Food Crops Rice, barley, Coix, finger millet, and foxtail millet are native to the region. Rice is the main crop in the region and there are diverse cultivars with useful genes. There is wide variability in the rice germplasm collected from different parts of the northeastern region, but glutinous and japonica forms dominate the endemic types. Some of the cultivars are resistant to diseases and pests and are tolerant to drought and cold. Genetic divergence among the land races of the NE region is classified into nine clusters.
Some clusters occupy an intermediate position between japonica and indica.
There are a number of wild rice species, including Oryza granulata, O. rufipogon, O. jeyporensis, O. malampuzhaensis , and O. sativa var spontanea . Primitive types of maize have been recorded in the region. Wild relatives of Digitaria, Coix, Panicum, Setaria , and Elusine are also found. Different finger millet and foxtail millet land races are being cultivated by tribal farming communities in the region. The genus Vigna has more variability and looks like black gram or green gram.