The Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural Crops series has been widely reviewed in various scientific journals for its exceptional content and botanical information. The primary objective of the series is to broaden the food base and food basket, while also providing validated information on plants that can be used in various industries, including medicine, energy, and dyes. The third volume of the series features 25 chapters, written by 46 scientists from countries such as the UK, Mexico, Spain, India, the USA, Turkey, and Nigeria. The crops covered in this volume include 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 Indian readers.

Natural dyes are gaining significant commercial importance due to the negative effects of synthetic dyes, which are often allergenic and, in some cases, carcinogenic. Underutilized fruits like bael, carambola, tropical plum, fig, star gooseberry, and hog-plum are receiving attention due to their ability to grow under stressful conditions and their wider adaptability. Underexploited leaf vegetables, such as agathi, chekkurmanis, celosia, edible begonias, and kangkong, have been given prominence in the series. The chapter on Atuna has been contributed by Prof. Ghillean T. Prance, FRS, and the editor of the volume is Dr. K. V. Peter, former Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala Agricultural University.