ABSTRACT
210Agriculture and allied activities not only provide livelihood to a large section of population but also play a pivotal role in their lifestyle. Agro-biodiversity is an evolutionary divergent, highly interrelated component of biodiversity dealing with agroecosystem and variation in agriculture related to plants, animals, marine life, insects, microbes, avian species, etc. Environmental, biological, sociocultural and economic factors are responsible for the evolu- tion of diverse agroecosystems. Traditional agroecosystems are diverse in that crop husbandry, animal husbandry, and forests constitute complex and interlinked production systems. A total of 17,395 agro-biodiversity collections comprising of cultivated (16,136) and wild (1259) accessions have been made in various crops like 219cereals and millets (1957), pulses and legumes (5609), oilseeds (1760), fibers (541), vegetables (1551), fruits and minor fruits (991), medicinal and aromatic plants (362), halophytes (21), spices and condiments (198), grasses and fodder plants (291), dye-yielding plants (26), famine food plants (11), wild relatives and weedy forms (433), and miscellaneous (293). A wide range of variability has been recorded in the distribution; plant habit and types; canopy; earliness; bearing; size, shape and color of leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds; and weight of fruits and seeds. It recognizes that agriculture evolved from bioprospecting, selection, and development of a few species from plants and animal kingdoms, to meet human needs of food, fiber, and fuel. All biotic factors related to agricul- ture, such as plants, animals, fish, reptiles, insects, birds, and microbes are components of biodiversity. Therefore, the conservation, management, and sustainable use of these genetic resources require specific attention.
