Status of crop plants of agricultural importance in Kerala state, India: an update

The state of Kerala in India, a part of the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot, is blessed with rich biodiversity including agrobiodiversity. Richness in crop diversity is attributed to the wide topographic and climatic niches, long history of outside contacts, personal craving for experim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetic resources and crop evolution 2021-06, Vol.68 (5), p.1849-1873
Main Authors: Pradheep, K., Joseph John, K., Latha, M., Suma, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Agrobiodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity hot spots
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cereals
Condiments
Crop diversification
Cropping systems
Crops
Cultivation
Fibers
Flavorings
Forestry
Life Sciences
Medicinal plants
Nuts
Oilseed crops
Ornamental plants
Plant Genetics and Genomics
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography
Research Article
Specialty crops
Species
Spices
Taxa
Vernacular names
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Summary:The state of Kerala in India, a part of the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot, is blessed with rich biodiversity including agrobiodiversity. Richness in crop diversity is attributed to the wide topographic and climatic niches, long history of outside contacts, personal craving for experimenting new crops, practice of high-density multi-species cropping system, etc. Evidence from several field exploration trips, herbarium survey, reliable literature and other sources has revealed that 306 crop taxa (excluding medicinal and aromatic plants, ornamentals and forestry species) belonging to 290 species coming under 179 genera and 61 families, are being cultivated in different areas of this state. This includes crops belonging to crop-groups—cereals and millets (11), pseudocereals (2), pulses (7), oilseeds (7), fibres (3), forages (14), fruits and nuts (107), vegetables (86; 18-being tuber crops), spices and condiments (20), plantation crops (10) and others (29). Of 306 taxa, 63 occur in the wild state as well; 43 are of only recent cultivation (
ISSN:0925-9864
1573-5109
DOI:10.1007/s10722-020-01100-5