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Plant breeding reviews
315
periment with the model. The listing comprises about 2000 lines of program. Perhaps before long, publishers will supply programs like this one on a floppy disk. Packaged like a software program with some instructions for running it, a model would draw in an ever larger participation. The book is nicely printed, well illustrated and free from typographical errors. I found "Simulation of water use, nitrogen nutrition and growth of a spring wheat crop" a stimulating book which deserves a wide readership. The generalist teacher, student or researcher could use this book as a model for defining, documenting and appraising a crop model. Those engaged in modelling, agronomical or physiological research on wheat will find it a most useful addition to their library. Not only can it be a source of stimulation and a framework for further modelling or research, but it is also a valuable reference source of wheat growth and development parameters. E.J.M. KIRBY
University o[ Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia
PLANT BREEDING REVIEWS
Plant Breeding Reviews (Vol. 5). Jules Janick (Editor). An AVI Book, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York. 1987. X + 466 pp. £ 50.35. ISSN 0730-2207. ISBN 0-442-24376-6. This fifth volume in the series edited by Jules Janick maintains the high quality of previous volumes. The established pattern of content is retained, with the opening chapter being a dedication to a famous breeder and the following nine chapters covering topics in field, forage and horticultural crops, and breeding at the cell and tissue level. It is appropriate in this volume, where there is an emphasis on cereal breeding, that Chapter 1 is a dedication to the renowned wheat breeder and inventor of plot machinery, Orville A. Vogel. Documentation of his achievements and publications bears testimony to the fact that breeders who have a close association with all production phases of their crop can combine scientific insight with practical knowledge to achieve great success. Each of four chapters on cereal breeding and genetics takes a different approach, but in every case the approach is relevant to the species. A comprehensive review of the breeding and genetics of durum wheat, by R.G. Cantrell, details the main topics of interest to the breeder: adaptation, agronomic factors, pests and diseases, and quality. A need to increase diversity in the gene pool to ensure continued crop improvement is identified. A chapter on the cytogenetics of triticale, an evolving synthetic species, is presented by A.J. Lukazewski and J.P. Gustafson. The authors highlight the theoretical value as
316
well as the practical outcome of studies in this dynamic species. R.T. Ramage uses a historical approach to survey not only the development of barley as a crop, but plant breeding as an art and a science. It would be a valuable addition to the reading list of plant-breeding students. The fourth chapter, devoted to cereals, deals with induced mutations in maize. R. McK. Bird and M.G. Neuffer pay particular attention to the use of chemical mutagens on pollen, a technique reported to produce useful variation without the usual overwhelming deleterious effects. The results presented could stimulate increased use of chemical mutagens. The other five chapters include two related reviews by Elizabeth Williams. She combines with G. Maheswaran and J.F. Hutchinson to review the use of embryo and ovule culture in plant breeding. The authors show how recent advances in other aspects of tissue culture research are having a positive impact on the use and efficacy of embryo culture. The role of embryo culture in obtaining interspecific hybrids in pasture legumes is covered in Chapter 7. Interspecific hybridization has the potential to produce novel variants which, according to the author, may be necessary to obtain economic pasture production in the less-favourable environments to which pastures are being pushed by expanded cropping. A chapter by P.M. Lyrene on breeding rabbiteye blueberries, a minor horticultural crop, may have limited appeal. However, the breeding history and methodology presented can serve as both a model, and as an indicator of potential problems, for breeders seeking to develop a naturally occurring species as a cultivated crop. The final two chapters should be of interest to all breeders. A descriptive paper on the production and nature of gametoclonal variation is presented by R.A. Morrison and D.A. Evans. They explore the possible sources of gametoclonal variation, but conclude that the "actual causes .... remain a mystery". Host/parasite genetics are re-examined by G.S. Sidhu, who invokes recent results from molecular genetic research to support the hypothesis that the differences between minor and major genes, and vertical and horizontal resistance, may be more in the realm of human imagination than biological reality. Research required to resolve this question is advocated. This volume of Plant Breeding Reviews presents an interesting sample of plant-breeding topics, each with long reference lists that reflect a thoroughness of preparation. The book has a clear and easy to read typestyle and artwork, and useful keyword level indexes for this volume and all five volumes in the series. B.C. IMRIE
The Cunningham Laboratory, CSIRO Div. of Crops and Pastures 306 Carmody Road, St. Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia
periment with the model. The listing comprises about 2000 lines of program. Perhaps before long, publishers will supply programs like this one on a floppy disk. Packaged like a software program with some instructions for running it, a model would draw in an ever larger participation. The book is nicely printed, well illustrated and free from typographical errors. I found "Simulation of water use, nitrogen nutrition and growth of a spring wheat crop" a stimulating book which deserves a wide readership. The generalist teacher, student or researcher could use this book as a model for defining, documenting and appraising a crop model. Those engaged in modelling, agronomical or physiological research on wheat will find it a most useful addition to their library. Not only can it be a source of stimulation and a framework for further modelling or research, but it is also a valuable reference source of wheat growth and development parameters. E.J.M. KIRBY
University o[ Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia
PLANT BREEDING REVIEWS
Plant Breeding Reviews (Vol. 5). Jules Janick (Editor). An AVI Book, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York. 1987. X + 466 pp. £ 50.35. ISSN 0730-2207. ISBN 0-442-24376-6. This fifth volume in the series edited by Jules Janick maintains the high quality of previous volumes. The established pattern of content is retained, with the opening chapter being a dedication to a famous breeder and the following nine chapters covering topics in field, forage and horticultural crops, and breeding at the cell and tissue level. It is appropriate in this volume, where there is an emphasis on cereal breeding, that Chapter 1 is a dedication to the renowned wheat breeder and inventor of plot machinery, Orville A. Vogel. Documentation of his achievements and publications bears testimony to the fact that breeders who have a close association with all production phases of their crop can combine scientific insight with practical knowledge to achieve great success. Each of four chapters on cereal breeding and genetics takes a different approach, but in every case the approach is relevant to the species. A comprehensive review of the breeding and genetics of durum wheat, by R.G. Cantrell, details the main topics of interest to the breeder: adaptation, agronomic factors, pests and diseases, and quality. A need to increase diversity in the gene pool to ensure continued crop improvement is identified. A chapter on the cytogenetics of triticale, an evolving synthetic species, is presented by A.J. Lukazewski and J.P. Gustafson. The authors highlight the theoretical value as
316
well as the practical outcome of studies in this dynamic species. R.T. Ramage uses a historical approach to survey not only the development of barley as a crop, but plant breeding as an art and a science. It would be a valuable addition to the reading list of plant-breeding students. The fourth chapter, devoted to cereals, deals with induced mutations in maize. R. McK. Bird and M.G. Neuffer pay particular attention to the use of chemical mutagens on pollen, a technique reported to produce useful variation without the usual overwhelming deleterious effects. The results presented could stimulate increased use of chemical mutagens. The other five chapters include two related reviews by Elizabeth Williams. She combines with G. Maheswaran and J.F. Hutchinson to review the use of embryo and ovule culture in plant breeding. The authors show how recent advances in other aspects of tissue culture research are having a positive impact on the use and efficacy of embryo culture. The role of embryo culture in obtaining interspecific hybrids in pasture legumes is covered in Chapter 7. Interspecific hybridization has the potential to produce novel variants which, according to the author, may be necessary to obtain economic pasture production in the less-favourable environments to which pastures are being pushed by expanded cropping. A chapter by P.M. Lyrene on breeding rabbiteye blueberries, a minor horticultural crop, may have limited appeal. However, the breeding history and methodology presented can serve as both a model, and as an indicator of potential problems, for breeders seeking to develop a naturally occurring species as a cultivated crop. The final two chapters should be of interest to all breeders. A descriptive paper on the production and nature of gametoclonal variation is presented by R.A. Morrison and D.A. Evans. They explore the possible sources of gametoclonal variation, but conclude that the "actual causes .... remain a mystery". Host/parasite genetics are re-examined by G.S. Sidhu, who invokes recent results from molecular genetic research to support the hypothesis that the differences between minor and major genes, and vertical and horizontal resistance, may be more in the realm of human imagination than biological reality. Research required to resolve this question is advocated. This volume of Plant Breeding Reviews presents an interesting sample of plant-breeding topics, each with long reference lists that reflect a thoroughness of preparation. The book has a clear and easy to read typestyle and artwork, and useful keyword level indexes for this volume and all five volumes in the series. B.C. IMRIE
The Cunningham Laboratory, CSIRO Div. of Crops and Pastures 306 Carmody Road, St. Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia