Book Review: Strawberries (2nd Edition)

Abstract

This new and updated edition provides a broad, balanced review of the scientific knowledge of strawberries and their cultivation. The worldwide strawberry industry has grown substantially since the first edition was published 20 years ago. Furthermore, methods of cultivation have undergone extensive modifications. Important changes have been made to the taxonomy of strawberries and there is a much better understanding today of how its ancestors evolved. New disease and pest control methods have been developed and a large amount of genomic information has been generated. This information has greatly broadened our knowledge of how flowering and fruiting is regulated and will revolutionize the breeding of strawberries.

This book covers various important aspects from taxonomy, ecology, morphology and genetics to environmental physiology, disease and pest control, fruit ripening, storage and processing. 

Drawing on extensive research and practical experience, the author provides in 8 chapters a thorough review of the evolution of strawberries (chapter 1) and the history of strawberry cultivation (chapter 3). Chapter 3 and 4 summarize the major cultivation systems employed across the world and describe the physiology behind these practices.
Chapter 5 addresses strawberry anatomy and developmental physiology including temperature and photoperiod control of flowering. Chapter 6 highlights research work on the fruiting and postharvest physiology. Chapter 7 deals with the diseases and pests of strawberry and describes the individual consequences that came up with the abandonment of methyl bromide.

The last chapter reviews strawberry breeding and genetic research, an area where tremendous progress continues to be made. Particularly in Mediterranean and other sub-tropical environments breeding activities increased dramatically over the last two decades. It is reported that strawberry breeders have begun to widely use molecular approaches in their programs including also marker-assisted and genomic selection.

This book provides an excellent, concise overview of strawberries and their cultivation and can be therefore recommended without any reservation as an exciting and instructive information to a broad range of readers. Not only does it provide valuable support to students of horticulture and various professional groups such as plant breeders, strawberry farmers, plant physiologists, food technologists and chemists, but it also provides an excellent opportunity for interested laypeople to obtain comprehensive information on the current state of knowledge of strawberry science and cultivation. A number of scientific articles are listed in each annex of the 8 chapters, allowing readers to obtain more detailed information on the individual topics.

Bibliography:

James F. Hancock, Strawberries 2^nd edition, CAB International 2020, 275 pages includes bibliographical references and index, price: 53,29 €, ISBN-13: 9781789242270 (hardback), ISBN 9781789242287 (ePDF), ISBN 9781789242294 (ePub)