Published January, 1993
214 J. ENVIRON.
OUAL.,VOL.22, JANUARY-MARCH
of Land, Air andWaterResources, University of California,
Davis, CA95616.
Plant Biochemical Regulators
Edited by Harold W. Gausman,Marcel Dekker, 270 Madison
Ave., NewYork, NY 10016. 1992. 376 p. $125.00 (U.S. and
Canada);$143. 75 (all other countries). ISBN0-8247-8536-3.
The book entitled Plant BiochemicalRegulators compiles
previously published and recent information on plant growth
regulators. At present, whenconsiderable research is being
conductedon the practical aspects of various types of growth
regulators, this bookprovides an introduction into the bio-
chemical mechanismsof their action and points the wayto
future research. However,the term biochemicalregulator is a
misnomer,since most regulators act biochemicallyone wayor
the other. The fundamentalaspect of regulators referred to in
this bookis their capability to alter plant development,and
hencethe term plant growthregulators is moreappropriate as
a title.
Interaction betweentime, genetic potential, and environ-
mentand their effects on the endogenousbalance of hormones
regulates the growthand development of plants. Theseprocesses
can be altered by the application of exogenousplant growth
regulators. Thediscoveryof the phenoxysin the 1940sand its
impact on revolutionizing agriculture is a prime exampleof
plant growthregulation. Renewed interest in the field of plant
growthregulators is essential and this book, consisting of six
parts, is a desirableadditionto an understanding of plant growth
regulation.
Thesix parts deal with different topics althoughPart 4 on
growthretardants could have been combinedwith Part 1 since
growthretardants interfere with the isoprenoid pathway.This
part deals with substituted amines such as MPTA and DCPTA
that regulate carotenoid and rubber biosynthesis. Theycould
be used for enhancement of desirable food color, and increased
rubber production in guayule plants. UnderPart 2, although
the chapter on environmentalregulation of cellular protective
systemsis a gooddescription of protective systems, the role
of plant growthregulators is less clear. Chapter5 deals with
an importanttopic of source-sink relationships and specific
areas of researchfor regulation of these relationships are dis-
cussed. Thechapter (6) on lipid metabolites is highly specu-
lative. The conceptthat peroxidativemetabolismof lipids can
give rise to signals that can act as secondmessengersis chal-
lenging and needs testing. Chapter7 is a goodreview article
on the role of growthregulators is tissue culture. Biologically
active natural productsincluding fungal metabolitesand their
potential use in agriculture is coveredin Chapter8. Theuse
of monoclonaland polyclonal antibodies in plant research are
reviewed in Chapter 9, and it is suggested that moreplant
scientists should use this powerfultechnology.Several essen-
tial proceduresused in monoclonalantibodyresearch are de-
scribed by the author. Thesection on plant growthretardants
(Chapter10) deals mainlywith gibberellin inhibitors and their
side-effects and these aspects are well covered. Chapter 11
presents data on the use of somespecific growthregulators in
alleviating salt stress of cotton. Theuse of tertiary aminesas
plant growthregulators whichwasdiscussed earlier in Chap-
ters 2 and 3 is again dealt within Chapter12. Resultsindicate
that these compounds increase net-carbon assimilation, pho-
tosynthetic mobilization,and biomassgain leading to increase
in crop yield. Chapter13 is a comprehensive and an excellent
coverageon the status and future of plant growthregulators in
agriculture. The bookends with a useful chapter (14) on non-
destructiveanalysis of plants.
1993
Mostof the chapters in this bookare highly specific except
for the last twochapters (13 and 14). Thesuggestedlist price
is high and henceuseful only as library reference materiai.--
R.A. FLETCHER, Department of Environmental Biology,
Universify of Guelph, Guelph, ONCanadaN1G2W1.
Environmental Pollution Control Engineering
C.S. Rao, John Wiley &Sons, 605 Third Ave., NewYork, NY
10158. 1991. 431 p. ISBN 0-470-21763-4.
Pollution of all sorts is one of the biggest problemsfacing
the world today. Environmental groups have awakenedgov-
ernments and the general public to someof these problems.
As a result, legislation aimedat protecting the environment
and attempting to solve the pollution dilemmahas been en-
acted. Yet, muchstill remains to be done in this field. The
first step in finding a solution to "’saving the environment"is
increased knowledgeof the pollution problem.In an attempt
to educate,this bookdeals with different control processesfor
air and water pollution, along with a brief discussion of solid
waste management.
The bookis brokendowninto four mainsections. Thefirst
section, coveredin Chapter1, is an introduction to the pol-
lution problem. Chapters 2 through 6 make up the second
section and are concernedwith air pollution. This section deals
with sources and effects, meteorologicalaspects of air pollu-
tant dispersion, sampling and measurementcontrol methods,
and equipmentand control of specific gaseous pollutants.
Chapters7, 8, and 9 handlethe water pollution section of this
book. Thesechapters deal with sources and classification of
water pollutants, wastewatersamplingand analysis, and waste-
water treatment. Thelast section, Chapter10, is a brief dis-
cussion of solid waste management.
This book’s pages are thin, allowing one to see printing
through fromthe backside of each page. Also, the figures in
the bookare of poor quality and are lighter than the rest of the
text.
EnvironmentalPollution Control Engineeringis a goodin-
troduction to environmentalproblemsand controls. However,
the bookattempts to cover too muchground, and appears to
be geared toward a chemical/environmental engineer.--C.
FREDERICK, Departmentof Chemical Engineering, The Uni-
versity of Alabama,Tuscaloosa, AL 35486.
Toxic Metal Chemistry in Marine Environments
Muhammad Sadiq, Marcel Dekker, 270 Madison Ave., New
York, NY10016. 1992. 390 p. $115. 00.
Toxic Metal Chemistry in MarineEnvironments describes
the marinechemistryof six potentially toxic elementsin a book
containingnine chapters and three appendices.Thefirst three
chapters provide a short introduction, a very basic description
of marine chemistry that emphasizesthe thermodynamicas-
pects of the subject, and a chapter on solubility equilibria of
the major elementsin seawaterand sediments. Therest of the
bookconsists of individual chapters on the chemistries of ar-