Context: Recently, scientists from the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have planted hing saplings in Himachal Pradesh.
The cultivation has been started in Kwaring village in Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh.
About Asafoetida (Hing)

• Ferula asafoetida is a herbaceous plant of the Umbelliferae family and it stores most of its nutrients deep inside its fleshy roots. It is a perennial plant whose oleo gum resin is extracted from its thick roots and rhizome.
• It thrives in dry and cold desert conditions and can withstand a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 degrees, whereas, during winters, it can survive in temperatures up to minus 4 degrees. During extreme weather, the plant can get dormant.
• It is endemic to Iran and Afghanistan and they are the prominent global suppliers.

Indian Scenario

• Asafoetida (Hing)is not cultivated in India. Government data states that India imports about 1,200 tonnes of raw heeng worth Rs 600 crore from Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
• Hing has many traditional medicinal uses in India. It is believed to help with everything from kidney stones to bronchitis. It is a common spice used in the Indian kitchen and is believed to be helpful in preventing gastro-intestinal ailments.
• It is also used to help with painful or excessive bleeding during menstruation and premature labour also it is anti-flatulent, the herb is fed to new mothers.

Cultivation in India

• Between 1963 and 1989, India had attempted to procure asafoetida seeds but there are no published results of the same.
• In 2017, IHBT approached NBPGR with an experimental project idea to cultivate heeng in the Indian Himalayas.
• For research, Hing seeds were imported from Iran and they remained in the custody of NBPGR. There, the seeds were subjected to a number of tests while being kept under quarantine, to rule out fungal or infectious diseases,  possibility of pest attacks and other adverse effects to an area if these seeds were cultivated in fields. 
• Regions with sandy soil, very little moisture and an annual rainfall of not more than 200mm are considered conducive for hing cultivation in India. Some initial experiments were conducted in high altitude districts of Mandi, Kinnaur, Kullu, Manali and Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.
• The CSIR team has started the project on about 500 hectares of land, but it will take four to five years before the homegrown hing achieves the same quality as what is imported from Iran or Afghanistan and if the pilot is successful, the scientists want to expand the cultivation to Ladakh, parts of Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The farmers are also being trained on how to irrigate the plant, which mostly survives on the moisture from melting snow. Farmers are also being discouraged from using chemical fertilisers, and being asked to only work with animal dung.