Copeland, L.O. and McDonald, M.B. Principles of seed science and technology. 4th edn.

Abstract

The publication of a fourth edition of this book testifies to the ready market that the authors have found. However, it has to be said that the book is very much for a North American readership. The target group, according to the authors, is advanced undergraduates and lay people seeking an introduction to the science and technology of seeds. The lay people, it should be added, are most likely to be the technical operatives in the seed industry in the USA. This group is of a considerable size compared with its counterpart in western Europe, and the same could be said of the advanced undergraduate population. This is a reflection of the scale of production in the USA, which is the world’s number one producer of maize and soyabean, and second only to China in wheat production. The crop areas are vast, and there is an appetite for innovation, as evidenced by the widespread use of genetically modified maize, soyabean and cotton. The authors describe the book as being in two parts, the first nine chapters present the seed, in the authors’ words, as a biological system, and the second nine chapters cover more technological aspects relating to the use of seeds in crop production. The seed science chapters of the book on flowering, seed formation, chemistry, ecology, germination, dormancy and deterioration combine a generalized overview that is appropriate to the target audience, with details from specific references that may not always help the student or lay reader. For example, the significance of the details of embryogeny could well escape the reader more interested in the technicalities of seed production. The extensive use of primary references is seen in several places in the earlier chapters, such as the subsection on the effect of soil fertility on seed development, which includes reference to detailed work on six different crops without a clear picture emerging. Although commendable in trying to present the evidence, such a treatment does not always leave the reader with a framework on which to build the technology. In view of the target readership, one wonders how useful the long lists of references at the end of the chapters will be. Sometimes, when seeking to put over principles, a few crucial references and perceptive reviews, as well as an author’s own opinions on importance and emphasis, can be more illuminating. The 11 chapters on technological aspects, including those on testing seed viability (Chapter 6) and seed vigour (Chapter 8), usefully bring together what is done in the laboratory and the practical business of producing quality seed for the grower. It is here that the authors’ considerable experience of US agriculture comes to the fore. We might have expected, for a 2001 publication, some inclusion of the use of GMOs and their detection, and the application of molecular methods to detect seed‐borne pathogens. The authors, as indicated in the section on genetic purity testing, are well aware of DNA‐based technologies, but are intent on describing what is used now, rather than what might be used. The presentation of the book is not lavish; for example, the photographs, all of which are black and white, are not always entirely clear. The figures vary in the font used and in their presentational style, with, at times, an excess of information. There are a few typographical errors, one of which, in the viability equation, matters beyond appearance. The glossary and the index are both useful and well done, adding to the value of this text as a reference book for seed technology practitioners.