E L S E V I E R Field Crops Research 39 (1994) 59-62

Fie ld Crops R e s e a r c h

Book Reviews

1. Biofertilizers in Agriculture and Forestry

Biofertilizers in Agriculture and Forestry, Third Edi- tion. N.S. Subba Rao. International Science Pub- lishers, New York, 1993. ISBN 1-881570-29-0, hardback, 242 pp., US$55.

The third edition of this title contains 13 chapters including separate chapters on Rhizobium, Azotobac- ter, Azospirillum, blue-green algae, and Frankia inoc- ulants, and chapters on green manures, phosphate-solubilizing organisms, mycorrhizal fungi, organic matter and composting, and inoculants for leguminous trees. The final chapter examines the future for microbial inoculants and for nitrogen fixation, and the book closes with an appendix detailing useful media and stains. This edition has an expanded coverage of the inoculation (Rhizobium, Frankia and VAM) of tree species, and of other microbial practices important in agro-forestry.

N.S. Subba Rao in his preface suggests that this edition provides "scientific yet popular insight into crop and tree cultivation by organic inputs". To do so, a book that emphasizes the use of different microor- ganisms in agriculture and forestry would need to bal- ance theoretical considerations affecting the selection, cultivation and use of microorganisms with the numer- ous applied methods detailed for the evaluation and use of these organisms in agriculture. It should also spell out clearly possible constraints limiting the value of such practices in the field. Numerous methods are pro- vided in this book and give the book some value, but too often the accompanying review of supporting research is out of date, or in error, and so has only limited scientific value. This is particularly evident in the chapter on Rhizobium inoculants. For a topic that has evolved very rapidly in the last 25 years, the author

cites only two papers published since 1980 (out of 94 cited), and for most of the chapter uses Rhizobium to refer to both fast- and slow-growing rhizobia. Thus, in the section on the isolation of rhizobia from nodules he comments only that large gummy colonies will emerge in 4 to 5 days, and later it is likely that smaller colonies also will arise. He does not identify these smaller col- onies, nor indicate what the presence of either colony type might portend. Other comments in this chapter that are clearly out of date include the observation that small coccoid swarmers are involved in infection; the discussion of flagellar and somatic agglutination reac- tions as the most suitable serological methods for strain identification; and the emphasis on asbestos, diatoma- teous earth, porcelain and sintered glass in microbio- logical filters. Finally, reference is made to a 1971 world catalogue as a source of cultures, rather than to much more recent strain listings from USDA, NifTAL, CSIRO, CIAT and others.

There is a similar looseness in other sections. Thus, in discussing VAM fungi it is stated that any VAM fungus can infect any host species, with specificity between the two symbionts non-existent; while in the section on blue-green algae, nitrogen fixation by non- heterocysts is barely mentioned.

Much of the data used to support comments in the text relates to field research in India, and while that is appropriate to a text initially published in India, it is less satisfactory in an international publication. In sev- eral tables it is not even clear that the data are mean- ingful. Table 18, for example, summarizes published results on the response to inoculation with Azotobacter chroococcum in India. The emphasis in this table is on percentage yield increase, yet only one of 15 trials reported resulted in a statistically significant yield increase.

Elsevier Science B.V.

60 Book Reviews/Field Crops Research 39 (1994) 59--62

I was most disappointed, however, in the chapter on "Outlook for the Future". Here, a section on the key to specificity of nitrogen-fixing organisms with selected host plants, discussed 1974--1979 research on lectins, rather than much more recent studies with nod- genes, flavonoid inducers and lipo-oligosaccharides; a section on the domestication and cultivation of prom- ising legumes primarily listed promising species from the 1979 National Academy of Sciences publication; and a brief section on recycling of wastes for nitrogen, simply listed the waste materials available in India, but did not comment on recent studies on composting, land application of wastes, or on the benefits and difficulties with sewage utilization in agriculture.

There is a need for a book that both reviews recent developments in soil microbiology and provides up to the moment methodologies for the many different tech- niques important in the isolation, cultivation, evalua- tion and use of agriculturally important micro- organisms. Biofertilizers in Agriculture and Forestry would need significant modification before it could hope to fill that niche.

Peter H. Graham Department of Soil Science

University of Minnesota St. Paul, MN 55108

USA

2. New Crops: Exploration, Research, and Com- mercialization

New Crops: Exploration, Research, and Commercial- ization. J. Janick and J.E. Simon (Editors). Pro- ceedings of the Second National Symposium on New Crops, Indianapolis, Indiana, October 6-9, 1991. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1993. ISBN 0-471-59374-5, hardback, 710 pp., UK£74.

The Indiana New Crops and Plant Products Center at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana, USA) has hosted two major symposia on new, or altemative, crops; the first in 1988, and the second in 1991. A third is scheduled for October, 1995 in Indianapolis. These symposia have brought together researchers and others interested in agricultural diversification to share infor- mation on new crops that have been tested in various parts of the world. New Crops: Exploration, Research,

and Commercialization is the proceedings of the sec- ond of these symposia. This proceedings includes over 100 papers by authors from the U.S. and other coun- tries. The editors stated that "The objective of the sym- posium was to provide a national forum for leading authorities from industry, government, agricultural experiment stations, and academia to discuss and review the status of new crop development in North America". Although unlikely to be used as a textbook, this proceedings does stand as a unique reference work covering many species of new crops and some of the challenges and opportunities faced by new crops advo- cates.

The editors of the book are Jules Janick and James E. Simon, both of the Horticulture Department at Pur- due University and the principal driving force of the New Crops and Plant Products Center at Purdue. Janick is widely known as an authority on many different economic plants from around the world, having authored the textbook Plant Science: An Introduction to World Crops, among other works. Simon has exper- tise in aromatic and medicinal plants, herbal crops, and specialty vegetables, and has been active in promoting information exchange on these and other types of spe- cialty crops.

The editors have done an unusually thorough job in organizing the papers for the proceedings. All papers, whether from invited oral presentations or volunteered posters, were edited by both Janick and Simon, with all tables and figures put into a common form. Text and formatting of the papers is consistent throughout the proceedings, giving the volume a very polished look. The papers in the proceedings are organized into three main parts, covering current status of new crop devel- opment and information on specific crops. Part I on "Policy and programs" includes papers organized under the headings of policy, international develop- ment, regional development, and centers. Part II, "Research and development", contains the bulk of the papers, and is organized under headings of exploration, biotechnology, cereals and pseudocereals, grain leg- umes, forages, oilseeds, industrial crops, fiber crops, fruits and nuts, vegetables, floral and landscape crops, and finally, aromatic, spice, medicinal, and other [crops]. Part III, "Paths toward commercialization", has headings of industry outlook and commercializa- tion. The grouping of papers by crop type in Part II is particularly helpful for the reader wanting to focus on