Abstract
An IBPGR exploration for collecting cereal germplasm was carried out over a wide area of Pakistan in 1989. The result suggested that a large number of local varieties are grown in northern Pakistan. In 1991, we focused our survey on rice germplasm in northern Pakistan. T. he present status of rice growing and information on local varieties in the north-ern mountainous area are as follows; 1) In the Chitral District, rice plants are cultivated in terraced fields located at elevations ranging from 1, 000m to 2, 250m. Two kinds of varieties, Nali (transplanting) and Byene or Beyan (direct sowing), are adapted to these areas. These varieties are similar to the Japonica type varieties . They differed in the phenol reaction of the hull, , There were some differences in the color of the apiculus, awn and hull of Nali among the locations. Due to the higher productivity, the farmers prefer to cultivate Nali, although the grain quality of Byene is superior to that of Nali.
