Includes authoritative, up-to-date chapters by thirty-five contributors from around the world on topics ranging from evolution to biotechnology. The first half of the book provides a thorough overview of cactus biology and morphology and discusses the environmental and conservation issues that affect the plants. It includes a discussion of the evolution of the family, paying particular attention to new genetic and molecular approaches. The second half of the book focuses on the practical concerns of cultivating cacti, such as pest control and diseases, horticultural and forage applications, and techniques for agronomy. Other chapters cover the different markets for cacti and products that are made from them.
List of Contributors Preface 1. Evolution and Systematics Robert S. Wallace and Arthur C. Gibson 2. Shoot Anatomy and Morphology Teresa Terrazas Salgado and James D. Mauseth 3. Root Structure and Function Joseph G. Dubrovsky and Gretchen B. North 4. Environmental Biology Park S. Nobel and Edward G. Bobich 5. Reproductive Biology Eulogio Pimienta-Barrios and Rafael F. del Castillo 6. Population and Community Ecology Alfonso Valiente Banuet and Hector Godinez-Alvarez 7. Consumption of Platyopuntias by Wild Vertebrates Eric Mellink and Monica E. Riojas-Lopez 8. Biodiversity and Conservation Thomas H. Boyle and Edward F. Anderson 9. Mesoamerican Domestication and Diffusion Alejandro Casas and Giuseppe Barbera 10.Cactus Pear Fruit Production Paolo Inglese, Filadelfio Basile, and Mario Schirra 11. Fruits of Vine and Columnar Cacti Avinoam Nerd, Noemi Tel-Zur, and Yosef Mizrahi 12. Forage, Fodder, and Animal Nutrition Ali Nefzaoui and Hichem Ben Salem 13. Nopalitos, Mucilage, Fiber, and Cochineal Carmen Saenz-Hernandez, Joel Corrales-Garcia, and Gildardo Aquino-Perez 14. Insect Pests and Diseases Helmuth G. Zimmermann and Giovanni Granata 15. Cactus Breeding and Biotechnology Brad Chapman, Candelario Mondragon Jacobo, Ronald A. Bunch, and Andrew H. Paterson Index
Park S. Nobel is Professor of Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of eight books, including Physicochemical and Environmental Plant Physiology (second edition, 1999), Remarkable Agaves and Cacti (1994), Environmental Biology of Agaves and Cacti (1988), and, with A.C. Gibson, The Cactus Primer (1986).
There is nothing in the world like this book. It should be in every library and on the bookshelves of all those interested in cacti. The book will be an important resource for plant physiology, agronomy, and horticulture classes at both the undergraduate and graduate level.-Bruce Smith, Brigham Young University