Book Review 34
Review
Title: Wheat: Science and Trade
Author(s):
Editor(s): Brett F. Carver
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
ISBN 13: 9780813820248
Published: 2009
Pages: 616
Cost: $249.99
Rating (1-5): 4
Submitted By: Noaman, Maher Mohammed
Date posted: January 28, 2010
Appropriate for academia, researchers, students, and consultants.
Wheat has long been and still is the subject of much research worldwide, since wheat is one of the world’s largest and most multipurpose crops. It is currently the premier food grain of the world, because of its versatility in production and utilization, and because of the huge number of research knowledge supporting modern wheat production, industry, and marketing that are found in the present book. Much of what the world’s agricultural society produces in food derives from wheat and other cereal crops. Hence, a critical and nutritious part of the human diet comes from wheat; this is why it is called a "staple crop."
The book Wheat: Science and Trade is edited by Brett F. Carver, Regents Professor and Wheat Genetics Chair in Agriculture at Oklahoma State University, whose research in wheat breeding and genetics extends for more than 25 years.
The book is an up-to-date, comprehensive reference designed to expand the current knowledge and information on this important crop, and integrating new information made accessible by genetic advances, improvements in the understanding of wheat’s biology, and changes in the wheat trade business. Moreover, it covers several aspects of the wheat crop such as phylogeny and ontogeny, adaptation to divergent environments and optimal management, genetic improvement, utilization, and commercialization. The book focuses on the most economically significant diseases and other hazards challenging global wheat production.
The book is divided into four main sections including 23 well-written chapters by 64 eminent scientists in different wheat specialties.
Sections 1 and 2 focus on wheat evolution, domestication, and improvement with broad perceptions of diseases, weeds, and insects management strategies. Section 3 puts emphasis on wheat breeding and genetic strategies, including QTL detection and marker-assisted selection, genome organization and comparative genomics, synthetic wheat as an emerging technology, and transgenic applications in wheat improvement. Section 4 wraps up the book with an exciting discussion of changes in industry trade, quality measurements, and new trends of wheat utilization and modified wheat products, ending with U.S. wheat marketing system and price discovery.
Most chapters in the book follow a similar format, many of which provide concise summaries, future perspectives on emerging research areas, along with relevant references to the subject of interest.
Being written by a global team of expert authors, Wheat: Science and Trade is presented in a logical format making it available to a wide range of readers. It is appropriate for academia (undergraduate and graduate students studying crop production and utilization), researchers, and consultants. The main audience includes agricultural scientists working in areas such as crop science, weed science, plant pathology, entomology, genetics, cultivar development, physiology, taxonomy, cereal chemistry, food processing, agribusiness, and the like. Professional agricultural teachers and practitioners, and the customers they serve, will also find this book of great significance.