Nowadays, there is a large demand for nutrient-dense fruits to promote nutritional and metabolic human health. The production of commercial fruit crops is becoming progressively input-dependent to cope with the losses caused by biotic and abiotic stresses. A wide variety of underutilized crops, which are neither commercially cultivated nor traded on a large scale, are mainly grown, commercialized and consumed locally. These underutilized fruits have many advantages in terms of ease to grow, hardiness and resilience to climate changes compared to the major commercially grown crops. In addition, they are exceptionally rich in important phytochemicals and have medicinal value. Hence, their consumption may help to meet the nutritional needs of rural populations, such as those living in fragile arid and semi-arid regions around the world. In addition, local people are well aware of the nutritional and medicinal properties of these crops. Therefore, emphasis must be given to the rigorous study of the conservation and the nutritional characterization of these crops so that the future food basket may be widened for enhancing its functional and nutritional values. In this review, we described the ethnobotany, medicinal and nutritional values, biodiversity conservation and utilization strategies of 19 climate-resilient important, underutilized fruit crops of arid and semi-arid regions (Indian jujube, Indian gooseberry, lasora, bael, kair, karonda, tamarind, wood apple, custard apple, jamun, jharber, mahua, pilu, khejri, mulberry, chironji, manila tamarind, timroo, khirni).

Although nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient for agricultural production, its overuse is associated with environmental pollution, increased concentration of greenhouse gases, and several human and animal health implications. These implications are greatly affected by biochemical transformations and losses of N such as volatilization, leaching, runoff, and denitrification. Half of the globally produced N fertilizers are used to grow three major cereals—rice, wheat, and maize—and their current level of N recovery is approximately 30–50%. The continuously increasing application of N fertilizers, despite lower recovery of cereals, can further intensify the environmental and health implications of leftover N. To address these implications, the improvement in N use efficiency (NUE) by adopting efficient agronomic practices and modern breeding and biotechnological tools for developing N efficient cultivars requires immediate attention. Conventional and marker-assisted selection methods can be used to map quantitative trait loci, and their introgression in elite germplasm leads to the creation of cultivars with better NUE. Moreover, gene-editing technology gives the opportunity to develop high-yielding cultivars with improved N utilization capacity. The most reliable and cheap methods include agronomic practices such as site-specific N management, enhanced use efficiency fertilizers, resource conservation practices, precision farming, and nano-fertilizers that can help farmers to reduce the environmental losses of N from the soil–plant system, thus improving NUE. Our review illuminates insights into recent advances in local and scientific soil and crop management technologies, along with conventional and modern breeding technologies on how to increase NUE that can help reduce linked N pollution and health implications.

(A) Ethylene biosynthesis and perception mechanism in fruits and vegetables and possible interventions to control the ethylene; (B) CRISPR/Cas 9 gene editing tool to manage ethylene in perishables.

Papaya is a luscious tropical fruit loaded with vitamins and phytochemicals. The climacteric nature of fruit exposes it to numerous postharvest pathogens. Postharvest physical treatments are safer and greener approaches to mitigate the losses and bridge the gap between demand and supply of fruit. These treatments preserve the fruit quality during extended periods of cold storage and maintain shelf life. Nonetheless, prestorage physical treatments can positively impact the postharvest food value of fresh papaya fruits. This review summarizes the major advances in the field of postharvest physical treatments on papaya postharvest quality. Physical treatments include ozonation, irradiation, thermal and low‐temperature treatment, and synergistic effect among different physical treatments and also the synergetic effect of physical treatments with chemicals, essential oils, and coating materials on quality retention and disease management. The potential physiological, biochemical, microbiological, enzymatic, and biotechnological mechanisms of different physical treatments are reviewed. The review primarily highlights the changes induced due to physical treatment on genetic, biochemical, and physicochemical properties of papaya fruit. Most treatments positively impact the esthetic and nutritional value of fruit by reducing disease severity, physiological loss in weight, preserving physicochemical attributes, and retaining natural gloss and color. Use of physical interventions in papaya vouch for a safer, sustainable, and premium quality produce in the global market.

Jamun fruit, a member of the Myrtaceae family, is commercially grown in tropical and subtropical areas of the world for its fruits with sweet, sour, and astringent luscious flesh. Seeds of jamun fruits are discarded as trash during the industrial processing of fruit pulp into beverages, jellies,...