1Department of Forest Biology and Tree Improvement, College of Forestry, University of Agricultural Sciences, Sirsi-581401, Dharwad-580005, Karnataka, India
2Bioversity International, Bioversity-Nepal Office, 93.4 Dharahara, Pokhara, Nepal
3Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Persiaran MARDI-UPM, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
4Forest & Plant Conservation Research Office, Department of National Park Wildlife & Plant Conservation, 10900 Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand
5Indonesian Centre for Horticulture, Research and Development, Jalan Ragunan 19, Pasar, Minggu-12520, Jakarta, Indonesia
6Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, No. 95, Lot 7316, Medan Sentral Commercial Centre, Kidurong Road, 97000 Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia
7Chiangmai Royal Agricultural Research Centre, Hangdong District 50230, Chiangmai, Thailand
8ICAR-Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Rehmankhera, Lucknow-227107, Uttar Pradesh, India
9ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hesaraghatta Lake Post, Bengaluru-560089, Karnataka, India
10ICAR-National Research Centre for Citrus, Nagpur-440010, Maharashtra, India
11ICAR-National Research Centre for Litchi, Muzaffarpur-842002, Bihar, India
12ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru-560089, Karnataka, India
13Bioversity International, Rome, Italy
*Author for Correspondence: E-mail: vasudevar@uasd.in; vasukoppa@gmail.com
Native communities of South and South East Asia, a centre of diversity of tropical fruit trees (TFT), share a common cultural heritage associated with tropical fruits. Unfortunately, there is a dramatic loss of traditional knowledge associated with TFTs. This comparative study was undertaken in 24 village communities spread across India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand using structured questionnaires and multiple approaches to document use-value of TFTs. Considering only four focal genera of TFT species viz., Mangifera, Garcinia, Citrus and Nephelium, an amazing diversity of 56 species was reported to be utilized by the communities. Ranking of species based on the number of use-categories and based on the cultural importance value showed differences. Mangifera indica, Citrus aurantifolia and C. reticulata were the three extensively used TFTs as food and for processing. As revealed by Jaccards’ index, three South East Asian countries showed a higher similarity among themselves than India. M. indica, M. pajang, M. foetida, G. morella, G. atroviridis, G. mangostana, C. hystrix, C. aurantifolia and C. grandis were culturally the most significant TFTs and hence may be conserved with high priority.
Tropical fruit trees, Use value, Cultural significance, South and South-East Asia
