Rice is the staple food crop of more than 60% of world’s population. In terms of area and production it is second to Wheat. It is the foremost cereal crop of the world providing 22% of the world’s calories and 17% of proteins. Globally the cultivation of Rice extends from 39ºS latitude to 45ºN latitude. Rice is grown worldwide in varying conditions of soil and climate. Rice is also the major crop of north-eastern parts of our country occupying 3.5 million hectare area. The north-eastern region accounts for 11% of national rice area and 6.5% of total national production. Nagaland is the hill state of north-east India. It is situated between 93º-95ºE longitude and 25º-27ºN latitude. The hills of the state of Nagaland are situated in the range from 194 to 3840 m above mean sea level and characterized by considerable topographical variation. Rice is the major crop of the state and is mainly grown in lowland and upland conditions. The total area under Rice is 146 thousand hectare with the production of 206 thousand tonnes. The tribal farmers of hilly region of Nagaland grow different cultivars of Nagaland Special Rice which are generally suited to lowland conditions. Twenty two cultivars of Nagaland special Rice have been evaluated at experimental farm of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Research Complex for NEH region, Jharnapani, Nagaland Centre and School of Agricultural Sciences & Rural Development, Nagaland University, Medziphema to assess the perfaormance in respect of all major traits to identify the most stable cultivars at both the locations. Kemelio was found to be the most stable variety in terms of yield, Kolchang and Alem special for stable flowering and Chakesang lha & Ranjit for maturity.
