Homegarden-based Indigenous Fruit Tree Production in Peninsular India - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 96

5.9 Conclusions

Over long periods in the history of tropical land use, homegarden systems have
remained as repositories of indigenous fruits, nuts and spices. In certain cases,
demand for indigenous fruits is partly satisfied by gathering from the wild.
However, wild populations are often threatened, and tree domestication in
homegardens and other cultivated fields offers scope for further improvements
in production. Homegardens are also endowed with considerable genetic
diversity, which is an important aspect of biodiversity conservation. While
extensive infraspecific classifications based on morphological, geographical or
ecological items, or a combination of these, have been attempted for important
crop plants, such studies on the genetic diversity of the native fruit-tree
components of Kerala homegardens are rare. Likewise, tropical homegardens
receive far less attention from researchers, land managers and extensionists
than monospecific production systems. Despite this, the importance of
homegarden products, including under-exploited native fruit trees, in
supporting regional economies and food and nutritional security cannot be
underestimated. On a final note, participatory approaches for locating
promising genotypes and their domestication are suggested as corrective
measures to augment fruit-tree production in tropical homegardens.

References

Abraham, Z., Malik, S.K., Rao, G.E.,
Narayanan, S.L. and Biju, S. (2006)
Collection and characterisation of Malabar
tamarind [ Garcinia cambogia (Gaertn.)
Desr.]. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 53, 401-406.
Anderson, E. (1952) Plants, Man, and Life .
Little, Brown and Company, Boston,
Massachusetts, 245 pp.
Anila, R. and Radha, T. (2003) Physico-chem-
ical analysis of mango varieties under
Kerala conditions. Journal of Tropical
Agriculture 41, 20-22.
Aravindakshan, M., Gopikumar, K., Sreekumar,
K. and Nair, C.S.J. (1986) Natural variability
in economic characters of Phyllanthus
emblica (Indian gooseberry), a tree species
suitable for restoration of some degraded
areas of Western Ghats. In: Nair, K.S.S.,
Gnanaharan, R. and Kedharnath, S. (eds)
Ecodevelopment of Western Ghats . Kerala
Forest Research Institute, Peechi, India,
pp. 130-132.
Arora, R.K. and Rao, V.R. (eds) (1998) Tropical
Fruits in Asia: Diversity, Maintainance,

Conservation and Use . Proceedings of the
IPGRI-ICAR-UTFANET Regional Training
Course on the Conservation and Use of
Germplasm of Tropical Fruits in Asia. IPGRI
Office for South Asia, New Delhi, India,
270 pp.
Barany, M., Hammett, A.L., Sene, A. and
Amichev, B. (2001) Non-timber forest ben-
efits and HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Journal of Forestry 99, 36-42.
Cleveland, D.A. and Soleri, D. (1987)
Household gardens as a development
strategy. Human Organization 46, 259-270.
Faber, M., Phungula, M.A.S., Venter, S.L.,
Dhansay, M.A. and Benadé, A.J.S. (2002)
Home gardens focusing on the production
of yellow and dark-green leafy vegetables
increase the serum retinol concentrations
of 2-5-y-old children in South Africa.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76,
1048-1054.
Ghosh, S.P. (1998) Fruit wealth of India. In:
Arora, R.K. and Rao, V.R. (eds) Tropical
Fruits in Asia: Diversity , Maintenance,
Conservation and Use . Proceedings of the