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Introduction to plant virology
CROP PROTECTION (1984) 3 (2), 265-270
Book reviews Introduction to Plant Virology, by L. Bos. ISBN 0-582-44680-5. (160 pp; £6.95). Longman: London and New York; Wageningen, Netherlands: PUDOC. 1983. After writing three rather jaundiced book reviews in close succession it is a great pleasure to welcome this volume with considerable enthusiasm! The review copy was in the very reasonably priced soft-back format available in Britain from Longman and in mainland Europe from Pudoc, Wageningen. It makes an immediately favourable impression with a clear print, 29 good half-tone photographs, 34 excellent diagrams and 22 colour plates of which only one has not reproduced well. The text consists of an introduction (2 pp.), epilogue (2 pp.) and index (7 pp.) with ten main chapters and appendixes outlining the 26 officially recognized virus groups (8 pp.) and a list of publications for further reading (3 pp.). The main chapter headings indicate the comprehensive range of topics covered and the excellent blend of information on the biological aspects of plant viruses and their physico-chemical features. They deal with 'from discovery to virology' (9 pp.), 'viruses as disease incitants' (10 pp.), as 'contagious agents' (16 pp.), as 'physico-chemical particles' (13 pp.), as 'packages of genetic information' (18 pp.), serology and electron microscopy (17 pp.), 'order out of chaos' (taxonomy; 15 pp.), ecology (17 pp.) and human interference with viruses (16 pp.). The basic approach, format and price are similar to those of the recent 183-page publication by W.A. Stevens (Blackie; £8.50: reviewed in Crop Protection (1984) 3(I), 131) but there the resemblance ends and the latest text is far more satisfactory. •Each chapter has been put together with care and represents a considerable feat of compression, achieved in part by listing only key references at the end of each chapter and not within the text. There are places where
brevity has been carried to such an extent as to create difficulties to students with limited background knowledge of the subject. However, there is nothing that cannot soon be put right by supplementary lectures, seminars or demonstrations and the book should be regarded as a valuable adjunct to rather than a complete substitute for a taught undergraduate or M.Sc. course in plant virology. Those who know Lute Bos will not be surprised to find such a reliable and comprehensive coverage of his topic or to note the few instances where the English style is anything less than felicitous. His latest book is a splendid achievement and one that fully merits the success that it will undoubtedly achieve. However, it should be remembered that the comprehensive and widely acclaimed 1976 text of A.J. Gibbs and B.D. Harrison (292 pp.) is still available in softback format at a price that is remarkably cheap by current standards. These books should provide a much-needed fillip to the teaching of plant virology at universities and colleges in Britain and many other countries. They may also help to develop an overall 'ecological' approach to plant virology and restore the present imbalance between fashionable 'molecular' studies and work on spread and control that has tended to languish in recent years. J.M. THRESH
Pesticide Resistance and World Food Production, ed. by Gordon Conway. ISBN 0-950-7744-1-3 (144 pp; £3.60 inc. postage and packing). London: Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology 1982. This paperback book has been written by a team of five authors who are or were on the staff of the Environmental Management Unit of Imperial College, London. They aim to assess the importance of acquired resis-
Book reviews Introduction to Plant Virology, by L. Bos. ISBN 0-582-44680-5. (160 pp; £6.95). Longman: London and New York; Wageningen, Netherlands: PUDOC. 1983. After writing three rather jaundiced book reviews in close succession it is a great pleasure to welcome this volume with considerable enthusiasm! The review copy was in the very reasonably priced soft-back format available in Britain from Longman and in mainland Europe from Pudoc, Wageningen. It makes an immediately favourable impression with a clear print, 29 good half-tone photographs, 34 excellent diagrams and 22 colour plates of which only one has not reproduced well. The text consists of an introduction (2 pp.), epilogue (2 pp.) and index (7 pp.) with ten main chapters and appendixes outlining the 26 officially recognized virus groups (8 pp.) and a list of publications for further reading (3 pp.). The main chapter headings indicate the comprehensive range of topics covered and the excellent blend of information on the biological aspects of plant viruses and their physico-chemical features. They deal with 'from discovery to virology' (9 pp.), 'viruses as disease incitants' (10 pp.), as 'contagious agents' (16 pp.), as 'physico-chemical particles' (13 pp.), as 'packages of genetic information' (18 pp.), serology and electron microscopy (17 pp.), 'order out of chaos' (taxonomy; 15 pp.), ecology (17 pp.) and human interference with viruses (16 pp.). The basic approach, format and price are similar to those of the recent 183-page publication by W.A. Stevens (Blackie; £8.50: reviewed in Crop Protection (1984) 3(I), 131) but there the resemblance ends and the latest text is far more satisfactory. •Each chapter has been put together with care and represents a considerable feat of compression, achieved in part by listing only key references at the end of each chapter and not within the text. There are places where
brevity has been carried to such an extent as to create difficulties to students with limited background knowledge of the subject. However, there is nothing that cannot soon be put right by supplementary lectures, seminars or demonstrations and the book should be regarded as a valuable adjunct to rather than a complete substitute for a taught undergraduate or M.Sc. course in plant virology. Those who know Lute Bos will not be surprised to find such a reliable and comprehensive coverage of his topic or to note the few instances where the English style is anything less than felicitous. His latest book is a splendid achievement and one that fully merits the success that it will undoubtedly achieve. However, it should be remembered that the comprehensive and widely acclaimed 1976 text of A.J. Gibbs and B.D. Harrison (292 pp.) is still available in softback format at a price that is remarkably cheap by current standards. These books should provide a much-needed fillip to the teaching of plant virology at universities and colleges in Britain and many other countries. They may also help to develop an overall 'ecological' approach to plant virology and restore the present imbalance between fashionable 'molecular' studies and work on spread and control that has tended to languish in recent years. J.M. THRESH
Pesticide Resistance and World Food Production, ed. by Gordon Conway. ISBN 0-950-7744-1-3 (144 pp; £3.60 inc. postage and packing). London: Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology 1982. This paperback book has been written by a team of five authors who are or were on the staff of the Environmental Management Unit of Imperial College, London. They aim to assess the importance of acquired resis-