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Department of Agronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
(jboard{at}agcenter.lsu.edu)
N.K. FAGERIA, V.C. BALIGAR, and R.B. CLARK. Food Products Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904–1580. 2006. Paperback, 345 pp., $49.95. ISBN-10 1–56022–289–1.
The objective of this book is to provide a plant/crop physiology resource aimed at agronomists. The authors have fulfilled this objective very well. The book fills a void in the available literature, since many plant/crop physiology texts are structured around a specific field of interest that may not relate to the general problems of the agronomic profession. Although of interest to scientists working in that specific area, such books usually do not have much appeal for those working with applied agronomic problems which involve the integration of several disciplines and an understanding of plant/crop physiology from the biochemical to the crop level. In contrast, Physiology of Crop Production provides a comprehensive and sweeping overview of the crop itself (both roots and shoots), factors that control crop growth, and two of the major stresses affecting agronomic production (drought and mineral deficiencies/toxicities). In addition, the authors present this information in a concise and "user-friendly" fashion that should be enjoyed by any agronomist trying to solve the myriad problems besetting the agronomic world.
This book is recommended for agronomists working in the private service sector, as well as in agricultural extension and research. Service personnel will appreciate the background information that will help them to better serve their clientele. So many questions from farmers can easily be answered by simply knowing basic agronomic information such as is supplied by this book. Applied research personnel will also benefit when justifying and formulating field research studies. Scientists oriented toward more basic research will be aided by learning how their specific research results could have practical application in the agronomic community.
The authors begin by providing the reader with a comprehensive overview of plant canopy and root architecture in the first two chapters. This basic information is very valuable for any agronomist. From this point, they begin a comprehensive discussion of yield formation (chapter three) including dry matter production, yield component formation, and how developmental timing affects final yield. Finding such information "all in one place" is a unique contribution of this book. Once the groundwork is laid, the authors describe in subsequent chapters how light, carbon dioxide, and canopy parameters such as leaf area index interact to affect the yield formation process outlined in chapter three. The final two chapters of the book concern two of the major stresses affecting agronomic crops, drought stress and mineral deficiencies/toxicities. Discussion here is as deep and thorough as with the previous subjects. The reader is left with a clear understanding of how these stresses affect crop growth and yield from the biochemical to crop level.
Throughout the book, the array of literature used is broad and up-to-date. The authors did not merely transfer information already available in other texts, but they exhaustively compiled citations from many sources. The book provides the reader with a comprehensive and integrated body of information that would take an enormous amount of time for an individual to uncover working alone; and the information is presented in a context useful to any agronomist. Another strength of the book is that the authors confine themselves to the basic area of yield formation in agronomic crops without diverting into esoteric areas of plant/crop physiology that would be of limited interest and/or value to agronomists.
In summary, Physiology of Crop Production is a valuable contribution to the literature available to agronomists. Personally, the most rewarding sections of the book were those that I was not familiar with. I realized how much I didn't know about these areas and how useful the information was for understanding and interpreting agronomic phenomena. Unfortunately, one of the pitfalls of the fast-paced and specialized research world in which we live is that we often get so caught up in our own area of research that we are unaware of what other areas have to offer. This book provides a valuable contribution to agronomy by making us aware of "what the other guy is doing."
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