Abstract
An investigation was carried out at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during 2011-2014 to study the morphological and bio-chemical characteristics of thirteen underutilized fruits. A number of fruit germplasm and fruit samples each of Sapota, Golden apple, Wax jambu, Velvet apple, Cowa, Aonla, Star gooseberry, Bullock's heart, Custard apple, Monkey jack, Wood apple, Elephant apple and River ebony were collected from seven coastal areas of Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Barishal, Bhola, Borguna, and Patuakhali. The collected germplasm were planted at BAU-GPC and fruit samples were characterized at the laboratories of BAU, Mymensingh and BARI, Gazipur. Thirteen single factor experiments were conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. In Sapota, the highest plant height, tree volume, dry matter, TSS, total sugar and vitamin C were found in Accession S1 while the maximum fruit weight and ß- carotene were recorded in Accessions S8 and S2 respectively. In Golden apple, the highest tree volume, leaf area, fruit weight, TSS and B-carotene were found in Accession GA4 while the maximum vit.C was recorded in Accession GA3. In Wax jambu, the highest TSS and ẞ carotene were obtained from Accession WJ2 while maximum fruit weight was found in Accession WJ4. In Velvet apple, the highest tree volume, leaf area, fruit weight and vit.C were recorded in Accession VA6. The highest TSS and B-carotene were found in Accession VA, and AccessionVA5 respectively. In Cowa, the highest tree volume, leaf area, fruit weight, seed weight and vit.C were found in Accession C4. The highest TSS and B- carotene were recorded in Accessions Cs and C2 respectively. In Aonla, the highest tree volume, leaf area, fruit weight, vit.C and ẞ- carotene were found in Accession As while the maximum dry matter and TSS were found in Accession A6. In Star gooseberry, the highest tree volume and fruit length were recorded in Accession SG7. Maximum TSS, vit.C and B- carotene were obtained from Accession SGs. In Bullock's heart, the highest tree volume, fruit weight and TSS were recorded in Accessions BH1, BH, and BH3 respectively. The highest ẞ-carotene and lowest vit.C were found in Accession BH7. In Custard apple, the highest tree volume and fruit weight were recorded in Accessions CA2 and CA1. Maximum TSS and B-carotene were found in Accessions CA3 and CA: respectively while these two parameters were the lowest in Accession CA5. In Monkey jack, the highest tree volume, leaf area and fruit weight were recorded in Accession MJ4. Maximum vit.C and B-carotene were recorded in Accession MJs. In wood apple, the highest tree volume and fruit weight were recorded in Accessions WA3 and WA2 respectively. The highest TSS, vit.C, total sugar and B-carotene were recorded in Accession WA8. In Elephant apple, the highest tree volume, leaf area, fruit weight and sepal weight were recorded in Accession EA5. Maximum vit.C and B-carotene were observed in Accession EAg. In River ebony, the highest plant height, tree volume and dry matter were recorded in Accession RE6 while the highest fruit weight was found in Accession RE8. The highest TSS and total sugar were obtained in Accession RE2 while maximum vitamin C and ẞ-carotene were found in Accession RE1. From the investigation showed that Accession S1 (Khulna) was superior to Sapota, Accession GA4 (Barishal) to Golden apple, Accession WJ2 (Bagerhat) to Wax jambu, Accession VA, to Velvet apple, Accession C4 (Barishal) to Cowa, Accession As (BAU-GPC) to Aonla, Accession SG7 (Patuakhali) to Star gooseberry, Accession BH3 (Satkhira) to Bullock's heart, Accession CA2 (Bagerhat) to Custard apple, Accession MJ4 (Barishal) to Monkey jack, Accession WA3 (Satkhira) to Wood apple, Accession EA5 (Bhola) to Elephant apple and Accession RE6 (Borguna) to River ebony in respect of germplasm adaptation, plant morphology and fruit quality.