[CH] Book Review
Bob Batson (bob@sky.net)
Sat, 19 Jun 1999 11:53:57 -0500 (CDT)
The following book might be of interest to you serious chile growers.
Since the book is so expensive, your local library probably won't have it.
But you can also ask the library to get it for you via Inter-Library Loan.
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_Botanical Pesticides in Agriculture_, by Anand Prakash and Jagadiswari
Rao, Lewis Publishers (CRC Press), Boca Raton, FL, 1997, 461 pp.,
$104.95, ISBN 0-97371-825-9.
Given its price, this book is obviously not for casual purchase;
neither is it for casual reading--and we doubt that anyone would want to
read it from cover to cover! But if you're looking for specific
information (and references to research) on plant-derived pesticides,
nothing else comes close. Brief summaries of the pesticidal activities
for hundreds of plants are arranged (in alphabetical order by scientific
name) in three sections: for control of insect pests; for control of
pathogenic nematodes; and for control of mites, rodents, and molluscan
pests. An additional section lists biologically active chemicals that
have been isolated from plants. The utility of the book is assured by
its indexes: the first lists common names of plants, and the second
lists both scientific and common names of insect pests.
To give you an idea of the thoroughness of this book, there are more
than 60 pages on the insecticidal properties of materials derived from
the neem tree, with several tables presenting the results of dozens of
experiments.
_Botanical Pesticides in Agriculture_ will be invaluable for
researchers--ranging from backyard amateurs and students who are doing
science projects to professionals in academia and industry--searching
for viable alternatives to synthetic pesticides. We hope that many
public libraries will purchase this expensive book and make it available
to those who cannot afford to buy their own copy, so as to facilitate
such research.
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Reprinted with permission from the February 1998 _HortIdeas_. Copyright
1998 by Greg and Pat Williams. _HortIdeas_ (ISSN 0742-8219) is published
monthly by Gregory and Patricia Y. Williams, 750 Black Lick Road,
Switch, KY 40328 U.S.A. Annual subscription rates: U.S., $20 periodicals
or $22 first class; Canada and Mexico, $26; Overseas, $30 surface mail
or $35 air mail. Single issues: North America, $2.00 each; Overseas,
$3.00 each, surface mail, or $3.50 each, air mail. The email address for
_HortIdeas_ is: gwill@mis.net. _HortIdeas_ is now on the world wide web
at http://www.users.mis.net/~gwill/
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Bob Batson L 39 12 14 N 94 33 16 W
bob@sky.net Kansas City
TCS - Mystic Fire Priest USDA zone 5b
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Under the most controlled conditions, the experimental apparatus will
do exactly as it pleases.