~ 1198 ~ The Pharma Innovation Journal 2022; SP-11(1): 1198-1206 ISSN (E): 2277- 7695 ISSN (P): 2349-8242 NAAS Rating: 5.23 TPI 2022; SP-11(1): 1198-1206 © 2022 TPI www.thepharmajournal.com Received: 16-11-2021 Accepted: 18-12-2021 Minal H Patel College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India Payal C Patel College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India Soufil S Malek College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India Ram Mayur L College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India Bimal S Desai College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India Vipul B Parekh College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India SK Jha College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India Corresponding Author Bimal S Desai College of Forestry Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India Model nursery of medicinal and aromatic plants at NAU, Navsari: Initiative towards production of quality planting material & conservation of herbal resources Minal H Patel, Payal C Patel, Soufil S Malek, Ram Mayur L, Bimal S Desai, Vipul B Parekh and SK Jha Abstract Conservation of Medicinal and aromatic plants through nursery is one of the major promotional schemes now days promoted by National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) and various state medicinal plant boards. The Core of the nursery is to raise the MAPs plants from the seed and through vegetative propagation and thereby provide quality planting material to farmers, schools and common man. The rapidly depleting valuable medicinal and aromatic plants must also be preserved. So, nurseries specializing in these crops have started to thrive in order to save and multiply the precious medicinal and aromatic plants. The Ayurvedic medicinal professionals also demand these plants. Model Nursery on MAP’s at Navsari Agricultural University was initiated under National Horticulture Mission. It is located in the AES zone-III (Heavy rainfall zone) with a total area of over 4 ha. In all, 117 MAPs species is conserved and multiplied by various vegetative and non-vegetative methods. Out of this 117, 49 are herb species, 21 species of shrubs, 11 species of climbers, 4 grass species and 32 tree species. Some of Medicinal plant taxa categorized as rare, endangered and threatened such as Calophyllum inophyllum, Tecomella undulata, Rauwolfia tetraphylla, Costus speciosus, Chlorophytum borivilianum, Strychnos nux vomica, Semecarpus anacardium and Sterculia foetida are also conserved in the nursery. Apart from this, nursery also harbors 3 species of genus Asparagus- Asparagus racemosus, Asparagus sprengeri and Asparagus gonocladus, 3 species of Mentha- Mentha piperita, Mentha spicata and Mentha arvensis, 2 species of Withania- Withania somnifera and Withania coagulans along with two varieties- Anand Ashwagandha 1 and Jawahar Ashgandh. Seeds of 97 MAPs species are collected and stored. Annually, 80,000 plant seedling and sapling are sold and more than 200 farmers and students visit the nursery. Some of the other important plant species at nursery includes red and white seeded Abrus precatorius, Andrographis paniculata, Gloriosa superba, Gymnema sylvestre, Sida acuta, Sida rhombifolia, Piper betel, Plumbago zeylanica, Aloe vera, Tinospora cordifolia and Glycyrhhiza glabra. The present compilation is aimed to provide the details of collection, multiplication and conservation of herbal resources at Navsari Agricultural University, Gujarat. Keywords: model nursery, medicinal, conservation, rare, endangered, threatened 1. Introduction Nursery is one of component/managed sites that is designed to produce seedlings grown under favourable conditions until they are ready for planting. All nurseries primarily aim to produce and provide the sufficient quantities of high-quality seedlings to satisfy the demands of user MAPs constitute a considerably large component of natural vegetation. Several of MAPs species are in great demand for domestic consumption as well as for commercial use by the herbal industry. MAPs resource pools were plethoric in forest but forest areas are destroying fast due to anthropogenic pressure. Accordingly, the elective way to create increasingly crude materials could be just through development of restorative plants in farming fields. Importance of cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants is increasing steadily due to the side effects of chemical and artificial medicines that is creating awareness among the people worldwide. Conservation and improvement of threatened/endangered/ endemic species of medicinal and aromatic plants is becoming very important. (Devi et. al, 2017) [2] . The basic objectives of model nursery of MAPs are as given below: ▪ To provide quality and genuine planting materials to the farmers. ▪ To promote general awareness regarding the medicinal and aromatic plants. ▪ To provide Bio-resources for research in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. ▪ Collection and ex-situ conservation of rare and endangered medicinal plants.