Economic Botany (FYUGP – NEP) is an engaging and application-oriented undergraduate textbook designed to bridge botanical science with human needs, industry, and sustainability. Prepared strictly as per the Botany Major and Minor syllabi of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Semesters, this book caters to students of DU, GU, BU, MU, OU, WBU, and other Indian universities following the FYUGP (NEP) framework.

Authored by Dr. Sanjeeb Kumar Nath, the book presents Economic Botany as a living and practical discipline, highlighting how plants shape human civilization—from food and medicine to industry, trade, and everyday life. The text opens with the origin of cultivated plants, introducing students to Vavilov’s centres of origin, crop domestication, genetic erosion, and the crucial role of germplasm diversity in crop improvement and food security.

Subsequent units offer systematic and lucid coverage of cereals, legumes, sugars and starches, spices, beverages, oils and fats, essential oils, natural rubber, drug-yielding plants, timber, fibres, aromatics, and petrocrops. Each topic is treated with emphasis on origin, morphology, processing, economic uses, and health or ecological significance, making the subject both conceptually strong and practically relevant. Special attention is given to globally and regionally important plants such as wheat, rice, sugarcane, tea, coffee, cotton, jute, rubber, medicinal and aromatic plants, and biofuel crops.

A distinctive feature of this book is its well-structured practical section, designed strictly as per NEP requirements, enabling students to develop hands-on skills, observational ability, and applied understanding of economically important plants. The inclusion of a question bank further supports examination preparation and self-assessment.

Written in a clear, descriptive, and student-friendly style, this book not only fulfills academic requirements but also nurtures an appreciation of plant resources in relation to sustainable development, agriculture, industry, and human welfare.

Published by Mahaveer Publications, Economic Botany stands as a comprehensive and reliable companion for undergraduate botany students under the NEP curriculum.