Scope of minor fruit production in India

A. Roy a and F.K. Bauri

Department of Fruit & Orchard Management, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia-741252,
West Bengal, India.

Abstract
Minor fruits are a group of fruits presently growing in a scattered and
unattended way on roadsides, homestead land, wasteland, etc. In general, fruits which
though are consumable to human beings but relatively less palatable than other major
fruits, which have lesser demand in market, which are grown to a limited extent only
and are not usually cropped in organized plantations with application of artificial
agro-inputs are considered as minor fruits. They are in general hardy and grow well
even in fragile soil and climate and having potential for intensive exploitation. Attacks
by deadly pests and diseases are relatively less in many of these crops. They multiply
and grow spontaneously rather than coming to extinction. Since the area under each
of these fruit trees is insignificant, they are popularly known as ‘minor fruits’. In India,
many under-utilized fruits grow without much care largely in the homestead, fallow
and forest areas as well as at roadside and railway lines. Those are adapted to the
local climate, are highly nutritious and contribute to poverty elevation and household
food security of rural people and play a significant role in herbal medicine. Though a
wide range of diversity of underutilized fruit crops exists in diverse agro-ecological
zones of India, there are no organized orchards and no recognized cultivars for almost
all of these minor or underutilized crops and some of those are being eroded from the
plant-wealth list.

Keywords: hardy, lesser demand, highly nutritious, wide diversity

INTRODUCTION
India is bestowed with a varied agro-climate, which is highly favourable for growing a
larger number of fruit crops. India accounts for 10% of the world’s total fruit production.
Mango, banana, citrus, pineapple, papaya, guava, litchi and grape, among the tropical and
sub-tropical fruits; apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, almond and walnut among the
temperate fruits. India leads the world in the production of mango, banana, cheeku and acid
lime and in productivity of grapes per unit land area. India is the largest producer of mango,
banana, cheeku and acid lime. But as compared to major fruits, minor fruit cultivation is
much less although there is lots of scope for minor fruit production in India due to its
diverse agro-climate. In a general sense, those fruits which have less acreage and are
available in lesser quantity in the market are generally called as minor or underutilized
fruits. Species are underused because markets are lacking altogether or are not available to
sectors of the agricultural community. Models for the adoption of new species with a view to
income generation (at regional or national level) might be valuable.
India holds a unique position of many minor and underutilized fruit species in its
diverse agro climatically zones. Apart from medicinal and nutritive value, underutilized
fruits play an important role in crop improvement, ecology and food security and income.
Most of these fruits have not been tapped in both fresh and processed form, in spite of
their potential in the domestic and international markets. Research has been carried out on
different aspects of underutilized fruits but the results are still unavailable.

BACKGROUND
Mankind depends on a very limited number of crops to meet the needs of staple diets

aE-mail: royantara418@gmail.com

Acta Hortic. 1241. ISHS 2019. DOI 10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1241.7 43

Proc. III International Symposium on Underutilized Plant Species
Eds.: C. Ravindran et al.
and on a very limited number of major non-food crops to meet associated needs. In general,
a small number of varieties occupies large areas for these cultivated species. Nevertheless in
the past human societies depended on a much wider range of species for food, fiber, health
security and other needs.
Only about 30 crop species provide 95% of the world’s food energy whereas over
7,000 species have been known to be used for food and are either partly or fully
domesticated. This large array of plant species spans those recognized to be underutilized to
those that are recognized as important minor crops. However, with modernization of
agricultural practices many have become neglected due to their being held in low esteem
and some have been so neglected that genetic erosion of their gene pools has become so
severe that they are often regarded as lost crops.

UNDERUTILIZED FRUIT CROPS OF INDIA

Blackberry, bael, barbados cherry, breadfruit, bilimbi crabapple, chestnut, chironji,
custard apple, date palm, hog plum, jamun, karonda, karonda,kendu, kokam butter tree
kodampulli, lanson, lotka, loquat mulberry, mahua, manila tamarind, phalsa, rose apple,
sapida, star apple, star gooseberry, Surinam cherry, tamarind, wood apple, white sapota,
seabuckthorn, wild apricot, etc. (Table 1).

Table 1. Description of some minor fruits. Source: Chadha (2001), Das and Das (2006),
Girapu and Kumar (2006), Kishore et al. (2006), Singh et al. (2006).
Name of Scientific Plant
Distribution Important uses
minor fruit name description
Barbados Malpighia Grown in humid Plants are spreading shrub, Good source of Vit-C (1000-
cherry glabra to warm tropics plant 4 m height, withstand 4000 IU) and protein bark yield
frost and drought tannin
Bilimbi Averrhoa Humid tropics Fruits are gherkin like; Seeds contain 6% oxalic acid.
bilimbi seeds covered by fatty layer Fruit used for pickles, curries
which contain 6% oxalic and preserves
acid
Cape Physalis All over India Herbaceous, erect growing, Good source of Vit-A (1000-5000
gooseberry peruviana perennial, fruits enclosed by IU), fruits used for fresh eating
large persistent calyx and jam preparation
Chironji Buchanania Subtropical, It is a small tree having dark Fruits and seeds are edible,
lanzan mostly found in coloured fruits used as dry fruit, gum from tree
drier region used in textile industry
Hog plum Spondias Grown in humid Very large tree, pear shaped Fruits are used for jelly making.
mombin tropics of South yellow fruits Infusion of leaf and fruits is used
India as expectorant
Indian almond Terminalia Grown throughout Also known as Singapore or Seeds (kernels) are edible, bark
catappa the hotter parts of tropical almond and fruits are used for tanning
India
Kokam Garcinia Mostly found in Evergreen tree, fruits have Fruit is used or juice making,
butter tree indica Western Ghats sweetish to acidic pulp dried pulp used in curries for
souring, seeds are used for
making kokam butter and in
soap making
Lanson Lansium Grown in humid Symmetrical medium size Pulp can be preserved in syrup
(langstarduku) domesticum tropics tree, spherical, 5 cm
diameter fruits, edible pulp
are juicy and translucent
Surinam Eugenia Widely distributed An ornamental shrub, sub- Fruits are used as fresh and jelly
cherry uniflora in tropics and globose (3 cm diameter) 8- making
subtropics ribbed fruit, pulp is soft and
juicy

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Table 1. Continued.
Name of Scientific Plant
Distribution Important uses
minor fruit name description
Sapida Baccuarea Found in subtropical Evergreen tree, plant height Rich source of Vit-C, protein
ramiflora Himalayan regions, 15 m or more. Fruit globose and iron. Seeds are used
Assam and Burma in shape and yellowish against vomiting and
brown in colour. Seeds are asthmatic trouble. Every
embedded in rose coloured plant part is used against
pulp snake bite and scorpion
string
Seabuckthorn Hippophae It is distributed in It is deciduous, dioecious, Fruits are store house of
spp. J&K, HP, Uttaranchal drought resistant, nutrition, many bioactive
and some parts of shrub/tree (0.5-18 m) substances, antioxidants,
Arunachal Pradesh vitamins (Vit-C: 40 to 2500
(cold desert region) mg 100 g-1 pulp), flavonoids
and many minerals
Manila Pithecellobium Distributed Attractive tamarind like pod, Used as hedge plant, pulp is
tamarind dulce throughout in India pulp is crisp, sweet and used for making delicious
edible drink
Khirni Manilkara Central and Tree is hardy and thrives Used fresh or dried, young
hexandra peninsular India well on rocky, gravelly, fruits are boiled; seeds fried
mostly on tribal belt saline and sodic soil. Tree and roasted taste like
of Gujarat is medium size evergreen peanut, carbohydrate
with spreading growth 27.74%, Vit-C: 15.62 mg 100
habit. It bears oval, sweet g-1; seeds contain 24.6%
edible fruit with one or more edible oil (ryan oil) and fatty
seeds. It is commercially acids like palmitic acid
used as rootstock for (18.9%), stearic acid
vegetative propagation (14.1%), oleic acid (63.2%),
linoleic acid (2.7%)
Mahua Madhuca Found in dry region Mahua is a deciduous. Flowers rich source of sugar,
latifolia of north and central Flowers (corolla), a rich vitamins and minerals. Seed
India (Eastern UP, source of fermentable produce oil used in industrial
MP, Maharastra, AP, sugars (glucose, fructose, purpose and reduce blood
Bihar, Orissa and and maltose) is a useful pressure. Dry husk is used
Gujrat. Also on waste bio-resource for making absolute alcohol
lands of Rajasthan)
Kendu Dyospyrus Found mainly on dry It is drought hardy; trees Dried flowers are use in
melanoxylon region. Orissa, having weak branches, urinary treatment, skin and
Chhattisgarh, West leaves are big blood disease. Seeds are
Bengal used in mental disorder.
Leaves are used for bidi
making by tribal people
Lotka Baccaurea North eastern states It is a slow growing, Consume as fresh fruit.
sapida mainly northern part evergreen, dioecious, short Fruits having good source of
of West Bengal to medium height, shade Vit-C (178 mg), cure skin
loving plant species.The disease. Fruit peel is good
bearing habit is cauliflory source of pectin (14.1%)
and fruits appear in bunch.
Fruits are roundish to oval
and yellow-yellowish brown
in colour when matured
White sapota Casimiroa Tropical high land to Tree medium in size, fruits Use in beverages
edulis subtropics, found in are yellow with a sweet,
southern India pleasant flavoured pulp and
large seeds, rind is bitter

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CLASSIFICATION OF MINOR FRUITS BASED ON DIFFERENT CLIMATIC ZONES OF INDIA
Broadly the country can be divided into tropical, subtropical and temperate regions.
Within each broad category there are differences due to rainfall, humidity, altitude, etc.
Considering these aspects six different horticultural zones have been identified so that
appropriate choice of the crops can be made and development is planned. According to these
zones minor fruit crops are classified below:

Temperate climate zone

Minor fruits like crabapple, chestnut, wild apricot, blackberry, seabuckthorn, etc., can
be grown in this climatic condition.

Southern tropical climate zone

In this climate minor fruits like ber, custard apple, aonla, bael, karonda, jamun, wood
apple, Barbados cherry, bilimbi, hog plum, kokam butter tree, rose apple, star apple, star
gooseberry, Surinam cherry, white sapota, kodampulli, etc. can be grown successfully.

North-eastern subtropical zone

The parts are Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, parts of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh,
etc. The crops are mahua,karonda, passion fruit.

North-western subtropical region

This includes parts of Jammu andKashmir, Himachal Pradesh, hills of Utter Pradesh,
South of Punjab and Haryana.The crops are phalsa, date palm, ber, custard apple, tamarind,
loquat, amlok, behmi, kaliphal, wild apricot, pecan, lasoda, ker, etc.

Central tropical zone

South Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal.
Under this zone crops are fig, mahua, phalsa, khirni.

Coastal tropical humid fruit zone

Kerala, Goa, Diu Daman, Tripura, coastal parts of Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, West
Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka. Under this zone the minor fruit crops are bilimbi,
breadfruit, hog plum, lanson, tamarind and kokum butter tree.

SCOPE OF MINOR FRUIT PRODUCTION

Utilization of fallow land

There is a vast scope of minor fruit cultivation in our country because total area under
horticultural crop is very small and it is about 9% of total cropped area and fruit occupy
29% of total horticultural area. Area under fallow land is more. So, we can utilize this
untapped fallow and degraded lands for cultivation of minor fruit crops. We can use all this
available land to better contribute to rural income, in order to alleviate shortages of fuel
wood, small-timber and fodder, especially for income-poor rural communities.

Hardy nature of plants

Underutilized crops are found in numerous agricultural ecosystems and often survive
mainly in marginal areas. These crops are hardy in nature and they are free from diseases
and pests. They can grow without much care, they do not require irrigation, fertilization
although they have great demand in national and international market and there is also a
growing consumer interest in biological/organic agriculture, for which many underused
species offer advantages.

Tolerance to adverse soil and climate

A large number of less-known fruit species which have immense potential for
commercial exploitation under stress condition, are yet to be utilized to their full potential.

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Fruit crops like ber, phalsa, dateplam, bael, wood apple, etc. are capable of growing on waste
land where other crops fail to grow. Thus fruit cultivation has bright scope. They are highly
valued for nutritional and neutraceutical value of their fruits and also for their ability to
grow successfully even under adverse agro-climatic condition. In view of increasing
population pressure, decline per capita land availability and escalating input cost,
diversification of Indian Horticulture with hardy and high value indigenous fruit crops is
necessary for boosting fruit production. Sustainability of some fruit crops under stress
conditions are mentioned below:
- High tolerance (ESP 40 to 50 ECe 12 to 15 dS m-1): e.g., date palm, ber, woodapple.
- Medium tolerance (ESP 30 to 40 and ECe 9 to 12 dS m-1): e.g., aonla, tamarind, jamun,
lasoda, karonda, mahua, phalsa, khirni and custard apple.
- Weak tolerance (ESP 20 to 30 and ECe 6 to 9 dS m-1): e.g., guava, citrus, mango, bael
- Susceptable (ESP <20 and ECe<6 dS m-1): e.g., banana, papaya and pineapple.
- Drought tolerant crops: ber, sapota, aonla, phalsa, lasoda, kair, custard apple,
karonda, fig, etc.
- Highly tolerant to acidic soil: strawberry, woodapple, bael, loquat and avocado.

Nutritional value
The majority of the Indian population resides in village areas and they suffer from
malnutrition. There is a great demand for fresh fruits because fruits are a rich source of
vitamins and minerals. Fruit is considered as ‘protective food’ due to its availability of
vitamins and minerals in readily available from. Due to this reason the scope of fruit
cultivation becomes inevitable. In order to overcome malnutrition problems of arid, hilly and
tribal people it is necessary to enhance the production of minor fruits, which can be done by
increasing production and area under fruit crops. Nutritional content of some minor fruits is
shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Nutrient content of different minor crops (100 g-1 fruit). Source: Das and Das.
(2006).
Different nutrients Sources
Vit-A Persimmon (2710 IU), cape goose berry (1000-5000 IU), loquat (1528 IU), jackfruit (175-540 IU),
(retinol) tree tomato (150-500 IU), phalsa (419 IU), bael (55 mg)
Vit-B12 Bael (1.19 mg) wood apple, ber
(riboflavin)
Niacin Bael (1.1 mg), custard apple, wood apple
Vit-C Barbados cherry (1000-4000 mg), seabuckthorn (40-2500 mg), aonla (600 mg), Indian ber
(ascorbic acid) (50-150 mg), carambola, custard apple (37 mg), jamun (18 mg), phalsa (39 mg)
Different minerals
Calcium Tamarind (0.74%), karonda (0.16%), wood apple (0.13%), bael (0.09%), aonla (50 mg), wood
apple (130 mg), phalsa (129 mg), ber (30 mg), and date palm (0.3 g)
Phosphorus Wood apple (110 mg), date palm (0.1 g), aonla (20 mg), karonda (600 mg),
custard apple (23.5%) and tamarind
Iron Karonda (39.1%), date palm (10.6%), ber (300 mg), sapota (2 mg), aonla (1.2 mg),
phalsa (3.1 mg) and custard apple (1.9 g)
Organic acids Aonla, jamun, tamarind
Protein Wood apple (7.3 g), tamarind (3.1 g), custard apple (1.6 g), chironji and bael (1.8 g)
Carbohydrate Dry karonda (67.1%), date palm (67.8%), bael (31.8 g), custard apple (23.5 g), jamun,
phalsa (14.7 g), wood apple (15.5 g), ber (12.8 g) and tamarind (70.8 g)
Essential fatty Chironji, karonda and wood apple
acids

Nutritional security
For a balanced diet we need minimum 85 g fruit head-1 day-1. To meet this requirement
in terms of vitamins and minerals for our increasing population above 120 crores both area
under minor fruit and production has to be increased. Minor crops help in greater demands

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for increased dietary diversity for novel and nutritionally healthy foods.

High medicinal importance

Apart from nutritive value, minor fruits have also medicinal value. A diet
predominated by seasonal fruits and taking controlling food is said to be a boon and to
increase the longevity of life. Some examples are: aonla is the main ingredient of
‘chyavanprash’ which is famous for its therapeutic value in the Ayurvedic system of
medicine; unripe bael fruit can cure diarrhea, constipation and dysentery with certainty;
jamun fruits are helpful in curing diabetes. Thereby the expanding demand for herbal
remedies, both internationally and in situations where modern pharmaceuticals are
unavailable or too expensive for local populations.

Produce value-added products

With the advancement of postharvest technologies, installation of agro-industries,
storage and transport facilities, there is great demand for minor fruits throughout the year
as most of the fruits are used for preparation of value-added products. This will encourage
the growers to go for minor fruit cultivation. Different processed product of different minor
crops are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Major processed products of different minor fruits. Source: Singh et al. (2008).
Processed product Name of fruits
Jam Jamun, karonda, aonla, mulberry, soursop, tamarind, wood apple
Jelly Tamarind, jamun, karonda, tamarind
Preserved Ber, aonla, ker, sangri, karonda, bael, karonda, soursop
Candy Aonla, karonda, tamarind
Glazed fruits Tamarind, annanas, aonla
Confectionary Amra, aonla,tamarind
Juice/syrup Aonla, ber, bael, jamun, karonda, phalsa, mulberry
Beverage/squash Pomegranate, soursop, wood apple, tamarind
Wine Mahua, jujube, ber, indian fig, karonda,
Chutney Karonda, woodapple, aonla
Sauce Karonda, tamarind, woodapple, pomegranate
Pickle Jujube, tamarind, ker, lasora, gonda
Dehydration Aonla, karonda, ker, bael, ber, custard apple
Frozen puree Bael, karonda, ker, phalsa tamarind, custard apple
Canning Ber, aonla, jamun, ker

New market opportunities

New tools are available to transform useful plant species into diverse products or to
extend the shelf life of perishable crops and products. The movement of people across
countries and regions provides opportunities for strengthening markets of underutilized
crops and breeds in which immigrants identify their own culture and traditions. Tourism
represents an increasingly important source for supporting local commodity chains built
around underutilized species. The high standard of living in industrialized countries
generates demands for more natural food and environmentally-friendly products, a demand
which can also be met by underutilized species.

Improving socio-economic condition of tribal people

Most of the tribal population resides in remote, hilly, forest and degraded areas.
Adaptation of suitable minor fruits cultivation region-wise helps to earn money, fuel and
their engagement which create a socio-economic impact for their sustainability.

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Minor fruit as ecological security
Most of the underutilized/minor fruits can tolerate adverse ecological conditions
(drought, shallowness of profile, cold and wet soil). They can be grown in wasteland also.

Environmental changes and ecosystem stability

Climate changes, degradation of land and water resources have led to a greater
appreciation of those crops to stress and difficult environments where they play a strategic
role in maintaining a diversity rich and hence more stable environment. The effects of
globalization and the opening up of new markets internationally.

CONCLUSION
As fruit crops are perennial in nature, its cultivation has other benefits also. It reduces
environmental pollution, improves ecological balance, helps soil and water conservation and
also enhances the beauty of the surroundings. Inside of its great scope of cultivation at
different minor fruit crops in different states of India little attempt has been made to select
or conserve suitable variety/genotype (e.g., mahua, jamun, wood apple, pilu, phalsa, etc.),
standardization of agro-technologies (exception: pomegranate, ber, sapota, bael, etc., most of
the minor crops are lucky), control of major pest and disease, value addition, awareness
programmers should be our present need for adopting and commercialization of minor fruit
crops in India.

Literature cited
Chadha, K.L. (2001). Handbook of Horticulture (Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture), p.338–
339.
Das, B.C., and Das, S.N. (2006). Cultivation of Minor Fruits (Kalyani Publishers), p.7–8.
Girapu, R.K., and Kumar, A. (2006). Influence of nitrogen and spacing on growth, yield and economics of cape
gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) production. Paper presented at: National Symposium on Production,
Utilization and Export of Underutilized Fruits with Commercial Potentialities (Mohanpur, West Bengal, India).
Kishore, D.K., Pramanick, K.K., and Sharma, S.K. (2006). A crab apple from india suitable for high density
orcharding in apple. Paper presented at: National Symposium on Production, Utilization and Export of Unutilized
Fruits with Commercial Potentialities (Mohanpur, West Begal, India).
Singh, S., Singh, A.K., Joshi, H.K., Bagle, B.G., and Dhandar, D.G. (2006). Genetic diversity in khirni (Manilkara
hexandra) under semi arid tropics of western India. Paper presented at: Production, Utilization and Export of
Unutilized Fruits with Commercial Potentialities (Mohanpu, West Bengal, India).
Singh, D., Wangshu, L., and Prahalad, V.C. (2008). Processing and Marketing Feasibility of Underutilized Fruit
Species of Rajasthan (IAMO Forum).

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