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Book Reviews

Herbicide Resistance in Weeds and Crops, ed. by J. C. Casely, G. W. Cussans and R. K. Atkin. ISBN O-7506-1101-4 (528 pp; f45.00); Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. 1991

This 500-page book is based on the papers and abstracts presented at the Eleventh Long Ashton International Symposium on Herbicide Resistance held in September 1989. The contributors include most of the leading scientists and researchers working in this field. The 28 main chapters include general overviews and reviews of resistance, as well as detailed reports on individual chemical types. Molecular, biochemical and genetic aspects are covered and, more unusually, a chapter on the possible role of cellular compartmentation as a mech- anism for reducing herbicide activity. The book is not confined to listing occurren- ces of resistance or cataloguing the mech- anisms involved, but also addresses the more positive aspects of how resistance can be minimized by more careful use of available products and the potential for breeding resistance into crops.

The 41 abstracts of the posters pre- sented at the conference are particularly valuable as they provide a summary of a great deal of important and wide-ranging research work, and introduce many of the

main participants currently engaged in research in the field.

The text is prepared from camera- ready manuscripts and is clear and remarkably uniform. The styles of the illustrations inevitably show greater variation between chapters but this in no way detracts from the overall quality of the presentation. This book provides an excellent review of herbicide resistance and is strongly recommended for post- graduate students and researchers, and will provide interesting reading for non- specialists who want to keep up to date with developments in this important aspect of weed science.

Clive Price

Tropical Grassy Weeds, ed. F. W. G. Baker and P. J. Terry. ISBN O-85198- 709-5. (200 pp;). Wallingford, UK: CAB International, for the Committee on the Application of Science to Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture. 1991.

This 200-page book is based on the Pro- ceedings of the CASAFA Workshop on Integrated Control of Grassy Weeds in

Tropical Subsistence Farming Systems, held in Nairobi in February 1991. The chapters fall into three broad categories: general accounts of the nature of tropical grass and sedge weeds, examples of prob- lems associated with specific crops, and problems associated with three countries. The general accounts include descrip- tions of the major grass weeds, a useful introduction to their physiology and a detailed discussion of the potential for biological control. There is also a chapter on chemical control, including the prob- lems associated with resistance, and a brief introduction to integrated weed control. The chapters on specific crops include cereals, grassland and forage, mixed crops and upland rice. The three countries selected for special con- sideration, Kenya, Philippines and Aus- tralia, appear to have been selected to provide contrasting examples of climatic and agronomic conditions. Inevitably, in a 200-page text covering such a broad field, compromises have had to be made and the authors have aimed to cover as many aspects of the problems of tropical grass weeds as possible at the expense of detail. The result is a book that provides an excellent overview and introduction to tropical grass weeds, that will be ideal for undergraduate courses on tropical agri- culture.

Cllve Price

CROP PROTECTION Vol. 11 December 1992