By Shiva Kumar Kashi
Hetauda, July 5: The ongoing research for the commercial production of the fiddlehead fern (Niguro), a wild edible green vegetable, has been headed toward success.
Niguro, a curled frond of a young fern, is a nutritional wonder. It is a source of food and nutrition.
The Hetauda-based Botanical Research Centre, Makwanpur, has been conducting research on the reproduction of four species of fiddlehead fern for a year.
Chief of the office Raghuram Parajuli said out of the four species, seedling of two species of fiddlehead fern could be produced from the lab.
“Fiddlehead fern, a wild medicinal plant, has not been produced through artificial insemination yet. Since this is a non-flowering species of plant, pollination cannot take place.”
There are more than 850 species of fiddlehead found in Nepal. This wild and non-cultivated plant is found in moist forests.
Until now, this wild and non-cultivated plant has been plucked directly from the forest and eaten and sold.
However, the office claims that commercial farming of the fiddlehead can be done if the ongoing research carried out by the centre is a complete success.
“We have succeeded in producing seedlings of two types of edible species of fiddlehead,” said Parajuli, a senior botanist and head of the office.
“Now it’s time to carry out a field experiment. It is also expected to be successful," he said.
He said that if the fiddlehead seedlings started growing in the field within 3-4 months, they would be distributed to the farmers for commercial production.
Thanks to Chandrakala Thakur, a botanical officer of the centre for her endless effort, it has been possible for the centre to produce seedlings of two species of fiddlehead.
Thakur said she applied the knowledge she had learned while studying in the United States.
She had applied the same practice which was successfully adopted by various countries, including America.
If these seedlings successfully grow in the field, like other vegetables, farmers would be encouraged to make commercial production of Niguro, said Parajuli.
Niguro is packed with health benefits and contains high nutritive values. It helps improve anemia, promotes heart health, cures migraine, boosts immunity and is also used for the treatment of cancer.