its exceptional medicinal aspects have been extensively researched. Meanwhile, the seeds of the wild type (var lacryma-jobi) are excellent beads for ornamental purposes and are key components in making traditional head gear ‘Vakiria’ worn by Mizo ladies on festive occasions. It is recently gaining importance as a ‘functional food’, because it is a rich source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. Its grains are gluten free which benefits people with celiac disease. It is used for preparing flour, soups, J. K. Soni (*) · B. Lalramhlimi · Lungmuana · L. Sailo · S. Doley ICAR‑RC NEH Region, Mizoram Centre, Kolasib, Mizoram 796081, India e-mail: A. Kumar ICAR-RC NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya 793103, India O. Navik ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, P. Bag No: 2491, H.A. Farm Post Bellary Road, Bengaluru 560024, India porridge, gruels, salads, desserts, snack, wine, sweets, etc. It is found to have diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, antioxidant, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, analgesic, hypotensive, and sedative properties. Coix germplasm are rapidly disappearing from wild and jhum lands, and without conservation a large population of genetic diversity will be lost from Northeast India. Mizoram also possesses a wide array of germplasm which could potentially contribute to research priorities. However, the ignorance on nutritional value of the crop, lack of standard agronomic practice, unavailability of high yielding quality seeds, potential varieties suitable for Mizoram conditions, processing infrastructures and marketing have diminished the interest of farmers in popularizing this crop. In this regards, thirty-nine Coix genotypes were evaluated owing to their agronomic characteristics to identify promising genotypes suitable for Mizoram conditions. Based on the overall mean performances for yield and yield components, two genotypes RJT-1 (39.74 q/ha) and RJT-2 (35.27 q/ha) were found superior for seed yield and other yield-related traits under Mizoram conditions. In addition, the occurrence of invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) on Coix was observed and the damage incidence ranged between 7.23 and 10.86% in the vegetative growth stages (45–75 days crop) from the last week of August to the end of September. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of fall armyworm occurrence on Coix crop from India. Vol.: (0123456789) 13 Genet Resour Crop Evol Keywords Coix · Genotypes · Functional food · Cultivation · Spodoptera frugiperda Introduction Researchers are exploring alternate food sources which have the potential for human nutrition as a consequence of the expanding population, increasing hunger, limited food supply, widespread malnutrition and climate change. Around three billion people worldwide are currently unable to pay for healthy diets owing to the high cost of food and high levels of poverty coupled with income inequality (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO 2021). The transformation of food systems for food security, accessible healthy diets and better nutrition has become the primary concern of food production in recent years. Crop diversification towards the cultivation of a variety of nutrient-rich foods is needed to ensure food and nutritional security (Mustafa et al. 2019). Indigenous food systems are a reservoir of underutilized food crops which possess rich biodiversity, ensuring better impacts on human health from a diversified diet (Singh et al. 2022). These underutilized crops are mostly rich in nutrients, climate-resilient, widely adaptable, used medically and play an important role in local cultures and rituals (Mabhaudhi et al. 2019; Mustafa et al. 2019). These crops require more attention in conservation and research; and their boosted production can bring better nutritional security by providing balanced diet, battling micronutrient deficiencies and preventing hunger (Singh et al. 2022). Northeast India is a hotspot of biodiversity and endowed with diverse species of underutilized crops (Arora 1977). The varied topography, climatic conditions, and altitude contributes to the occurrence of a variety of crop species and their cultivation in Northeast India. Among them, Coix is one of the potential underutilized crops of Northeastern India, with its use widely ranging from food to ethnic ornaments of the Mizo tribe. Coix is generally called Job’s tears, adlay, adley, tear grass, adley millet, or coix millet, samkru (Hindi) and pingpih (Mizo). This crop has hard shiny tearshaped fruit which bear seeds that resulted in its recognition with the name “tear”. It has potential to be utilized as a staple food to ensure food security and improve human health in the region (Laxmisha Vol:. (1234567890) 13 et al. 2022; Devaraj et al. 2020). The nutrient profiling of Coix suggested that the grains are rich in proteins, minerals and crude fat which are beneficial for health. The biochemical parameters such as starch, phenol, sugar, moisture and antioxidants primarily contribute to the diversity of Coix germplasm found in Northeast India (Laxmisha et al. 2022). Currently, Coix remains underutilized and unexploited due to rising popularity of maize and other cereals in the region (Roder 2006). However, before the adaptation of these crops in the cropping system, it was a major food crop in various Asian nations, such as Bhutan (Roder 2006). The major reasons for Coix being underutilized are the predominance of local types and non-availability of proper agronomic practices resulting in lower crop yield, despite the fact that Coix are highly nutritious, climate-resilient, less prone to insects/diseases, locally available and have medicinal importance (Devaraj et al. 2020). The limited and sporadic cultivation of local types and wild relatives of Coix in rural areas are now majorly concentrated only for medicinal and ornamental purposes. Considering the nutritional and medicinal value of Coix, this crop shares equal importance to major crops for exploitation in crop breeding programmes to improve production, so that processing and valu (...truncated)