Parasitology Today, vot. 9, no. 6, 1993 233

public health (including education/ awareness). For a scientist at a research institute working on vaccine develop- ment, it is easy to forget that produc- tion of a vaccine that would prevent

the disease, is only one step towards its eradication. This volume will help to remind us that the road from preven- tion to control and eradication is long and difficult.

Gordon Langsley Institut Pasteur 28 Rue du Dr Roux 75724 Paris Cedex 15 France

Plant Disease Control

by Richard N. Strange, Chapman & Hall, 1993. £39.00 (xii + 354 pages)

ISBN 0 412 33610 3

The analysis of plant disease will always require specialist expertise, but the evaluation of effective methods of field control frequently demands an interdis- ciplinary approach. There is a need for this interdisciplinary concept to be reflected in texts used for teaching and training purposes, but often there is a problem associated with defining what is meant by plant disease. For example, it is generally accepted that slugs cause damage rather than disease to plants, but what about plant parasitic nema- todes? This book is entitled Plant Disease Control, but without a definition of plant disease from the author the reader is unsure whether plant parasitic nematodes should be included. A few examples of the effects of these para- sites are discussed but, in general, the group is ignored even when relevant examples exist, such as the natural control of the cereal cyst nematode, Heterodera avenae, by antagonistic fungi, or the gene-for-gene concept of host-plant interaction as applied to the potato-cyst nematode, Globodera ros- tochiensis. It would seem more useful to examine fully the range of organisms that cause disease in plants, especially as the need for environmentally acceptable control approaches is a pre- requisite for much research on pest management strategies. Although the book attempts to reflect work in the various subdisciplines of plant pathol- ogy, it concentrates mainly on fungi (the author's own area of research interest) and coverage and examples from other subdisciplines are far less extensive.

After the first introductory chapter on the impact of plant disease on humans, the text is divided into two parts, both reflecting approaches to pathogen control. The first part, on parasite identification, epidemiology and disease measurement, comprises four chapters, and the second part (seven chapters) deals with the genet- ics and biochemistry of host-parasite relations. This emphasis on the second

part is justified and reflects the impor- tance of recent research advances in identifying possible novel control approaches.

The book is well written in a easy- to-read style and specific research areas are presented and analysed ade- quately. The extensive reference list is a useful guide to specific research pro- grammes and includes papers pub- lished up to and including 1991. The short glossary is a useful inclusion.

Unfortunately, the text is marred by several errors. For example, the nema- tode genus mentioned on p. 114 should be Rotylenchulus not Rotylenchus, and the research by Huang and Barker (1991) on the soybean cyst nema- todes, Heterodera glycines, (cited on p. 242) is not in the reference list. Cucumber mosaic virus is not transmit- ted by fungi (p. 76)', cucumber necrosis virus is. Also, beet necrotic yellow-vein virus is transmitted by Polymyxa betae. The photograph of the aphid on p. 74 shows the rostrum not the stylets, and the aphid is Acyrthosiphon pisum not Aphis pisum as stated in the caption; Acyrthosiphon is given incorrectly as Acyrosiphon. Unfortunately, many of the plates have reproduced poorly and are uninformative. In some cases the sel-

ection of photographs is questionable. For example, there is little sense in taking up a whole page with black-and- white plates of females and cysts of the two species of potato-cyst nema- todes when the only visible difference between species would be the colour change that the fertilized females undergo as they develop into cysts.

The author states that plant pathol- ogy is a broad discipline which has suffered, at times, from overspecializa- tion. This book is a laudable attempt at bringing together information on several subdisciplines, is a valuable introductory text for most areas of plant pathology and would be useful at undergraduate level. The emphasis on the need for environmentally accept- able control approaches is important. However, as is reflected in the reference citations, specialist knowl- edge and research programmes are needed for advances in plant disease control, and it is likely that, beyond undergraduate level, more-specialized texts would be required.

Roland Perry Institute of Arable Crops Research Rothamsted Experimental Station Harpenden UK AL5 2JQ

The Management of Drug Resistance A Special Issue from Parasitology Today

T h e May 1993 issue of Parasitology Today is devoted to the analysis of resistance of various parasites to the existing drug arsenal. Contri- butions from world leaders in their respective fields range in emphasis from the biochemical, genetic and molecular biological, to discussions on management, research funding and vector control.

Topics covered include: • mechanisms of drug resistance in Leishmania • ivermectin resistance • resistance to anticoccidial drugs in fowl • drug resistance in schistosomes • funding for anti-malarial drug research • living with drug resistance in malaria • occurrence, genetics and management of insecticide resistance • modification of arthropod vector competence • metronidazole and drug resistance in trichomonads and Giardia • re- sistance to clinical drugs in African trypanosomes.

For information on how to order your copy, send enquiries to: Elsevier Trends Journals

68 Hills Road Cambridge, UK CB2 ILA

Fax: +44 223 464430 Tel: +44 223 315961