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Mushrooms—Pest and disease control
Book reviews by fungi, bacteria or actinomycetes which are inhibitory to plant growth. My comment on this complex and difficult area is that the different topics may well be better treated separately rather than that unification should be attempted. On the whole, the book is well produced with a few minor typographical errors. It contains useful information on the metabolites produced b y plants and micro-organisms. It will not form a general text for students but will represent a useful reference work for those engaged in natural product studies. M y conclusions are those of some of the authors. Lovett in Chapter 5 says 'The basic deficiencies in much research concerning allelopathy remain. Too few chemicals are identified; even fewer are quantified. Too many phenomena are described; too few rigorous investigations of the primary effects of allelochemicals are carried out. Serious limitations to the acceptance of allelopathy as an ecological factor of significance will remain until these shortcomings are rectified.' What more can be said? KEITH POWELL
Mushrooms--Pest and Disease Control, by J. T. Fletcher, P. F. White and R. H. Gaze. ISBN 0-946707-08-1 (xx+ 156 pp; £15.00). PO Box 2, Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne: Intercept. 1986. The authors have brought an ideal blend of research, advisory and cultural expertise to bear upon the many serious problems which can affect the most valuable horticultural commodity in the UK. They have produced a succinct compendium of information which is otherwise scattered widely through the learned and grower literature. The commercial pressures posed by marketing forces have demanded continuous production, so that the mushroom farm is typified by intensive monocropping with all stages of cultivation continuously present. As the cropping system involves the production of a virtually sterilized substrate, all pathogens and pests which are allowed to invade the crop ,are provided with almost unlimited opportunities for population increase. Prevention is therefore more effective than cure, so that growers require a sound knowledge of the biology of the potentially damaging organisms.
Should problems arise, recognition of the case is vital in order to adopt the most appropriate control measures. The chosen illustrations provide helpful clues to the identity of the problem because they depict characteristics readily seen with the naked eye. The text includes a valuable 25-page section on good hygiene, which draws attention to the many detailed precautions necessary to ensure the effective use of disinfection procedures. The discussion of the all-important virus diseases which, although now less devastating than in the early 1960s, still cause serious losses, includes some informative, yet simple and well-illustrated explanations of the techniques used by virologists to detect the presence of viruses. The advice on the control of mushroom pests refers to strains resistant to pesticides, although it is apparently left to the grower to judge from his practical experience whether such selection has occurred. It is a pity that some guidance is not given on the availability of testing facilities in the M A F F or elsewhere. Bearing in mind the many factors which encourage pest epidemics, 'experience' is an unreliable guide to resistance and, in fact, it is too often cited as an excuse for other shortcomings in the hygiene procedures. Apart from a few typographical errors there is nothing to detract from this book, although I imagine that some would have appreciated the inclusion of addresses for the manufacturers quoted in Tables 3.2 and 8.1. Perhaps the most complimentary comment to make on this excellent volume is to echo the aspirations of its publishers, that it will be invaluable to all concerned with the crop--growers, advisers, entomologists, pathologists, teachers and students of horticulture worldwide. N. W. HUSSEY
Pest Control in Tropical Onions. ISBN 0-85135-143-3 (v+109 pp; £5.00). College House, Wrights Lane, London W8 5SJ: Tropical Development and Research Institute. World production of the common onion Allium cepa has been estimated at about 22 million tonnes, over half of which were grown in developing countries. This latest manual in the series on tropical onions is therefore welcomed as a source of information on the weeds, diseases, nematodes, insect
411 and mite pests of the crop. There is also a short section on storage of mature onions. The manual, intended for agricultural scientists and extension staff in developing countries, provides very practical information on the most important pests, together with advice on control measures. In controlling weeds, a range of herbicides are listed with an indication of the usual dosage, time of application and range of weeds controlled. Elsewhere in the book, pests are considered separately with brief notes on different cultural and other methods of control. Reference is made to some specialist application techniques such as the use of a gel-based fluid carrier for incorporating iprodione when drilling pregerminated seed to control white rot, but in general the reader will need to seek further advice on how to apply the pesticides. In each section there is a useful bibliography for the reader to obtain more detailed information. Pests, and the pesticides used in their control, are listed in an appendix and there is an index. The book can undoubtedly be recommended as a useful reference book. G. A. MATTHEWS
The Economics of Integrated Pest Control in Irrigated Rice: A Case Study from the Philippines, ed. by Hermann Waibel. ISBN 3-540-166874 (Berlin); 0-387-16687-4 (New York). (xiii+196 pp; D M 128.00). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. 1986. The book starts with a brief introduction to the organizational structures associated with crop protection in the Philippines. Then follows an extensive and detailed presentation of the available experimental data from which pest damage can be estimated. Most of the experiments were not designed with pest loss assessment in mind; this in itself highlights the lack of pest damage studies which are a central part of an economic analysis of this kind. Average losses due to pests ranged from 9% to 34%, but in some trials (0-60%), no significant yield differences were observed between infected plots and those protected by insecticide treatments. The relationships between pest infestations and damage are discussed, and damage coefficients for different pests, based on regression equations, are presented. There is also an overview of the literature on damage coCROP PROTECTION Vol. 6 December 1987
Mushrooms--Pest and Disease Control, by J. T. Fletcher, P. F. White and R. H. Gaze. ISBN 0-946707-08-1 (xx+ 156 pp; £15.00). PO Box 2, Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne: Intercept. 1986. The authors have brought an ideal blend of research, advisory and cultural expertise to bear upon the many serious problems which can affect the most valuable horticultural commodity in the UK. They have produced a succinct compendium of information which is otherwise scattered widely through the learned and grower literature. The commercial pressures posed by marketing forces have demanded continuous production, so that the mushroom farm is typified by intensive monocropping with all stages of cultivation continuously present. As the cropping system involves the production of a virtually sterilized substrate, all pathogens and pests which are allowed to invade the crop ,are provided with almost unlimited opportunities for population increase. Prevention is therefore more effective than cure, so that growers require a sound knowledge of the biology of the potentially damaging organisms.
Should problems arise, recognition of the case is vital in order to adopt the most appropriate control measures. The chosen illustrations provide helpful clues to the identity of the problem because they depict characteristics readily seen with the naked eye. The text includes a valuable 25-page section on good hygiene, which draws attention to the many detailed precautions necessary to ensure the effective use of disinfection procedures. The discussion of the all-important virus diseases which, although now less devastating than in the early 1960s, still cause serious losses, includes some informative, yet simple and well-illustrated explanations of the techniques used by virologists to detect the presence of viruses. The advice on the control of mushroom pests refers to strains resistant to pesticides, although it is apparently left to the grower to judge from his practical experience whether such selection has occurred. It is a pity that some guidance is not given on the availability of testing facilities in the M A F F or elsewhere. Bearing in mind the many factors which encourage pest epidemics, 'experience' is an unreliable guide to resistance and, in fact, it is too often cited as an excuse for other shortcomings in the hygiene procedures. Apart from a few typographical errors there is nothing to detract from this book, although I imagine that some would have appreciated the inclusion of addresses for the manufacturers quoted in Tables 3.2 and 8.1. Perhaps the most complimentary comment to make on this excellent volume is to echo the aspirations of its publishers, that it will be invaluable to all concerned with the crop--growers, advisers, entomologists, pathologists, teachers and students of horticulture worldwide. N. W. HUSSEY
Pest Control in Tropical Onions. ISBN 0-85135-143-3 (v+109 pp; £5.00). College House, Wrights Lane, London W8 5SJ: Tropical Development and Research Institute. World production of the common onion Allium cepa has been estimated at about 22 million tonnes, over half of which were grown in developing countries. This latest manual in the series on tropical onions is therefore welcomed as a source of information on the weeds, diseases, nematodes, insect
411 and mite pests of the crop. There is also a short section on storage of mature onions. The manual, intended for agricultural scientists and extension staff in developing countries, provides very practical information on the most important pests, together with advice on control measures. In controlling weeds, a range of herbicides are listed with an indication of the usual dosage, time of application and range of weeds controlled. Elsewhere in the book, pests are considered separately with brief notes on different cultural and other methods of control. Reference is made to some specialist application techniques such as the use of a gel-based fluid carrier for incorporating iprodione when drilling pregerminated seed to control white rot, but in general the reader will need to seek further advice on how to apply the pesticides. In each section there is a useful bibliography for the reader to obtain more detailed information. Pests, and the pesticides used in their control, are listed in an appendix and there is an index. The book can undoubtedly be recommended as a useful reference book. G. A. MATTHEWS
The Economics of Integrated Pest Control in Irrigated Rice: A Case Study from the Philippines, ed. by Hermann Waibel. ISBN 3-540-166874 (Berlin); 0-387-16687-4 (New York). (xiii+196 pp; D M 128.00). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. 1986. The book starts with a brief introduction to the organizational structures associated with crop protection in the Philippines. Then follows an extensive and detailed presentation of the available experimental data from which pest damage can be estimated. Most of the experiments were not designed with pest loss assessment in mind; this in itself highlights the lack of pest damage studies which are a central part of an economic analysis of this kind. Average losses due to pests ranged from 9% to 34%, but in some trials (0-60%), no significant yield differences were observed between infected plots and those protected by insecticide treatments. The relationships between pest infestations and damage are discussed, and damage coefficients for different pests, based on regression equations, are presented. There is also an overview of the literature on damage coCROP PROTECTION Vol. 6 December 1987