Occurrence, distribution and diversity of soft fruits in N-W AND W-Himalaya and prospects of their conservation and utilization

Soft fruits, constituting genera of Rubus, Ribas and Fragaria have rich species diversity in the N-W and W-Himalaya due to the high ecological diversity. There occur 32 species and 4 varieties of Rubus, seven species of Ribas and four species of Fragaria. Some of these have good horticultural potential. Prospects of their commercial cultivation, conservation and utilization have been discussed.