Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/53671

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the circumstance surrounding and the change in cultivated crop varieties regarding rice and potatoes in the rural Nepalese area of Sankhu Village. A survey of the area was conducted in 2011 in order to make a comparison with the crop varieties cultivated in 1997.The survey showed that in terms of rice, Masuli and Taichung have been cultivated from 1997 to 2011. More than 85% of the total farming area of rice is occupied by old two varieties. In contrast, in terms of potatoes, a new variety－Janakdev－has almost replaced the traditional varieties. Janakdev has a greater disease resistance, it is not so susceptible to late blight, and it has a good taste. Farmers interviewed in this survey said that the reasons for changing potato varieties were : (1) strength of disease resistance (44%), and (2) increased yield (44%). Considering that strong disease tolerance leads to higher yield, it seems that when farmers select cultivated crop varieties about potatoes, they emphasize the strength of disease tolerance of each variety.