Conservation and Utilization of Wild Relatives of Important Spices and Plantation Crops in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India- An Overview

Abstract

Andaman and Nicobar islands are one of the regions with unique diversity of flora including about 300 endemic species. These islands are also home to six native tribes, some of which are still living their life in primitive ways. The native phyto-diversity is routinely employed by these aboriginals and settler communities for a variety of purposes including food, medicines, timber etc. In the present review, diversity of crop wild relatives of commercial spices and plantation crops present in the islands along with their utilization by the tribes and other communities is discussed. Further, being botanically related to commercial crops, such species could greatly contribute in crop improvement programmes to meet the challenges arising out of climate change. Considering these, systematic studies are envisaged to document, regenerate, conserve and characterize such economically and ecologically useful species so that they could be utilized for the betterment of human kind. Present review concerned highlighting the importance of these issues in the context of fragile island ecosystem of the Bay Islands.

A taxonomic revision ofGarciniasectionXanthochymus(Clusiaceae) in Thailand

“…In Malaysia, the sour pulp is eaten cooked with sugar ( Bircher & Bircher, 2000 ). In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the fruits have been used by the Nicobarese for food and medicinal purposes and the wood is used by the Nicobarese and the Shompen for making canoe paddles ( Waman, Bohra & Mane, 2018 ). Leaves are pounded into paste, boiled in coconut oil, and rubbed onto body and joints for pain relief ( National Parks, Flora and Fauna Web, 2023 ).…”

Seed Fatty Acid Composition and Germination Studies in Garcinia dhanikhariensis S.K. Srivastava (Clusiaceae): A Novel Tropical Fruit Species from Bay Islands, India

“…The utility of KNO 3 in improving seed germination has been reported in G. andamanica as well (Waman and Bohra, 2019). The efficacy of gibberellins in improving germination process has been reported by several researchers in tropical fruit species (Khan, 2015;Samir et al, 2015;Waman et al, 2018). The main role of gibberellic acid is to increase the production of hydrolase enzyme (Prasad and Prasad, 2009).…”