Solena amplexicaullis (Lam.) Gandhi: an underutilized cucurbit in India
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SHORT COMMUNICATION
Solena amplexicaullis (Lam.) Gandhi: an underutilized cucurbit in India Meenu Kumari
. G. C. Acharya . P. Naresh . P. K. Bhanja . Yogesh Kumar
Received: 6 June 2020 / Revised: 23 September 2020 / Accepted: 8 October 2020 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Solena amplexicaullis (Lam.) Gandhi, is a multipurpose minor cucurbit with occasional occurrence in biodiversity hotspots of Asian subcontinent and most of the plant parts are used for traditional medicine. Farmers are involved in cultivation and conservation of this species based on ethno botanical and traditional knowledge, completely unaware of its nutritional attributes and economic potential. Its botany, biochemical and nutritional traits alongwith adapted agronomical practices, propagation and future prospects are discussed here. This preliminary study will be useful for identification, distribution and standardization of sustainable management practices for its commercial cultivation as a vegetable in the human diet. Keywords Solena Underutilized Eastern India Minor cucurbit
M. Kumari (&) G. C. Acharya P. Naresh Central Horticultural Experiment Station, (ICAR-IIHR), 751019 Bhubaneswar, India e-mail: [email protected] P. K. Bhanja Deputy Director of Horticulture, Directorate of Horticulture, Govt. of Odisha, Bhubaneswar 751015, India Y. Kumar Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar 751003, India
Introduction The gourds, botanically classified in family cucurbitaceae consisted of approx. 1000 species and nomenclature to a long list of genus and/or species. Selection and domestication process started 11,000 years ago during human evolution period and resulted to narrowing genetic base of edible crops. Consequently, only 33 crops (10 major and 23 minor) of this large family are globally or locally cultivated and consumed as vegetable or salad crops. Few amongst them are cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.), preserving melon ( Citrullus lanatus var. citroides), muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.), summer squash/zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.], pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.) while some domesticated minor cucurbits are ivy gourd (Coccinia indica L.), teasel gourd (Momordica subangulata Blume subsp. subangulata), spine gourd (M. dioica Roxb.) etc., popular for culinary properties or table purpose. Though cucurbits are occupying a major place in vegetable crops and rich source of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, but proportionally very few crops of this family are known for medicinal properties in ethnic uses like Citrullus colocynthis L. for reducing the mean levels of HbA1c and fasting blood sugar (FBS) among the type II diabetes patients (Barghamdi et al. 2016). Therefore, it
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Genet Resour Crop Evol
is inferred that substantial genetic resources are still untapped from cucurbitaceae family and need attention of researcher
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