The main institute holds 59.60 acres across five parcels at Lahdoigarh, Chenijan and Cinnamara. Land is not incidental to this institute’s work: muga is reared outdoors on standing trees with a four-year gestation from seedling, so a plantation is a decade-long commitment and the germplasm growing on it cannot be reproduced from storage.
59.60Total acres
5Parcels
16.67Acres, germplasm centre
182Som plus-trees conserved
Farms and land
| Farm / unit | Area (acres) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Farm No. 1 | 12.40 | Training cum hostel building |
| Farm No. 2 | 15.53 | — |
| Farm No. 3 | 10.00 | Main campus |
| Chenijan Farm | 16.67 | Germplasm Conservation Centre |
| Staff quarters, Cinnamara, Jorhat | 05.00 | Residential / guest house |
| Total | 59.60 |
Germplasm Conservation Centre, Chenijan
The largest single parcel, and the one that could not be replaced. It holds the living collection on which every host plant breeding programme depends.
| Species | Morphotypes | Additional holdings |
|---|---|---|
| Som (Persea bombycina) | 14 | 182 plus-trees; 51 catalogued genotypes |
| Soalu (Litsea monopetala) | 10 | — |
| Dighloti (Litsea salicifolia) | 10 | — |
| Mejankari (Litsea cubeba) | 4 | Host of the glossy white, highest-priced muga silk |
| Hybrids | 18 | 14 S3 × S8 som hybrids; 4 dighloti × soalu hybrids |
Som cannot be conserved as seed. Viability falls to nil in about 45 days,
and seedlings from open-pollinated seed do not breed true — so the collection has to
be maintained as living trees and multiplied clonally. Losing the plantation would mean
losing the genotypes. Full detail on
Germplasm.
All units: Units overview
· Main Institute