Homegarden-based Indigenous Fruit Tree Production in Peninsular India - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 87

homegardens are spectacular examples of fruit-tree richness and diversity. Almost
all types of fruit crops, ranging from tropical evergreen to temperate deciduous
types, are grown. Overall, 69 fruit- and nut-yielding trees accounted for more
than 30% of all tree species observed in field surveys conducted in Kerala
(Kumar et al. , 1994; Patil, 2005). Prominent examples include mango ( Mangifera
indica ) - the 'king of fruits' - and many underutilized fruits such as jackfruit
( Artocarpus heterophyllus ), aonla or Indian gooseberry ( Emblica officinalis ), bael
( Aegle marmelos ), custard apple ( Annona squamosa ), jamun ( Syzygium
cuminii ), karonda ( Carissa congesta ) and tamarind ( Tamarindus indica ). Many of
these have good nutritive value and attract considerable local demand (Pareek
and Sharma, 1993). Exotic fruits such as papaya ( Carica papaya ), guava
( Psidium guajava ), pomegranate ( Punica granatum ) and cashew ( Anacardium
occidentale ) are also important. The relative proportions of individual species
found within the homegardens, however, are variable (Table 5.1).
Each homegarden owes its unique appearance to its history, species
diversity and physical arrangements. None the less, most of the gardeners
included in the surveys showed a propensity to grow fruit and nut trees.
Therefore it is not surprising to find each garden characterized by the presence
of tall native and exotic fruit trees such as coconut, mango, jackfruit, guava and
plantains. This, however, does not imply that the fruit-tree composition of all
homegardens within a region is alike or static. Indeed, the species assemblages
are strongly influenced by the specific needs and preferences of each
household, including the tastes of household members, food culture and local
customs, nutritional complementarity with other major food sources, and
ecological and socio-economic factors such as market forces, policies and local
development projects (Kumar and Nair, 2004). These factors probably make
the fruit-tree composition of the homegarden a transient phenomenon.
5.4.1 Temporal dynamics in major homegarden components
Table 5.1 summarizes the macro-level changes in major fruit trees (both
indigenous and exotic) of Kerala homegardens over a 10-year period between
1992-1995 and 2002-2004. Although the data presented are not strictly
comparable because of the disparate nature of the sampling units and
intensities, the number of fruit-tree taxa in the homegardens has apparently
increased over time. For example, 29 additional species were encountered in
the 2002-2004 survey over the previous period, and another 24 species
increased their presence. None the less, for as many as 41 of the 69 fruit and
nut trees listed in Table 5.1, the increases in relative proportion of homegardens
were rather modest, while one decreased, and data on three species are not
available. The implicit temporal variations in garden composition probably
reflect the processes of rural transformations that influence homegarden
structure, composition and dynamics (Peyre et al ., 2006; Wiersum, 2006).
Kumar and Nair (2004) summarized the work on homegarden variability and
reported that both temporal and spatial variations in species diversity and plant
density are probable, even within the same geographical/eco-climatic region.