Diversity distribution and collection of genetic resources of cultivated and weedy type in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Perilla frutescens</Emphasis> (L.) Britton var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">frutescens</Emphasis> and their uses in Indian Himalaya

Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton is a traditional crop of East Asia and sporadically cultivated in different parts of the Himalayas. The Western and the Eastern Himalayan regions of India exhibit rich variability in oilseed Perilla, Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton var. frutescens. The present communication deals with the distribution pattern of diversity and survey, exploration and germplasm collection and its uses in India. Brief information on botanical characterization on the basis of systematic study of cultivated and weedy types and thrust on areas for germplasm collection from diverse habitats have been discussed.