Germplasm collection of finger millet (elucine coracana (l.) gaertn) land races grown by Tribals of thane District Maharashtra

Finger millet is the second largest cereal crop grown (after rice) in tribal area of Thane district. Warli, Malharkoli, Thakar and Dorkoli are the major tribes inhabiting the Thane district of Maharashtra. Their traditional methods of agriculture and landraces of different crops they conserved are fast eroding due to the rapid urbanization of the district. .Tribals of Thane district has conserved 11 landraces of finger millet on farm by their traditional agricultural system. These land races are studied for their cultural, Morphogenetic and nutritional aspects. The analysis of 11 landraces collected from this region revealed that there are three reddish black grains, two copper red grains, five light brown colored grains and only one land race with white grains. Results of this study include identification of varieties for drought tolerance, disease resistance, high yield, high protein content, high amino acid content and low carbohydrate content. The importance of conservation of such rich finger millet diversity from this fast changing agro-ecosystem of Thane district is discussed.