Fruitful Insights Heritage, Ecology and Promise of India's Fruit Trees

Fruitful Insights explores these intriguing questions and many more, revealing the profound ecological, cultural, and economic significance of India’s fruit trees. From ancient myths such as Shabari offering wild berries to Rama to contemporary stories of the Soliga tribes reclaiming stewardship over Amla forests, the book weaves together history, science, and lived traditions. Richly illustrated and engagingly written, the book examines how fruit trees shape languages, festivals, art, and rural livelihoods. It explains the ecological partnerships between fruiting trees, bees, bats, birds, and even the wind, while also unpacking the chemistry of flavours, pigments, and aromas that attract wildlife and humans alike. Readers are introduced to the science of selective breeding and biotechnology that influences the fruits on our tables today. Bringing together perspectives from ecology, economics, nutrition, and conservation biology, Fruitful Insights reveals fruit trees as a vital link between forests and farms, wildlife and wellness, tradition and technology. Celebrating both iconic fruits like mango and lesser-known wild fruits of India, the book invites scientists, farmers, policymakers, students, and nature lovers to see fruit trees not merely as sources of food, but as living threads that bind India’s landscapes, livelihoods, and legends.