Buchanania lanzan spreng. (chironji) a potential wild fruit tree of peninsula India: A review

Wild fruits trees have been a valuable source of food for humans since time immemorable. One such wild fruit tree Buchanania lanzan Spreng. (synonym B. latifolia Roxb.), locally known as chironji is an important underutilized fruit crop found in dry tropical forests of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia and the Pacific island. In India the species is sparsely distributed from shiwaliks hills to peninsular region of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and then extending to south in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The rural and tribal population of the central India harvests the fruit crop to sustain their livelihood during the hot summer months when other agricultural activities are suspended. The chironji nut fetches about Rs. 600–1500/-per kilogram in the local market depending upon the grade of the kernels. The edible kernels have been reported to contain about 52 percent of oil which is considered an excellent substitute for olive and almond oils. Nuts are also an important ingredient of “chironji ki barfi ” and “chironji ki kheer ” a well known local sweat and dessert. The tree has also been reported for its medicinal properties, as barks and stem extracts are used for curing diarrhea and dysentery. Despite its immense potential for commercialization, chironji still remains a minor fruit crop. The increasing demand for the kernels has lead to unscientific collection from wild as trees are heavily lopped to collect the maximum fruits. This indiscriminate collection is responsible for poor regeneration and threatens its population in wild. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi has a collection of about 127 accessions of chironji in National Cryo-genebank. While, ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner at its Regional Station CHES, Vejalpur (Godhra), evaluated thirty promising genotypes of chironji for growth, flowering, fruiting and fruit quality characters and found Thar Priya and CHESC-2 as the most promising genotypes. In the lights of the above facts, efforts are required to screen the promising genotypes with short juvenile period, regular fruiting and good quality fruits and kernels to promote the plantation of this socio-economically valuable species in form of small orchards, bund planting, home garden or backyard plantation among the farmers.