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Arthropod management in vineyards: pests, approaches and future directions

This book, covering insect and mite management in vineyards worldwide, fills a significant void in the literature on this subject. Grape entomologists from North America, Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, South America, India, Australia and New Zealand were recruited to provide the 20 contributed chapters in this book which deal with a range of pertinent subjects. A degree of unevenness is always on the cards when a large group of contributors provide the nuts and bolts of a book, and this is the case here. But on the whole, the editors have done a good job in putting all this information together in a coherent and interesting fashion in this single volume. The topics covered are bang up to date and include contemporary issues of sustainability, biodiversity, new threats and novel management strategies. Some chapters really standout such as those on chemical ecology and novel management strategies (Chapter 6, Simpson et al.), ecosystem services (Chapter 7, Tomkins et al.), habitat diversity (Chapter 8, Miles et al.) and mealybugs (Chapter 12, Daane et al.). Others are less stellar. Given the impact of Glassy-winged sharpshooter on California grape production in recent years I was surprised it was not covered in detail in this volume. Putting on my parochial hat for a moment, I was disappointed to see only scant mention in the biological control chapter by Walton et al. (Chapter 5) of the important biological control studies and programs that have occurred in Australian and Washington State viticulture. Much work has been reported on Anagrus spp (biocontrol agents of grape leafhoppers) in Washington State and British Columbia, including confirmation of the existence and importance of Anagrus tretiakovae, which Walton et al. describe as only being found in the southern USA and Mexico. Similarly, the well-documented conservation and use of phytoseiid mites in Australian grapes to control pest mites is not mentioned in this chapter. However, the unevenness of this chapter is offset to some extent by the coverage of biological control in other chapters. In contrast to the biological control chapter, the chapter on pesticides by Bostanian et al. (Chapter 4) is extremely detailed, providing a great depth on the history, chemistry and action of different pesticide groups. However, this level of detail seems a little out of place and tangential in this book which is essentially an overview of arthropod management in grapes worldwide. Real-world examples of chemical control in vineyards should have been included and would have improved this chapter. Some chapters are good and well focused but suffer from poor editing with occasional grammatical and typographical errors. Bentley and Coviello in Chapter 13 on leaf-eating Lepidoptera in American vineyards make factual errors by stating that the Omnivorous leaffolder is a ‘major grape pest of western United States’ (p. 309) and the Grape leaffolder is ‘found throughout the United States’ (p. 310). Both of these pests do not occur in the vineyards of the Pacific Northwest. Despite its flaws, this book is an impressive and indispensable volume for its target audience, applied entomologists, students, growers and consultants working in viticulture. In more than 500 pages, almost every aspect of arthropod pest management in grapes is covered, including an invaluable resource of often extensive reference lists at the end of each chapter. It will serve as a starting point for researchers and growers for many years to come.