The Use and Fate of Pesticides in Vegetable-based Agro-ecosystems in Ghana reviews current knowledge on pesticides use in vegetable farming in Ghana and establishes the fate of pesticides in situ in tropical vegetable-based agro-ecosystems as well as their environmental and public health impacts on selected population groups. A field survey showed that vegetable farmers often spray pesticides on prophylactic basis due to lack of information. Although some farmers may be aware of pesticide hazards, adequate protection is hardly taken to minimize risks. About 70% of exposed farmers had a reduction of 30% or more in whole blood acetylcholinesterase activity. About 95% of the farmers interviewed reported symptoms attributable to pesticide exposure. Water, waterbed sediment, and vegetable crops were checked for residues of the pesticides monitored on the farmers? fields. Residues detected in water and waterbed sediment indicated that these have come from runoff from vegetable fields and that the measured levels were transient. Pesticide residue levels detected in five vegetable crop types (tomato, cabbage, pepper, onion, and eggplants) were correlated to the minimal risk levels (MRLs) set by the United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Mean intakes of residues by 22- to 75-year old adult farmers were found to be low and did not seem to be associated with health risk. Data on persistent pesticide residues in farmers? breast milk and blood serum indicated the presence of DDTs, dieldrin, HCB, and HCHs. When daily intakes of DDTs and HCHs to infants through breastfeeding were estimated, some farmers accumulated these compounds in breast milk above the threshold for adverse effects, which raise concerns on children health. Evidence was found for persistence of isomers of endosulfan and its sulfate metabolite in tomato cropped soil and plant tissues. However, the residue concentration in tomato fruits decreased to a level below the Codex MRL given a two-week pre-harvest interval during which no application of the chemical is done. The publication concludes that successful action to reduce the negative impact of pesticides requires sustained, low cost, and well-targeted training interventions.

Students and scientists in the fields of environmental chemistry and/or science, farmers, agricultural extension officers and environmental and health regulatory agencies will find this book very useful.

Bio-inoculants in Horticultural Crops, Volume Three in the Advances in Bio-inoculant Sciences series, focuses on real-time application of novel microbes that have been proven to enhance and improve plant health and productivity. The book provides comprehensive information on a range of biological approaches and mechanisms for the improvement of horticultural crops being practiced in different production systems. Covering the subject from historical developments to recent advances in microbial interventions, it addresses the potential role and bio-mechanism of bio-inoculants for challenges including stress tolerance, production, commercialization, application methodology, challenges and future roadmap for sustainable production system of horticultural crops. This volume will be useful to scientists, academicians, and students of horticulture, agriculture microbiology, plant protection, and other related subjects.

G.HAINNAUX Departement Milieu et Activites Agricoles, Centre ORSTOM, 911 Avenue d' Agropolis, B.P. 5045, 34032 Montpellier Cedex , France. Solid state fermentation, popularly abbreviated as SSF, is currently investigated by many groups throughout the world. The study of this technique was largely neglected in the past in European and Western countries and there is now a high demand for SSF, meaning in food, environment, agricultural, phannaceutical and many other biotechnological applications. It gives me satisfaction to note that the importance of this technique was realised at my department way back in 1975 since then, our team has put concentrated efforts on developing this technique. xvii Foreword Advances in Solid State Fermentation Foreword M. PUYGRENIER Agropolis Valorisation, Avenue d' Agropolis, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. On the name of the Scientific Community, I would like to express the wish that this International Symposium on SSF should be successful. Solid State Fermentation is part of biotechnology research. It consists on seeding solid culture medium with bacteria or fungi (filamentous or higher) and on producing, in this medium (solid components and exudates) metabolites and high value products. In fact, this process is very old. In older industries such the food and agricultural, this technique has been extensively used. An example of this is the production of pork sausages and Roquefort cheese. Pharmaceutical industry could make extensive use of SSF in the production of secondary metabolites of many kinds and development in this direction is soon expected.

This book was developed from the papers presented at a symposium on "Water Relationships in Foods," which was held from April 10-14, 1989 at the 197th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Dallas, Texas, under the auspices of the Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division of ACS. The editors of this book organized the symposium to bring tagether an es teemed group of internationally respected experts, currently active in the field of water relationships in foods, to discuss recent advances in the 1980's and future trends for the 1990's. It was the hope of all these con tributors that this ACS symposium would become a memorable keystone above the foundation underlying the field of "water in foods. " This strong foundation has been constructed in large part from earlier technical conferences and books such as the four milestone International Symposia on the Properties of Water (ISOPOW I-IV), the recent IFT BasicSymposium on "Water Activity" and Penang meeting on Food Preservation by Maisture Control, as well as the key fundamental contributions from the classic 1980 ACS Symposium Series #127 on Water in Polymers, and from Felix Franks' famous seven-volume Comprehensive Treatise on Water plus five subsequent volumes of the ongoing Water Science Reviews. The objective of the 1989 ACS symposiumwas to build on this foun dation by emphasizing the most recent and maj or advanc."

Bamboos constitute one of a few select categories of plants which are taxonomically related, very rich in species and of vital economic and ecological importance. Since the early 20th century the accepted number of species of bamboos, world wide, has tripled. However, until now information was scattered through numerous, often not easily available publications.

"The Bamboos of the World," is the first comprehensive (taxonomic as well as horticultural) reference work that provides basic information on bamboos world wide, whether they are wild or cultivated, well-known or rather unknown. The work, based on bamboo literature, facilitates access to further data by citation and a comprehensive bibliography. Among the main data included are botanical names with synonyms, and geographical distribution of genera and species, varieties with their distinctive characters, common bamboo names, plant introductions to the West, plant size and uses. The distribution of genera is mapped.

"The Bamboos of the World" presents a wealth of essential information in an accessible and structured manner. It gives the opportunity to check under what names, and where, relevant information on any bamboo can be found. For the researcher with management and development interests it provides a convenient means of basing bamboo resource on a sound understanding of generic and species relationships, with names that appear in earlier literature put into context. The work should prove to be invaluable for those interested in the morphology, taxonomy, distribution and cultivation of bamboos. It should support botanical, forestry, horticultural and ecological research, training and resource management.

"This beautifully produced book will be inspiring to botanical artists and all those who are captivated by the orchid." -Leisure Painter Orchids have long held a place of esteem and fascination in the horticultural world. In the 19th century, orchid collecting reached new fanatical heights, with explorers dispatched to every corner of the globe in search of new varieties that could be auctioned at extravagant prices, and orchids are still one of the most popular flowers to breed and buy to this day. These beautiful, diverse flowers are one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with over 30,000 species and over 181,500 hybrids and cultivars. The RHS Orchid Committee have commissioned watercolours of over 7,000 award-winning hybrids that demonstrate particular value in their fabulous array of colours, patterns, sizes and shapes. Through these paintings, stories of high stakes orchid breeding and exhibiting are explored, with a cast of characters who helped shape the horticultural world we know today, alongside the dedicated artists who still support their endeavours.

This book creates a multidisciplinary forum of discussion on Ficus carica with particular emphasis on its horticulture, post-harvest, marketability, phytochemistry, extraction protocols, biochemistry, nutritional value, functionality, health-promoting properties, ethnomedicinal applications, technology and processing. The impact of traditional and innovative processing on the recovery of high-added value compounds from Ficus carica byproducts is extensively reported. Also, the text discusses the potential applications of Ficus carica in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Fig (Ficus carica): Production, Processing, and Properties illustrates a diversity of developments in food science and horticultural research including: Production, processing, chemistry, and functional properties of Ficus carica. Ficus carica phytochemicals and its health-promoting effects. Food, non-food and technological applications of Ficus carica. Recent research focuses on studying the bioactive compounds and therapeutic traits and investigating the mode of action and toxicological impacts of medical plant extracts and bioactive phytochemicals. Ficus carica is of significant importance due to its widespread food, industrial and medicinal applications. Although Ficus carica products are already commercially available in the international market, it is hard to find a reference work covering the production, processing, chemistry and properties of Ficus carica. This book will be the first publication focusing specifically on this important topic.

Providing a guide to the cultivation of both the terrestrial and epihytic orchid species growing in South Africa, this volume includes numerous hints, illustrations and photographs to help simplify the process. Detailed growing notes are given for over 60 terrestrial and over 40 epiphytic species.