Job’s-tears (coix lacryma-jobi)—a minor food and fodder crop of northeastern India

Job’s-tears—a cultigen of great antiquity—is grown in South Asia mainly by the natives of various ethnic groups of Mongolian origin. The plant is used as a minor cereal and fodder. The northeastern region of India is a centre of variability for the genus Coix. It is considered that this plant was introduced here either by the pestoral Aryan invaders, who grew it on the slopes of the Himalayas or during Mongolian conquests when the crop got distributed from the eastern Himalayas to lower subtropical terrains. During plant explorations conducted since 1970 in the northeastern region of India, much variability has been recorded for this crop. The various soft-shelled races now grown in this tract by the tribes are the result of conscious folk domestication and must have been selected for easy hulling and good kernel type. Based on this, and on information on domestication, cultivation and economic usages of this plant among the natives, some findings are presented in this paper.