Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural Crops: Vol 03

The Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural Crops series has been reviewed in various scientific journals for its unique and rich content, which includes botanical information. The aim of this series is to broaden the food supply and diversify the sources of industrial, dye, timber, energy, and medicinal plants. The third volume of the series features 25 chapters written by 46 scientists from the UK, Mexico, Spain, India, the USA, Turkey, and Nigeria. The volume covers crops such as atuna, African de bolita, capers and caper plants, kair, natural dye plants, plants used for dye sources, underutilized wild edible fruits of Kerala, bael, carambola, tropical plum, citrus, fig, guava, star gooseberry, hog-plum, underutilized leaf vegetables of the sub-Himalayan terai region, underutilized vegetables of Tripura, agathi and chekkurmanis, celosia, colocasia, edible begonias, kangkong, underutilized palms, and Atuna and African de bolita, which are new crops to the Indian reader.

The use of natural dyes is becoming increasingly significant due to the negative effects of synthetic dyes, which are allergenic and, in some cases, carcinogenic. Underutilized fruits such as bael, carambola, tropical plum, fig, star gooseberry, and hog-plum are gaining attention due to their ability to thrive in stressful conditions. The volume also highlights underutilized leaf vegetables such as agathi, chekkurmanis, celosia, edible begonias, and kangkong, which have been given prominence. The chapter on Atuna has been contributed by Prof. Ghillean T Prance, FRS, and the editor of the volume is Dr. K. V. Peter, a former Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala Agricultural University.