Underutilized Subtropical Fruits

India has emerged as a major stakeholder in the global horticulture scenario accounting for 10.9% of the world fruit production, with the total fruit production of 58.7 million tonnes from 5.5 million hectares. In view of the burgeoning population pressure, it is often not possible to get good piece of fertile land for cultivation of fruit crops, as it is used for other more important field crops, such as foodgrains, oilseeds and pulses. In the recent years, there has been considerable awareness about the food and nutritional security. A number of underutilized fruits are adequately rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals besides some necessary nutritional components like vitamins, minerals and dietary fibres. It is utmost essential to supplement the diet with fruits, rich in antioxidants to fight and prevent ageing related diseases, obesity and disorders of the body. Hence, more emphasis is being given to the underutilized fruit crops due to their high nutraceutical values in addition to being resistant/tolerant to many biotic and abiotic stresses. The demand for these crops is gradually increasing, resulting in tremendous potential for commercial exploitation of these crops aimed at improving living standards and ensuring nutritional security to the poor and marginal farmers. A good demand for several less known fruits viz. Aonla, Bael, Jamun, Custard Apple, Tamarind, Carambola, Loquat, Mulberry, etc, in the fresh and processed form exists in the domestic and the world market. The degraded lands, especially the areas of water scarcity, can profitably be utilized for commercial cultivation of underutilized subtropical fruit crops mentioned in this book. In the book, attempt has been made by the authors to present the latest information on the cultivars, propagation techniques and production technology of various underutilized subtropical fruit crops. The book will be of immense use to the researchers, students, teachers, policy makers, progressive farmers and all those who are directly and indirectly associated with the development and strengthening of fruit industry.