ACTA SCIENTIFIC NUTRITIONAL HEALTH (ISSN:2582-1423) Volume 3 Issue 11 November 2019 A Mini Review on Tamarind (Tamrindus indica L.) for Induction of Ornamental Phenotype and Seedlessness Christopher J Catanzaro 4 , Kameswari PL 2 , Sujan Mamidi 3 , John A Parry 5 , Mohammad J Iqbal 3 , Anwar A Hamama 5 , Harbans L Bhardwaj 5 , Bhavani SVP 1 and Satya SS Narina 4 * 1 Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India 2 Andhra Pradesh Horticultural University, V. R. Gudem, Andhra Pradesh, India 3 Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, USA 4 Department of Agriculture and Human Ecology, Virginia State University, Petersburg, USA 5 Agricultural Research Station, Department of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, USA *Corresponding Author: Satya SS Narina, Department of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, USA. Mini Review Received: September 25, 2019; Published: October 14, 2019 Abstract Keywords: Tissue Culture; Mutation; CMS; Growth Regulators; Tropical; Fruit Vegetable. Consumption of fresh, unprocessed ripe fruits, nuts or salad vegetables is an essential component of healthy diet. Many above ground plant part of tamarind are edible and highly nutritious and have many industrial use values. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) for production of cybrids, and self incompatibility (SI) are key to produce seedlessness in tamarind fruits, as is the application of growth regulating hormones (GRH) during pre-anthesis stage. Mutation breeding is the most viable breeding methodology to induce polyploidy and for development of cultivars with ornamental use. Tamarind cultivars with purely green foliage type, seedless fruiting type, and non-fruiting ornamental types would benefit food and horticultural industries. Development of morphological descriptors with molecular markers associated with important fruit traits, would assist with future research and strengthen germplasm resources. Introduction Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.,) is a tropical tree in the fam- ily Fabaceae (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) whose commercial food products are used widely around the world. Mature trees are drought tolerant and have deep taproot system, wide crown spreading with abundant, evergreen foliage. Vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting depend on water availability. Trees typi- cally produce two crops of fruit per year, fresh vegetative greens throughout the year in India [1-3]. Because tamarind tree produc- es fruits of table fruit value and vegetable use, it is considered as fruit-vegetable. The consumption of tamarind leaf is very rarely seen in modern days where less nutritional spinach (provides Fe and Zn) replaced most of the leafy greens by its availability at the cheapest price and easy adaptability to grow in all climatic conditions globally. The leaves of tamarind provides ascorbic acid that plays major role in absorption of metabolites and many minerals and vitamins for health and nutrition. The presence of calcium, iron and phospho- rous is one of the unique features that plays role in generation of antibodies by being major constituents of photochemical energy that is required for human health in providing antioxidants from fresh green leaf salad and green fruit, while fruit pulp has many uses in medicine and food industry. Seed kernel and ripened sweet fruits are a good snack with excellent nutritive values providing carbohydrates, proteins, essential vitamins and minerals [2,3]. Tamarind seeds are a relatively new, cheap, and underutilized source of starch in food applications [4]. Additional products are obtained from tamarind's fresh green immature fruits, mature and ripened fruits, fruit pulp, seeds, leaves, flowers and their biprod- ucts, pulp from tree, seed coats or hulls, wood and its biproducts, and firewood and charcoal from tree trunks and branches. These products have industrial uses related to food, pharmaceuticals, pa- per and furniture, and forestry [2,3]. Perennial trees like palm species of tropical origin have been widely adopted for landscape use in warmer climates due to their ornamental traits. Southern states in the US (for example in Texas, Florida, California and Arizona) have subtropical zones where most palms are planted in rows or in groups along highways. The new species of tamarind, could be used along roadways where other palms like neredu pandu or malabar plum or black plum or java plum (Syzygium cumini L., Myrtaceae), tati pandu or toddy palm or Citation: Satya SS Narina., et al. “A Mini Review on Tamarind (Tamrindus indica L.) for Induction of Ornamental Phenotype and Seedlessness". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 3.11 (2019): 134-142A. DOI: 10.31080/ASNH.2019.03.0505