POTENTIAL UNDERUTILIZED TROPICAL FRUITS OF INDIA

The important fruit crops grown commercially in India are mango, banana, citrus, guava, grape, pineapple, papaya, sapota, litchi and apple which comprise more than 75 percent of total area under fruit cultivation. There are quite a large number of indigenous and underutilized fruit crops, which are being used by the local inhabitants. In fact for people living in villages, these underutilized fruits are the only source of protective food to meet their vitamins and minerals requirements in their poor diet. Because of their curative properties, these fruits have been used in Indian system of medicine such as Ayurvedic and Unani since time immemorial. Apart from their nutritive and medicinal values quite a few of these underutilized fruits have excellent flavour and very attractive colour. In spite of these quality attributes most have not undergone any conscious phase of domestication and human selection. Their cultivation is very restricted and they grow mainly wild. Being tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses, these fruit species are suitable for growing in the disaster- and drought-prone areas. India has a rich heritage of indigenous fruit types. Although some fruits have already been recommended for commercial planting, it is apparent that there are a lot more fruit types that await future exploitation. The more familiar ones include: jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), bael (Aegle marmelos), jamun (Syzygium curreinii), carambola (Averhoa carambola), aonla (Emblica officinalis), karonda (Carissa carandas) and phalsa (Grewia asiatica). Present status of these fruits in India and future research needs will be discussed.