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Pesticide application methods, 2nd Edn
Book reviews
that has been the mainstay of millions of subsistence farmers, especially in parts of Asia. The Overseas Development Administration initiated research on deep watcr rice with the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in 1974. The leader of the research was Dr David Catling who has now written the first definitivc book on deep water rice, covering not only the work in Bangladesh but also subsequent experience in Thailand, India and other areas. David Catling is an entomologist, and his early research on this crop with Zahirul Islam and others was concerned with pest management of rice stem borers, but only one chapter of this excellent book is devoted to the whole area of pests, including weeds. Nevertheless, many readers of Crop Protection will find this book extremely fascinating. Deep water rice is a very unusual crop but for Bangladesh, the Mekong river basin and other areas, the whole cropping system in the monsoon season is based on deep water ricc. This book provides an excellent account of the interaction of crop, man and the environment. Graham Matthews Pesticide Application Methods, 2nd Edn, by G . A . Matthews. ISBN 0-58240905-5 (416 pp.; £17.99). London: Longman. 1992. The understanding, and subsequent development, of pesticide application techniques has advanced considerably since the first impression of Pesticide Application Methods was published in hardback in 1979. The second edition of the book provides the reader with an
extended and updated version of this popular book and the author has successfully maintained the original chapter format used when the book was first published. Constraints on methods of pesticide application are constantly altering as new pesticidal molecules are formulated for use at relatively low dose rates. The field application technique for such active materials can be selected correctly only when formulation type and mode of action, target site and susceptibility and meteorological conditions are all taken into consideration. Pesticide Application Methods has justifiably gained a reputation as an authoritative source of information for dedicated workers in crop protection, from managers to field technicians, students of agricultural engineering and crop husbandry and the occasional casual reader. The logical layout and progression of the book's 17 chapters introduces the main subject material by including chapters covering pesticidc formulation, spray targets and the formation of spray droplets. Following the introductory chapters, the main text is devoted to a comprehensive cover of methods of application. The author, who has an obvious awareness and sympathy for his subject, covers all aspects of spray technology in general, with more expansive information on the major application techniques in particular. This ambitious book constitutes a sensible, useful and well-researched approach to the many parameters related to understanding and improving the application of crop protection and enhancement agents. However, in common with all reference books covering a rapidly changing field, Pesticide Applica-
tion Methods will require up-dating. The second edition of this book has addressed this to a certain extent, but arguably may have missed the opportunity to extend the reader's knowledge further by covering in greater detail such innovations as closed liquid chemical transfer and injection systems and drift reduction by judicious nozzle selection. These are but minor criticisms of a book that provides the serious reader, wishing to research further certain aspects of pesticide application, with an extensive bibliography and an adequate index. In fact, for reader convenience, listing the relevant refercnces immediately after each chapter may have proved preferential. The text of Pesticide Application Methods is well supported by many clear diagrams, tables and illustrations and the amount of information packed into the book is a credit to the author. The book constitutes excellent value for money, although the additional cost of a hardback copy could easily be justified where the book is subject to frequent use. Product Stewardship is referred to in the preface and throughout the book the author's considerable international experience is called upon to illustrate certain points. This experience further adds to the reader's awareness of the important contribution that safe and efficient spray technology makes to the stewardship chain. As a reference work, Pesticide Application Methods will command a place in most institute libraries, where it will prove invaluable for workers in both developed and developing countries. Alan Lavers
Crop Protection 1994 Volume 13 Number 4
317
that has been the mainstay of millions of subsistence farmers, especially in parts of Asia. The Overseas Development Administration initiated research on deep watcr rice with the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in 1974. The leader of the research was Dr David Catling who has now written the first definitivc book on deep water rice, covering not only the work in Bangladesh but also subsequent experience in Thailand, India and other areas. David Catling is an entomologist, and his early research on this crop with Zahirul Islam and others was concerned with pest management of rice stem borers, but only one chapter of this excellent book is devoted to the whole area of pests, including weeds. Nevertheless, many readers of Crop Protection will find this book extremely fascinating. Deep water rice is a very unusual crop but for Bangladesh, the Mekong river basin and other areas, the whole cropping system in the monsoon season is based on deep water ricc. This book provides an excellent account of the interaction of crop, man and the environment. Graham Matthews Pesticide Application Methods, 2nd Edn, by G . A . Matthews. ISBN 0-58240905-5 (416 pp.; £17.99). London: Longman. 1992. The understanding, and subsequent development, of pesticide application techniques has advanced considerably since the first impression of Pesticide Application Methods was published in hardback in 1979. The second edition of the book provides the reader with an
extended and updated version of this popular book and the author has successfully maintained the original chapter format used when the book was first published. Constraints on methods of pesticide application are constantly altering as new pesticidal molecules are formulated for use at relatively low dose rates. The field application technique for such active materials can be selected correctly only when formulation type and mode of action, target site and susceptibility and meteorological conditions are all taken into consideration. Pesticide Application Methods has justifiably gained a reputation as an authoritative source of information for dedicated workers in crop protection, from managers to field technicians, students of agricultural engineering and crop husbandry and the occasional casual reader. The logical layout and progression of the book's 17 chapters introduces the main subject material by including chapters covering pesticidc formulation, spray targets and the formation of spray droplets. Following the introductory chapters, the main text is devoted to a comprehensive cover of methods of application. The author, who has an obvious awareness and sympathy for his subject, covers all aspects of spray technology in general, with more expansive information on the major application techniques in particular. This ambitious book constitutes a sensible, useful and well-researched approach to the many parameters related to understanding and improving the application of crop protection and enhancement agents. However, in common with all reference books covering a rapidly changing field, Pesticide Applica-
tion Methods will require up-dating. The second edition of this book has addressed this to a certain extent, but arguably may have missed the opportunity to extend the reader's knowledge further by covering in greater detail such innovations as closed liquid chemical transfer and injection systems and drift reduction by judicious nozzle selection. These are but minor criticisms of a book that provides the serious reader, wishing to research further certain aspects of pesticide application, with an extensive bibliography and an adequate index. In fact, for reader convenience, listing the relevant refercnces immediately after each chapter may have proved preferential. The text of Pesticide Application Methods is well supported by many clear diagrams, tables and illustrations and the amount of information packed into the book is a credit to the author. The book constitutes excellent value for money, although the additional cost of a hardback copy could easily be justified where the book is subject to frequent use. Product Stewardship is referred to in the preface and throughout the book the author's considerable international experience is called upon to illustrate certain points. This experience further adds to the reader's awareness of the important contribution that safe and efficient spray technology makes to the stewardship chain. As a reference work, Pesticide Application Methods will command a place in most institute libraries, where it will prove invaluable for workers in both developed and developing countries. Alan Lavers
Crop Protection 1994 Volume 13 Number 4
317