Study of some economically important under-utilized crops for cultivation on wastelands and biotechnology approaches for propagation and gene cloning

Abstract

With an ever increasing population, there is a very rapid depletion of natural resources. Degradation of land, which is a non-renewable resource, often occurs under conditions of rapid growth of human population. Consequently, land available for primary production of biomass is getting more scarce. Therefore, it has become very necessary to explore some plant resources which can be cultivated on wastelands and tackle the problem of land degradation. Focus should be on some under-utilized but potential industrial crops like Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider), Jatropha (Jatropha curcas Linn.), Colocynth (Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad.), Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray), Paradise tree (Simarouba glauca DC.), which are lesser known species in terms of trade and research but highly economically useful and also well adapted to stress conditions. These crops being desert shrub and semi-xerophytic in nature, require less water and can tolerate saline as well as alkaline soils. Such crops are very useful for sustainable development of wastelands as these can be cultivated at large-scale on degraded lands. In these economically important crops, biotechnological approaches can be very useful for their mass propagation and cloning of genes coding for economic important traits.