Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

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PHOTO: bookcover

J.M.M. Engels, V. Ramanatha Rao, A.H.D. Brown and M.T. Jackson (editors).
Managing Plant Genetic Diversity.
New York: CABI Publishing, 2002.
cloth, 487 p., ISBN 0-851-99522-5, $140.

Outstanding genetic researchers and educators address in this volume the scientific and technical aspects of plant genetics, a result of a conference entitled "Science and Technology for Managing Genetic Diversity in the 21st Century" held in Kuala Lumpur in 2000. This conference brought together 230 participants from more than 60 countries, and this volume includes 42 papers organized under 11 different themes.

Papers in this volume are quite diverse, collectively mapping action needed to ensure future plant diversity. These efforts range from an examination of plant diversity in agriculture to the in situ conservation of plants in the wild to the use of genetic techniques to preserve threatened plants. As a result, these proceedings are invaluable to anyone considering the use of new genetic technologies in relation to all kinds of plants.

This book should be in the personal library of anyone interested in managing plant genetic diversity, for it provides a good overview of current research and plans for the near future.

— Elaine Juhl, Master Gardener and Volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.