Heeng or asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida) is an important ingredient in many Indian cuisines. A pinch of heeng is usually added to sizzling oil earlier than different constituents when cooking. Despite the good range of India’s cuisines, most of them have recipes with heeng.
There are mentions of heeng in historic Indian texts together with the Mahabharata and texts of Ayurveda. The latter recommends utilizing heeng to refresh one’s senses, together with consciousness. The Charaka Sanhita Sutrasthana 27/299 says heeng may help relieve belly ache, digest undigested meals, and improve style. The Pippalada Samhita and the works of Panini additionally embody heeng.
Today, heeng crops thrive in chilly, arid environments suited to the native areas in Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. The plant prefers sandy, well-drained soil with low moisture, ideally receiving annual rainfall of 200 mm or much less, although it could possibly tolerate up to 300 mm in cultivated areas just like the Indian Himalaya. It prospers in temperatures of 10-20° C, tolerates highs of up to 40° C, and withstands winter lows down to –4° C. In extraordinarily dry and chilly climate, heeng crops usually develop into dormant to survive.
These necessities make high-altitude, semi-arid areas like Lahaul-Spiti and Uttarkashi in India appropriate for its cultivation. Excessive rainfall or excessive soil moisture can hinder progress.
The ultimate product obtained from the plant, asafoetida, is derived from an oleo-gum resin extracted from the plant’s thick, fleshy taproot and rhizome, which makes up 40-64% of the dried gum. Heeng is a perennial plant that usually takes 5 years to mature and begin flowering. Incisions are then made in the taproot, permitting the milky latex to exude and harden right into a gum-like substance. This resin is dried and processed into powder or crystal kind for culinary and medicinal use.
Cutting import dependence
Until early final decade, regardless of being the world’s largest shopper of heeng, India trusted imports from Afghanistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan, amongst others. The authorities subsequently launched a nationwide effort to promote indigenous cultivation of heeng. This mission was led by the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Researchers right here took up the problem of introducing heeng to Indian soil for the primary time, beginning with a rigorous and multi-layered worldwide search from 2018 and 2020 to procure viable seeds of heeng.
As half of this programme, CSIR-IHBT scientists communicated with the related companies in Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and South Africa and contacted greater than 20 suppliers. These efforts culminated in the procurement of heeng seeds, initially from Iran, and later from Afghanistan.
To facilitate authorized and phytosanitary compliance, the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi, the designated nodal company for plant germplasm import and quarantine, issued the required import permits and performed all mandated quarantine inspections. Once the seeds have been cleared, they have been handed over to IHBT for analysis and subject analysis.
The first import of six seed accessions from Iran befell in October 2018, and IHBT researchers have been confronted with the numerous organic challenges posed by their dormancy and low germination price. They labored to develop germination protocols, establish altitude-specific places appropriate for cultivation, and formulate agronomic practices for Indian situations. Controlled trials have been performed at IHBT Palampur and its Centre for High Altitude Biology in Ribling in Lahaul & Spiti.
Early adopters
The group planted the primary heeng seedling in India on October 15, 2020, in a farmer’s subject at Kwaring village in Lahaul Valley, formally marking the start of the nation’s journey into indigenous heeng cultivation.
One key milestone in increasing heeng cultivation past Lahaul was achieved shortly thereafter when the group planted heeng at Janjheli in Mandi district on November 8, 2020. This was the primary extension of heeng cultivation into the mid-hill areas of Himachal Pradesh, exploring the crop’s potential past the high-altitude chilly desert zone.
CSIR-IHBT scientists with farmers in Kwaring village of Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh, October 15, 2020.
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Special association
This was quickly adopted by the institution of demonstration plots and farmer coaching programmes throughout Lahaul & Spiti, Mandi, Kinnaur, Kullu, and Chamba, in collaboration with the State Agriculture Department.
Villages that grew to become early adopters of this initiative have been:
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Lahaul & Spiti: Madgran, Salgran, Beeling, Keylong
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Mandi: Janjehli, Majhakhal, Kataru, Ghayan, Karsog
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Kinnaur: Kafnoo, Hango, Maling, Reckong Peo, Kalpa, Moorang, Graming, Katgaon
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Kullu: Bagsaid, Dhaugi–Sainj, Kotla–Banjar
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Chamba: Pangi, Deol, Bharmour, Mahala, Tooh
To additional institutionalise this progress, the Heeng Germplasm Resource Centre was established at IHBT Palampur and was formally inaugurated on March 5, 2022. It serves because the nationwide hub for conservation, analysis, coaching, seed manufacturing, and plant propagation vis-à-vis heeng.
May 28 milestone
CSIR-IHBT researchers additionally developed a devoted tissue tradition unit to facilitate the large-scale propagation of heeng crops. This specialised facility was funded by the Government of Himachal Pradesh, reinforcing the collaborative framework between scientific establishments and the State in advancing the high-altitude cultivation of this necessary crop. Researchers used superior strategies reminiscent of ecological area of interest modelling to map beneficial cultivation zones utilizing GPS-tagged incidence knowledge and environmental parameters.
The first flowering and seed set of heengat Palampur was lastly reported on May 28, 2025, by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research — a big milestone demonstrating that heeng can certainly be successfully cultivated in India.
This achievement, realised roughly 5 years after the preliminary sowing in 2020 in Himachal Pradesh, confirmed the plant’s profitable acclimatisation.
It additionally signifies its capability to full the reproductive cycle, a important prerequisite for seed manufacturing, long-term domestication, and sustainable business cultivation. While the heeng plant thrives in chilly deserts, its profitable cultivation in Palampur at simply 1,300 m (above sea stage) is a breakthrough: proving that plant adaptability holds untapped potential and that new agro-ecological frontiers nonetheless await discovery.
Ultimately, the milestone paves the best way for India to cut back its import dependence, and for farmers to improve their incomes and construct a self-reliant provide chain for this culturally necessary spice. In all, the success of heeng cultivation in India owes itself to the efforts of CSIR-IHBT, ICAR-NBPGR, the Himachal Pradesh authorities, the State Agriculture Department, and the area’s progressive farmers.
Sanjay Kumar is former Director, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur. Shekhar C. Mande is Distinguished Professor on the Savitribai Phule Pune University and the previous Director General, CSIR.
Published – June 10, 2025 05:30 am IST
