Contribution of home gardens and orchards to on farm conservation of underutilised fruit species
2011
M. L. Raziah | A. Khadijah | M. Abd. Rahman | W.W. Wong | I. Salma | C. Y. Lau | A. Azuan
A systematic survey was carried our on 624 home gardens and orchards from 25 districts and 11 states throughout the country. The aim of this study is to determine the diversity, distribution and uses of underutilized fruit species in the home gardens and their contributions to the community. A total of 110 identified underutilized fruit species representing 62 genera and 34 families were recorded. The number of underutilized fruit species grown in a home garden ranged from 1-23 species with an average of 4 species in each home garden. In Peninsular Malaysia, the district that had the highest species richness was Kuala Lipis (69), while in Sarawak was Sibuti(60) and Sabah was Kota Belud (49). Those underutilized fruit species that were considered as being threatened include rawa (Mangifera griffithii), asam kumbang(Mangifera quadrifida), raba (Mangifera microphylla), bayung (Nephelium cuspidatum var. robustum) and lotong (Nephelium cuspidatum var. eriopetalum). These traditionalfruit tree species can provide multiple uses where most of the fruits were consumed fresh, some were used in cooking, while others were used for medicine and also for healthcare. The households in the surveyed sites had received direct economic and social benefits from the cultivation of the diverse species of the traditional fruits. The most important fruit species contributing to the income of the households based on the farmers' ranking and perception were perai, asam gelugor, kuini, pulasan, bambangan, tarap, belunu, dabai, rambai and wild Durio species such as nyekak in Sarawak.
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