Breeding Of Underutilized Fruit Crops Part-I

Underutilized fruits are gaining popularity owing to have medicinal properties, cheap source of nutrition, having employment generation potential and can be raised with low management cost. Besides, these can be grown on wastelands as well as on marginal and poor land, and on degraded ravines. These crops posses the inherited potentiality to withstand adverse climatic conditions. They are rich source of vitamins, minerals and low calorie sugars, oils and fats as well as essential oils. A lot of works has been carried out world wide with regard to crop improvement and varietal specification in the major fruit crops grown in different agro-climatic situation. While in case of minor or underutilized fruit crops little attention has been paid on this aspect of productivity factor. Production of a crop primarily depends on suitable variety or type. In many underutilized fruit crops varietal specification is still not started yet. During the last two decades a significant progress has been made in genetics and plant breeding at a prodigious pace with the development refined emerging tools and techniques. Efforts have been made to provide the maximum information about the varieties developed and their salient characteristics. Breeding methods also been elaborated in the self-explanatory manner. So that the, information may be easily transmitted among the scientists, research scholars and students. In this book 36 Underutilized fruit crops have been included viz., Bilimbi, Carambola, Crabapple, Durian, Fig, Lasoda, Longan, Loquat, Burmese Grape, Mangosteen, Mulberry, Nectarine, Noni, Passion Fruit, Phalsa, Pilu, Rambutan, Rose apple, Sea buckthorn, Star apple, Star gooseberry, Wax apple, Barbados cherry, Cape gooseberry, Chironji, Dragon Fruit, Hog plum, Ker, Khirni, Kokam, Mahua, Tamarind, Chengkek, Elephant Apple, Tendu and Khejri. This book is intended to be brief compilation of the information available on crop improvement and varietal wealth in relation to underutilized fruit crops with a view to provide the overviews on evolution of each crop, the history of domestication, taxonomy, centre of diversity, different species, crop improvement objectives, cytogenetic, inheritance pattern, problems in breeding, floral biology, pollination mechanism and its management, the breeding methods employed, salient accomplishment and varietal wealth, and future thrust. It is expected that the information documented in the book will fulfill the long standing requirement of breeding aspects of underutilized fruit crops in a comprehensive manner. Hope the book will be helpful to the scientists and researchers to formulate their future programme on crop improvement of the underutilized fruit crops for better nutrition, income and ecological up gradation.

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