Underutilized & Underexploited Horticultural Crops : Volume- 1, 3, 4 & 5/ Editor : K. V. Peter.

Volume - 4 1. Edible Plant Foods in South Africa: New Light from Ancient dwellers Dawn 2. African Leafy Vegetables Van den Hever, E. and S.L. Venter 4. Chillies 5. Annual Drumstick 6. Clove bean 7. Cluster bean 8. Curry leaf 9. Ivy Gourd 10. Snapmelon 11. Sweet Gourd 12. Teasles Gourd 13. Tree borne vegetables 14. Underexploited fruits of North Eastern Region India 15. Dragon fruit Pushpakumara, 16. Wood apples 17. Strobilanthes: Promising Indigenous ornamental plants from Western Ghats, India- 18. Underexploited seed spices - ajowan, anise, black caraway, caraway, celery, dill, nigella and parsley 19. Yam bean 20. Underexploited trees for energy

Volume - 1 General Underutilized tuber crops Underutilized ornamentals Underutilized Herbs and spices Underutilized Vegetables Underutilized Fruits Underutilized Energy plants

Volume - 3: General Underutilized Fruits Vegetables Plantation Crops

Volume - 5 1. Capsicum chinense Jacq. (Mali Mulaku) 2. Minor greens and salads 3. Future leaf vegetables 4. Vigna dalzelliama (O. Kuntzc) Verdc. . A wild legume from Eastern Ghats of Peninsular India 5. White Yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir) 6. Underutilized Nut Fruits of Hills 7. Lesser known edible fruits of North Eastern India 8. Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis Park) 9. Nectarine - A new promising fruit crop for mid hills 10. Pecan nut 11. Persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb) 12. Aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) - Value added products 13. Jack fruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) - Nutritional data, medicinal values and uses 14. Cleome gynandra. nutritional and medicinal properties 15. Ornamentals for essentials oils 16. Sambucus nigra L. in Catalonia (Iberian Peninsula) 17. Underutilized medicinal plants of Uttarakhand Hills 18. Seabuckthorn. A new underutilized fruit crops

Volume - 4 : There is Global concern on shrinking food base depending on a meager three crops-wheat, rice and maize-.New Crops are to be encouraged to fit into the changing food habits, life styles and above all climate change. Underutilized Horticultural Crops are getting attention world around. The High Impact Journal HortScience reviewed vol. II Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural Crops and reported its global value. The series projects the nutritional values, ecological compatibility, fitness to ecological niches and above all optimum uses of natural resources like water, energy, space and time. Volume 4 deals with edible plant foods in Africa, African Leafy Vegetables, Amaranths, Chilies, Annual Drumstick, Clove bean, Cluster bean, Curry leaf, Ivy Gourd, Snap melon, Sweet Gourd, Teasles Gourd, Tree borne vegetables, Fruits of North Eastern Region, Dragon Fruit, Wood apple, Strobilanthes, Seed Spices, Yam bean and Trees for Energy. Twenty s in the 4th volume are compiled by the Eminent Scientists in the respective crops. The volume 4 envisages a world free from hunger and under nutrition and full of health and wellness.

Volume - 5 : "Globally there is concern for diminishing nutritional security. Land under agriculture is dwindling, water for irrigation becoming scarce and costly and availability of labour getting lesser, the need for future crops and alternate source of nutrition is getting attention. Under CGIAR, an all inclusive future crops international has been established to bring to light underexploited and underutilized crops. Horticultural crops especially vegetables, fruits, ornamentals, medicinal plants and aromatic plants are unique in presence of a large number of plants with possibility for edible uses and considerable nutritive value. Many are wild weeds in one part of the globe but edible and consumed in another part of the globe. A few such plants are used for phytosanitation and phytoremediation but are getting attention as raw materials for biofuel production. Energy and water are two natural resources getting threat due to climate change resulting global warming and ozone depletion."

Volume - 1 : Underutilized and underexploited horticultural crops form an integral part of health food green parks, neutraceutical industry, home decorations, renewable sources of green energy and above all food reserves during calamities. Leaf vegetables like agathi, chekkurmanis, waterleaf, drumstick leaf, basella and colacasia leaf are rich in fibre, minerals and beta carotenes. Cucurbits like ash gourd, pointed gourd, ivy gourd, kekrol, snap melons and chow-chow are rich in iron and amino acids. Fruits like karonda, aonla and cherries are highly nutritious and are suited to less moisture soils. Noni is a fruit for health. Noni juice is recommended against diabetes, obesity and sleeplessness. Among spices, long pepper, mint, celery, fenugreek and garcenia possess medicinal properties. There are a large number of underexploited medicinal plants like tulsi and peppermint with considerable economic value. Underutilized crops like in Tripura, Orissa and Kerala are specially mentioned. There is need to broaden the food basket with lesser know crops. There is a shift from Health Care to Wellness Industry. Prevention is always better then cure. The present volume deals with underexploited and underutilized horticultural crops in its totality. The contributors of each are working scientists in the specific crop.

volume - 3 : The series Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural Crops are reviewed in several science journals for its uniqueness and richness in content and botanical information. Enlarging the food base and food basket along with validated information on plants for industry, dyes, timber, energy and medicine is the core theme of the series. The third volume has 25 s written by 46 scientists from UK, Mexico, Spain, India, USA, Turkey and Nigeria. The crops covered are 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 sub-Himalayan terai region, underutilized vegetables of Tripura, agathi and chekkurmanis, celosia, colocasia, edible begonias, kangkong, underutilized palms, Atuna and African de bolita are new crops to Indian readeNatural dyes are attaining significant commercial importance in view of the negative effects of synthetic dyes which are allergic and in a few cases carcinogenic. Underutilized fruits like bael, carambola, tropical plum, fig, star gooseberry and hog-plum are receiving attention in view of their wider adaptability and suitability to grow under conditions of stress. Underexploited leaf vegetables like agathi, chekkurmanis, celosia, edible begonias and kangkong have been given prominence. Prof.Ghillean T Prance, FRS has contributed the on Atuna. The Editor is Dr K V Peter Former Vice-Chancellor, Kerala Agricultural University.