Biocontrol News and Information
CABI Publishing


September 1997, Volume 18 No. 3

New Books

Crop Protection Compendium

A new CD-ROM publication by CABI is Module I of its Crop Protection Compendium, the result of a $1.5M project that took two years. The Compendium aims to be the most authoritative information resource on the principles and practice of crop protection, including pests, diseases and weeds. A primary focus is on integrated pest management (IPM) in a global context.

Module I covers approximately 1000 pests, diseases and weeds of major economic significance for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and their natural enemies. The module spans 150 crops and 150 countries. Also included are basic data for several thousand other species that are important in other regions.

The CD-ROM provides more than 500MB of detailed multimedia information, equivalent to more than 150,000 text pages. Extensive inter-linking among text, data and pictures of pest species and symptoms is featured. Distribution maps are also linked to database information. Other content includes diagnostic keys, a taxonomic framework, production statistics, pesticide usage data and literature references.

Further details are available from the Compendium Home Page on the World Wide Web:

cpc/CPCHP.HTM

Or contact: Louise Breinholt, Product Manager, CAB INTERNATIONAL, Wallingford, Oxon, OX10 8 DE, UK

E-mail: l.breinholt@cabi.org

Tel: +1491 832111

Fax: +1491 826090

Plant Pathology

The fourth edition of this classic, standard text* on plant pathology, first published in 1969, has been updated to include new developments in molecu-lar plant pathology, taxonomy, biological control, computers and emerging diseases. The book is divided into two parts: General Aspects, comprising nine chapters, and Specific Plant Diseases, with six chapters. The latter review plant diseases due to: environmental factors; fungi; prokar-yotes; parasitic higher plants; nema-todes; and flagellate protozoa. The chapter on fungi is extremely compre-hensive, with 160 pages, and the line drawings showing fungal morphology and disease life cycles are particularly useful in explaining the complexities of the pathogens involved to both students and practising plant pathologists. The chapter on control of plant diseases is especially relevant to BNI readers since there is a detailed and well illustrated section on biological methods that eradicate or reduce inoculum, dealing with suppressive soils and antagonistic micro-organisms. However, sitting incongruously in the same chapter is a section on biological control of weeds, which is equally well illustrated but somewhat incomplete since it deals only with the inundative use of fungi as mycoherbicides. In reality, most success has been achieved by the release of obligate pathogens as classical biological control agents.

Although the author professes to make a special effort to incorporate the latest information on taxonomy, classification and nomenclature of plant pathogens, this is a sweeping statement since this reviewer noted outdated names in his particular areas of expertise. Nevertheless, it would be unjustified to dwell on these minor aberrations in what is an erudite and comprehensive introduction to the subject relevant to both student and professional alike. Even more sur-prising, in a world of spiralling book costs, is the exceptionally low price of this lavishly illustrated (including 15 colour plates) and well presented book. The author and publisher are to be congratulated on preparing such a highly readable book at such an affordable price.

*Agrios, G.N. (1997) Plant Pathology (4th edition). San Diego, California, USA; Academic Press, 635 pp.

ISBN 0 12 044564 6 (hardback),

price [sterling] 37.50 (U$ 60.00).