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Jujube or ber (Ziziphus spp.) is one of the most important fruit crops of India’s arid and semi-arid regions because of its high adaptability to resource constraints hot (semi)arid region. Jujube is a rich source of minerals, vitamins and dietary antioxidants to arid zone dwellers, where it is known as poor man’s apple. Given the present rising trends in discovering and exploiting plant-based health-promoting compounds, it is imperative to know the extent of variability with respect to fruit nutritional compositions present in the jujube germplasms. In this study, we assessed genetic variability for fruit nutritional and functional quality traits in eighteen jujube accessions belonging to three species (Z. mauritiana, Z. rotundifolia and Z. oenoplia) from an ex-situ collection from Indian arid and semi-arid regions in two consecutive fruiting seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22). Results revealed significant variability among eighteen jujube genotypes for important fruits physico-biochemical parameters. The IC 625864 (Z. oenoplia) identified as a superior accession for fruit antioxidant potential with having high levels of total phenols (256.2 mg/100 g dry weight) and total antioxidants (423 mg/100 g in FRAP). Moreover, IC 625849 (Z. mauritiana) and IC 625848 (Z. rotundifolia) were other genotypes containing high levels of phenols and total antioxidant (FRAP). Thus, while aiming for simultaneous improvement for total antioxidants with phenols, IC 625848, IC 625849 and IC 625864 genotypes can be considered as valuable resource for jujube fruit quality improvement program. Further, the high levels of phenotypic variance with high genotypic variance coupled with high heritability and genetic advance particularly for total antioxidants, total phenols, and ascorbic acid contents in fruits, indicating them to be considered as reliable biochemical markers to identify the productive genotypes having higher amounts of dietary antioxidants. Depending on the identified genotypes for their richness in the particular phytonutrients, these can be exploited either for table purpose or biofortification of other products, or using in jujube breeding program for quality improvement.

Indian jujube or ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.) is a deciduous fruit tree typically cultivated in several semi-arid areas of Asia because of its adaptability to yield-limiting conditions. The present study aimed to assess the effect of four pruning times (i.e., the fourth week of March, second week of April, fourth week of April, and second week of May) and four treatments using stress-mitigating plant bio-regulators (thiourea at 500 ppm and 1000 ppm; salicylic acid at 100 ppm and 150 ppm) as a means to improve both fruit yield and quality post-harvest. To this end, a full factorial experiment lasting two growing seasons was carried out under field conditions in the representative semi-arid region of Rajasthan, the state with the largest production in India. We assessed the vegetative growth of the trees, the fruit size and yield, and some quality parameters (soluble content, acidity, ascorbic acid, and total sugars) as well as the main post-harvest traits (fruit weight loss and spoilage). Overall, pruning during the second week of April had the greatest positive influence on most of the variables studied. For instance, it induced the highest vegetative vigor, allowing the maintenance of relatively higher chlorophyll and relative water content in the leaves. The fruit parameters also responded most positively to the second week of April pruning, a treatment that, compared to the others, induced a higher diameter; a higher amount of TSS (19.6 °Brix), ascorbic acid (86.5 mg/100 g), and total sugar (10.4%); and a better post-harvest shelf-life. Among the plant bio-regulators, the application of thiourea at 1000 ppm had the highest positive influence on the growth parameters, yield, quality, and reduction in spoilage post-harvest. The differences between the doses of PBRs were limited.

Bitter apple or tumba (Citrullus colocynthis L.) is a prostrate annual herb belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. It is highly tolerant against multiple abiotic stresses like drought, heat, and soil salinity and can easily grow on very marginal soil, even on sand dunes in hot, arid regions. Tumba fruit is a fleshy berry 5–10 cm in diameter and of a pale yellow color at ripening. The tumba fruit used in this research was harvested from the ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner research farm. The seeds were separated, and their oil was extracted to analyze its physical characteristics and composition (phytochemical compounds, fatty acid profile, etc.). The seeds of the tumba fruit contained 23–25% golden-yellow-colored oil with a specific gravity of 0.92 g/mL. The extracted oil contained appreciable amounts of phytochemical (bioactive) compounds like phenolics (5.39 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (938 mg catechin eq./100 g), carotenoids (79.5 mg/kg), oryzanol (0.066%), and lignans (0.012%), along with 70–122 mg AAE/100 g total antioxidant activity (depending on the determination method). The results of fatty acid profiling carried out by GC-MS/MS demonstrated that tumba seed oil contained about 70% unsaturated fatty acids with more than 51% polyunsaturated fatty acids. It mainly contained linoleic acid (C18:2n6; 50.3%), followed by oleic acid (C18:1n9; 18.0%), stearic acid (C18:0; 15.2%), and palmitic acid (C16:0; 12.4%). Therefore, this oil can be considered as a very good source of essential fatty acids like omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic acid), whereas it contains a lower concentration of omega-3 fatty acids (α-linolenic acid) and hydroxy polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, it also contains some odd chain fatty acids like pentadecanoic and heptadecanoic acid (C15:0 and C17:0, respectively), which have recently been demonstrated to be bioactive compounds in reducing the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. The results of this study suggest that tumba seed oil contains several health-promoting bioactive compounds with nutraceutical properties; hence, it can be an excellent dietary source.

Nowadays, there is a large demand for nutrient-dense fruits to promote nutritional and metabolic human health. The production of commercial fruit crops is becoming progressively input-dependent to cope with the losses caused by biotic and abiotic stresses. A wide variety of underutilized crops, which are neither commercially cultivated nor traded on a large scale, are mainly grown, commercialized and consumed locally. These underutilized fruits have many advantages in terms of ease to grow, hardiness and resilience to climate changes compared to the major commercially grown crops. In addition, they are exceptionally rich in important phytochemicals and have medicinal value. Hence, their consumption may help to meet the nutritional needs of rural populations, such as those living in fragile arid and semi-arid regions around the world. In addition, local people are well aware of the nutritional and medicinal properties of these crops. Therefore, emphasis must be given to the rigorous study of the conservation and the nutritional characterization of these crops so that the future food basket may be widened for enhancing its functional and nutritional values. In this review, we described the ethnobotany, medicinal and nutritional values, biodiversity conservation and utilization strategies of 19 climate-resilient important, underutilized fruit crops of arid and semi-arid regions (Indian jujube, Indian gooseberry, lasora, bael, kair, karonda, tamarind, wood apple, custard apple, jamun, jharber, mahua, pilu, khejri, mulberry, chironji, manila tamarind, timroo, khirni).

The main aim of this study is to document important ethnomedicinal plants from the Maraog region, located in the district of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, India. A total of 110 medicinal plant species belonging to 102 genera and 57 families were reported from the study site. All of the species were collected from wild habitats. The rural people of the Maraog region were surveyed through interview methods, group discussions, and participatory observations. In the current study, data were collected from 88 informants through the snowball method. A total of 110 plant species were collected from the study area, including 64 herbs, 24 shrubs, 9 trees, 5 climbers, 3 grasses, and 5 ferns. Most of the plant species, reported from the study area, belong to the Rosaceae and Asteraceae families, each contributing 12 plant species, followed by the Lamiaceae family with 6 plant species. The most used part of the plant in the preparation of herbal medications is the leaves, which have been reported in 62 plants, followed by roots in 14 plants, and flowers and other aerial parts in 9 plants. The ethnomedicinal data were analyzed using “Use Value,” a statistical quantitative method, with Artemisia vestita having the highest use value (1.00), followed by Cannabis sativa (0.79), Rhododendron arboreum (0.79), and Datura stramonium (0.71). Older people were found to have a vast knowledge of wild medicinal plants, while the younger generation’s knowledge was lacking. As a result, traditional knowledge about the use of plants as a source of medicine has decreased day-by-day. Therefore, there is a need to document traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. The data could serve as a basis for research by pharmacological and nutraceutical industries for the development of novel drugs.