Woodapple cultivation in india: need of the hour for making agriculture up-to-date and more earning oriented

Wood Apple scientifically known as Feronia limonia or Limonia acidissima, is an underutilized dry land fruit crop and also known by vernacular names like kaitha, kainth bel, kothbel and monkory fruits. It belongs to family Rutaceae. In India, it is consumed either raw or ripe. Growing habits are deciduous, erect (seedling plant), and spreading (grafted plant). It has a strong root system, making it drought resilient, and it prefers light to heavy soil. The fruits of the wood apple tree have curative characteristics, making it one of India's most beneficial medicinal plants. It contains nutritious and therapeutic value, as well as astringent characteristics and a role in the cardiovascular system.The lesser known fruit crop wood apple is native to India but is also found in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and other regions in the southern part of Asia. It is considered sacred by Hindus. It is not cultivated as commercial crop but it has religious importance in Southern India especially during Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Fruits contribute important nutritional and commercial value from the ancient time is being used in ayurvedic medicines as sole or contributing ingredient, but there is lack of published works in terms of depth scientific investigations about the fruit. The wood apple tree is locally known as elephant apple, monkey fruit, curd fruit, kata and kaithbel in different part of the country. It is native to south India and grows naturally in scattered manner in dry land and forest area in all parts of the country excluding high altitude and in cold region. It prefers dry hot condition at flowering and fruit setting stage. The tree is tolerant to both drought and waterlogging condition. The mature fruit have creamy-brownish, sticky, resinous, astringent, acidic-sweet pulp. The fruit pulp has pleasant aroma and seed scattered throughout fruit. The fruit and plant parts (leaf, stem, bark, fruit and seed) have good medicinal and curative values.