Review of Indigenous Fruit Crops Status and their Scenarios Existence, Conservation and Utilization in the Bundelkhand Region of India

The contemporary era witnesses a significant demand for nutrient-dense fruits to enhance human health from both nutritional and metabolic perspectives. Consequently, the cultivation of commercial fruit crops is increasingly reliant on inputs to mitigate losses attributed to biotic and a biotic stress. Concurrently, a diverse array of underutilized crops, predominantly cultivated, commercialized and consumed locally, emerges as a viable alternative. These underutilized fruits exhibit notable advantages in terms of cultivation feasibility, resilience to climatic variations and nutritional richness compared to major commercially grown counterparts. Moreover, they boast an abundance of essential phytochemicals and possess medicinal properties. Consequently, integrating these fruits into local diets holds promise for addressing the nutritional deficiencies prevalent among rural populations inhabiting fragile arid and semi-arid regions globally. Additionally, local communities possess profound knowledge regarding the nutritional and medicinal attributes of these crops, emphasizing the imperative for rigorous investigation into their conservation and nutritional profiles. This review delves into the ethno botanical significance, medicinal and nutritional values, biodiversity conservation and utilization strategies of 20 underutilized fruit crops prevalent in Bundelkhand region of India. These include Indian jujube, Indian gooseberry, lasora, bael, kair, karonda, tamarind, wood apple, fig, custard apple, jamun, jharber, mahua, pilu, khejri, mulberry, chironji, manila tamarind, timroo and khirni, collectively enriching the spectrum of available foods with enhanced functional and nutritional attributes.