Underutilized Fruit Crops of Andaman: its Biodiversity and Role in Environmental Conservation and Nutritional Security

An attempt has been made to explore the possibilities of commercially important by value addition underutilized fruits of Andaman and Nicobar. The Andaman and Nicobar Island have a wide variety and diversity of tropical underutilized fruit tree species especially belonging to family Anacardiaceae, Pandanaceae, Myrtaceae, Anonaceae and Combretiaceae. Many of the species belonging to these families can withstand in adverse climatic and edaphic conditions, so could be used for growing in wasteland. These fruits are rich in vitamins, calcium and minerals and have high medicinal properties in comparison to other tropical fruits. These fruits could be processed for making value added products like Jams, jellies, syrup, chutney and pickle. The continuous overexploitation of forest resources resulting in many species has become rare and few endangered, so conservation measures for these species is urgently required.