When I received an invitation to attend the International Symposium on Lethal Yellowing being organised by the Centro de Investigacion Cientifica de Yucatan (CICy), I was excited and a little nostalgic. During the 1970s, a series of similar symposia had been held under the auspices of the loosely-constituted "International Council on Lethal Yellowing" (ICL Y). These were the years when the MLO cause for L Y was first proposed, a vector was found, the disease was racing across mainland Florida, USA and it was suspected of having jumped to Cozumel. Analogous diseases were also reported to be spreading in Africa and elsewhere. The ICL Y meetings, held approximately every two years, proved to be an immensely valuable forum for all involved in the research and control of L Y. They attracted a very wide cross-section of scientists and practitioners working on L Y, on related diseases, and on palms in general. Many participants of those ICL Y meetings also attended this CICY Symposium. Unfortunately, during the 1980s, as countries learned to live with L Y, most of the national and international funding for L Y research dried up, and so did ICL Y. The present symposium is the only international meeting to have been devoted to L Y since the last meeting of rCLY in 1979. Its convening in Merida is timely.

The coconut palm occupies a significant place in the world economy as an important subsistence crop in all the areas in which it is grown. Relatively few countries are able to export any quantity of coconut products because of increasing home demands coupled with low productivity. Yields are generally well below potential despite recent developments with improved planting stock and agronomic practices. In the last 50 years, both these aspects have received considerable attention, but the focus is shifting to investigate how the use of recently developed biotechnological techniques- can benefit the coconut industry. This volume, the result of the International Symposium on Coconut Biotechnology (held in December 1997 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico), describes recent research in three important areas. Standard plant breeding techniques used with coconut have produced improved planting material, but progress is inevitably very slow. Can more rapid genetic improvement be obtained using molecular techniques? The papers presented in this section suggest that such techniques will open up exciting new prospects, but only after basic information has been gathered on the genetic status of existing coconut stocks. Research using microsatellite techniques seems to provide a useful tool to help to classifying these stocks. However, only a combination of classical breeding methods with modem techniques will lead to the rapid improvement which is required to supply material for urgent replanting programs.

Since the publication of "The coconut palm - A monograph" in 1960, considerable information has been accrued on the crop through work at research institutes, international organisations and development agencies. Although coconut cultivation is spread over 93 countries, providing employment and creating livelihood opportunities to 64 million families around the globe, smallholder coconut farmers are now facing numerous challenges. The wide gap between the potential and actual yield is a major concern, and as such it is necessary to disseminate knowledge in order to implement research findings. Coconut research in India, one of the leading coconut producing countries, is celebrating its centenary, making this an opportune time to review the research and development advances and the relevant technologies. This detailed, comprehensive book covers all aspects of coconut, from the origins to cultivation, breeding, physiology and value addition, as well as subjects of topical interest like nutrition and health, biotechnology, and climate change and carbon sequestration. Written by leading experts in the fields it emphasises that the livelihood of the small coconut landholders is the ultimate aim of scientists and developmental agencies, and outlines various important strategies to make coconut farming more remunerative globally. It discusses work in all the major coconut growing countries and outlines suggestions for international cooperation. Research work on the crop is comparatively difficult because of its perennial nature, longevity, height, long juvenile phase, large sized nuts, cross pollination and seed propagation. As these special features necessitate greater investment of resources, time and land, it is all the more imperative that research is not duplicated and the information and experience becoming available around the world is shared so that it can be fully utilised. In this context periodic publications, compiling all the available information on coconut assume greater significance. This book is therefore of great value to researchers, students, extension workers, developmental agencies and progressive farmers.

Volume 2 of this revised edition of ""Tropical Fruits"" examines the more specialist tropical fruits such as guava, durian, mangosteen, passion fruits and palm fruits. With growing interest in the cultivation, production, study, sales and marketability of these specialist fruits, this is a timely and informative book. Topics like botany, soil and climate requirements, cultivar development, world production and harvesting and postharvest handling are covered in-depth for each crop. This practical and accessible book is an ideal text for horticulture academics, researchers, extension workers, st

Palms constitute one of the largest botanical families and include some of the world's most important economic plants. This book reviews the interrelationships between palms and insects. The host plants, distribution and bionomics of representative insects are discussed.

Palms are monocots, Angiosperms, belonging to the family Palmae (Arecaceae), perennials having woody stems. Palmae (Arecaceae) family comprised of about six subfamilies, 200 genera and 2,700 species that are distributed all over the tropical, subtropical and Mediterranean landscape. Palms are diverse (ecologically and morphologically) group of plants. Ornamental palms are important component of landscape as well as interiorscapes. Additionally, these plants are good source of food, feed and shelter with numerous other commercial benefits. Likewise other trees and crops, landscape and field nurseries of palms are also subjected to various threats of insect pest and diseases (caused by different plant pathogens). Amongst fungal diseases leaf spots, leaf blights, Fusarium wilts, butt rots, bud rots, root rots, lethal yellowing and decline of palms are major growth constraints of palm growth. In developing countries very little attention has been paid on the etiology and management of these fungal diseases on ornamental palms. Accurate diagnosis and reliable management plan of palm fungal diseases usually requires expertise in both modern and advanced plant pathological approaches. Historically it was general belief that plant pathogens are not associated with human diseases. Since 19th century, several clinical reports are available indicating many plant pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Alternaria spp., Trichoderma spp., Fusarium spp., Curvularia spp. and Colletotrichum Spp) as novel agents of human diseases. Besides the association of fungal plant pathogens infecting ornamental palms, harbouring any of earlier mentioned or other fungal species (capable of causing certain diseases in human beings or pets) by the ornamental palms cultivation (either grown indoor or outdoor) is an important area of research to be explored and addressed thoroughly. This book will provide the deep information regarding major fungal diseases of ornamental palms, their symptoms, disease identification, and etiology and management strategies. This book will also provide unique knowledge regarding the ornamental palms harbouring kinds of human fungal pathogens and their practical management at domestic and commercial scale, in order to make cultivation of these plant more beneficial for humans, animals and environment.