Abstract
Underutilized vegetables are underrated in context of their potential to provide economics and food security. Due to high content of minerals, proteins, and vitamins, the underutilized vegetable crops are recognized as a vital component in achieving nutritional security. The majority of underutilized vegetable crops are tolerant to adverse agroclimatic conditions. Lack of information on the nutritional and medicinal value of vegetables, unavailability of planting material, and a lack of information on production practices are all likely reasons for the delayed development and poor status of underutilized vegetable crops. In general, these underutilized vegetable crops hold great promise in terms of food security, environmental benefits, and income generation, all of which contribute to economic growth.
As anticipated more than half of population of world would start migrating to urban areas in coming decade. Research fraternity has started devising a technique to mitigate this elevated food requirements. Food as a vital item for survival is in jeopardy, and the disaster will be overwhelming unless survival measures are devised. In this chapter, the importance of underutilized vegetables, futuristic challenges and their probable solution, and developmental strategies for the improvement in underutilized vegetable crops that can be very beneficial to combat the above said challenges are discussed.
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Savita, Vimal, V. (2023). Underutilized Vegetables Introduction and Identification. In: Savita, Rawat, M., Vimal, V. (eds) Production Technology of Underutilized Vegetable Crops. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15385-3_1
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