Integrated management of plant pests and diseases. Volume 2. Integrated management and biocontrol of vegetables and grain crops nematodes

Nematology , 2008, Vol. 10(6), 957-958 Book review A. C IANCIO AND K.G. M UKERJI (E DS). Integrated management of plant pests and diseases. Volume 2. Integrated management and biocontrol of vegetables and grain crops nematodes . Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Springer, 2008, 356 pp. ISBN 978-1-4020-6062-5. Price € 145, US$199. This book is the second of a five volume set focusing on the integrated management of plant pests and diseases caused by phytoplasma, bacteria, fungi, nematodes and insects. Within this series Volume 2 covers nematodes of annual crops, whilst the forthcoming Volume 4 will focus on nematodes of perennial crops. The present Volume 2 is organised in four sections, namely ‘Nematodes in bio- logical control’ (Chapters 1-3), ‘Crops ecology and con- trol’ (Chapters 4-8), ‘Technological advances in sustain- able management’ (Chapters 9-12) and ‘Data analysis and knowledge-based applications’ (Chapters 13-15). Chap- ters are written by international scientists renowned for their expertise in the specific field covered. Within the first section, Chapter 1 reviews the control potential of preda- tory nematodes, a heterogeneous group of antagonists that received very little attention in the past. Parameters such as prey preferences, ecology, biology, mass production and biocontrol potential are described and discussed. The potential to enhance biological control by complementary measurements is presented in Chapter 2. A major group of antagonists are nematophagous fungi which receive specific attention in Chapter 3. Their biology, phylogeny, mode of action and behaviour in the soil-rhizosphere en- vironment is excellently reviewed. Management of plant- parasitic nematodes requires a good understanding of the multitrophic interactions in the soil-plant environment, in- cluding host plant preferences, nematode population dy- namics, diversity of natural antagonists and last, but not least, agronomic practices (Chapter 4). In the following four chapters, examples are given for the integrated man- agement of economically important plant-parasitic nema- todes on Andean tuber and grain crops (Chapter 5), on soybean in the USA (Chapter 6) and in Argentina (Chap- ter 7), and on cotton in the USA and worldwide (Chap- ter 8). Although Chapters 6 and 7 both focus on the soy- bean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines , this is done under different premises such as history of first occur- rence, crop rotation, pathotypes and control measures. The third section is a mix of different technological appli- cations including RNA interference (Chapter 9), Pasteuria spp. (Chapter 10), sustainable methods (Chapter 11) and biofumigation (Chapter 12). Among the molecular ap- proaches, RNA interference is currently the most pow- erful and promising method that might lead in the near future to transgenic plants that control plant-parasitic ne- matodes. Its potential, the underlying mechanisms and fu- ture prospects are described in detail. The chapter on Pas- teuria spp. reviews the latest research on this antagonist, especially highlighting the importance of a thorough un- derstanding of its biology to improve nematode control intensity and consistency. Non-chemical strategies to con- trol H. schachtii on sugar beet are summarised in Chap- ter 11. Those include resistant intercrops and biofumiga- tion, as well as resistant and tolerant sugar beet cultivars. The potential of biofumigation to control plant-parasitic nematodes is specifically addressed in Chapter 12 but also appears in several other chapters. The final section 4 cov- ers three chapters: integrated control of plant-parasitic ne- matodes on wheat (Chapter 13), integrated control of root- knot nematodes on vegetables in the Mediterranean area (Chapter 14) and modelling nematodes regulation by Pas- teuria (Chapter 15). Each chapter on its own represents a valuable contri- bution in the specific field covered. Although chapters are extensively referenced, literature post 2000 is rare in most chapters. In my opinion, Chapter 11 focuses too much on the special situation of H. schachtii control in Italy as indi- cated by numerous research articles in the Italian language which might not be accessible to the majority of readers. A better coverage of the extensive and well-documented research on this topic worldwide would have been desir- able. Nevertheless, it does provide valuable information, which is also useful for other regions. It is the editors’ intention to provide a holistic vision of recent advances and achievements in the practice of crop protection. In following this ambitious goal, they have to acknowledge the fact that a complete coverage of inte- grated nematode control strategies is not easy given the multitude of crops and production systems worldwide. While the editors were forced to select certain aspects, the rationale for the selection process in my opinion is not obvious and, therefore, the book misses a clear structure. The authors’ attempt to create a unique title for their book has resulted in complex wording. In addition, the title is partly misleading as it implies that integrated management and biocontrol are two different control measures instead of biocontrol being part of an integrated control strategy. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008 957 Also available online - www.brill.nl/nemy