Bookshelf

Guide to plants tolerant of arid and semi arid conditions.

by E Weiss

Margraf Scientific Publishers, Weikersheim, Germany (1989) 543 pp, hardback.

Arid and semi-arid lands constitute 50% of tropical Africa and support over 35% of its population. Increasing livestock populations put tremendous pressure on these drylands which now face constant ecological degradation through overexploitation. It is this insidious process of desertification that turns marginal crop and pasture land into wasteland, reduces the quality of life of the people and threatens their survival.

Rehabilitation of degraded areas is essential and to achieve this, the identification of drought resistant plants is important.

Information on the plant species of arid and semi-arid lands has been published previously, but not in easily accessible format. This publication compiles a summary of plants reported to tolerate arid or semi-arid condition, gives a (very) brief guide to the uses these plants might have, but most usefully, serves as an identification guide to the plant species: about 500 of them are illustrated.

The large size and weight (1.6 kg) of this book make it rather cumbersome for field use, but it is a most useful reference text. The book does not mention melliferous value in any way. Species are merely categorised according to whether they have any of six potential uses, one of which is fodder/forage.

Information charts

by Nicola Bradbear

London, UK; IBRA 1986. Full colour Al size (58 x 73 cm).

Available from IBRA, price £5.00 each excluding postage and packing.

The charts are designed as teaching aids.

CHART 1. Information on Beeswax. This chart aims to persuade beekeepers not to discard beeswax, but to value it as an additional crop which can, by simple methods, be readily processed for market.

CHART 2. Information on Honey. This chart describes what honey is and how it is made by bees. Simple details are given on how to prepare honey for market, what determines honey quality, and the difference between granulated and liquid honey.

CHART 3. Information on Top-bar hives. The basic features of a top-bar hive are described along with illustrations of various types. Some advantages and disadvantages of beekeeping in top-bar hives are listed, and the basic principles of their construction are given.

CHART 4. Information on Pollination. This chart helps explain to crop-growers the value of honeybees in pollination. Brief descriptions of why pollination is important and how it takes place are given, along with lists of tropical crop plants that benefit from honeybee pollination.

The charts are available from IBRA, but free of charge only to beekeepers projects and associations, schools and agricultural colleges in developing countries. This forms part of the IBRA Advisory Service for beekeepers in developing countries.

Proceeds from the sale of the charts will be used to maintain the Advisory Service.

The Sixth international Symposium on Pollination, Tilburg. The Netherlands 1990

edited by C van Heemert and A de Ruijter

Research Centre for Insect Pollination and Beekeeping and International Society for Horticultural Science, Wageningen, The Netherlands (1991) 472 pp, paperback.

Available from BRA, price £38.00 excluding postage and packing.

The texts of 59 papers and 23 posters presented at the Symposium held in The Netherlands in August 1990.

Papers are grouped according to subject: The use of insects as pollinators, Management of solitary bees and bumblebees, Commercial production of seeds and fruits using solitary bees and bumblebees, Commercial production of seeds and fruits using honeybees, Plants in their relation to pollinators, and Insect pollination in relation to plant breeding.

Papers within the Proceedings relate to temperate and tropical crop plants, and species of bees other than Apis mellifera are considered.

These Proceedings provide a concentrated guide to current pollination science. They will be of value to those involved with research into plant-bee relationships or the management of bee species for pollination.

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