TK Lim (Tong Kwee Lim) obtained hisBachelor and Masters in Agricultural Science from the University of Malaya andhis PHD (Botanical Sciences) from the University of Hawaii. He worked in theUniversity of Agriculture Malaysia for 20 years as a lecturer and AssociateProfessor; as Principal Horticulturist for 9 years for the Department ofPrimary Industries and Fisheries, Darwin, Northern Territory; 6 years asManager of the Asia and Middle East Team in Plant Biosecurity Australia,Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia; and 4 years asResearch Program Manager with the Australian Centre for InternationalAgriculture Research (ACIAR), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,Australia before he retired from public service. He has published over ahundred scientific papers including several books: "Guava in Malaysia:Production, Pest and Diseases", "Durian Diseases and Disorders","Diseases of Mango in Malaysia", chapters in books, internationalrefereed journals, conference proceedings (as editor) and technical bulletinsin the areas of plant pathology, crop protection, horticulture, agronomy andquarantine science. He was also a reviewer of scientific papers for severalinternational scientific journals. As Principal Horticulturist in Darwin, heand his team were instrumental in establishing the horticultural industry inthe Northern Territory, Australia, especially on tropical fruits, vegetables,culinary herbs, spices / medicinal herbs and tropical flowers. During histenure with Plant Biosecurity, he led a team responsible for conducting pestrisk analyses and quarantine policy issues dealing with the import and exportof plants and plant products into and out of Australia for the Middle East andAsian region. During his time with ACIAR, he oversaw and managed internationalresearch and development programs in plant protection and horticulture coveringa wide array of crops that included fruits, plantation crops, vegetables,culinary andmedicinal herbs and spices mainly in southeast Asia and thePacific. In the course of his 4 decades of working career he has travelledextensively worldwide to many countries in South Asia, East Asia, southeastAsia, Middle East, Europe, the Pacific Islands, USA and England, and alsothroughout Malaysia and Australia. Since his tertiary education days he alwayshad a strong passion for crops and took an avid interest in edible andmedicinal plants. Over the four decades, he has taken several thousands ofphotographs of common, known and lesser known edible, medicinal and non-medicinalplants, amassed local literature, local indigenous knowledge, books, and hasdeveloped and established close rapport with many local researchers,scientists, growers and farmers during the course of his work and travels. Allrelevant available and up-to-date information collated on more than a thousandspecies of edible, medicinal and non-medicinal plants will be provided in acomprehensive reference series fully illustrated with coloured images to helpin plant identification. This work will cover scientific names, synonyms,common and vernacular names, origin and distribution, agroecology, edible plantparts and uses, plant habit /description, nutritive and medicinal value, otheruses and selected current references. Additional information is provided on themedicinal uses and pharmacological properties of the plants. This work will beof significant interest to scientists, researchers, practitioners (medicalpractitioners, pharmacologists, ethnobotanists, horticulturists, foodnutritionists, agriculturists, botanists, herbalogists, herbologists,naturalists, conservationists, extension scientists, teachers, lecturers),students and the general public.
