Diversity and species richness of food crops in traditional home gardens: A pilot study in the Kuliyapitiya DS Division of North Western Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Home gardens have become a valuable source of food in Sri Lanka, helping to minimise the burden of feeding families by reducing food bills. A pilot study was conducted to understand the current diversity and species richness of food crops in traditional home gardens in the KuliyapitiyaWest divisional secretariat area. The study found species belonging to 92 genera comprising 51 plant families from 20 home gardens, where trees were the dominating life form. Shannon diversity of food crops varied from 0.9 to 3.05, and species richness varied from 5 to 64.Citrus was the most dominant genus with a variety of cultivars, followed by Musa spp. and Mangifera spp. The majority of home gardens primarily consisted of fruit and nuts, vegetables, beverages, spices and root and tuber crops, indicating that home garden owners prefer to meet daily household needs from their home gardens. It was evident that cultivating annual vegetable crops in home gardens was not a common choice among dwellers. Leguminous crops were also uncommon in the home gardens. Therefore, to ensure nutritional security, there should be further attention on adding food crops that provide plant-based proteins. Future actions are necessary to educate house dwellers on processing spices, surplus fruits, vegetables and yams. Future surveys should include improved methodologies to investigate the climatic and socioeconomic factors affecting home garden production, diversity and richness.