Biology and Chemistry of Jerusalem Artichoke

Stanley J. Kays, Stephen F. Nottingham

... a wealth of information of exemplary quality and quantity .... The presentation of its contents alone takes up seven pages. The authors have compiled an in-depth account of a rather unique plant species. ... the author's own extensive bibliography of more than 2,000 references ... is representative for the level of detail and the wealth of information that can be found throughout the publication. It is also representative of the immense expertise of the two authors who put 25 years of research into this timely review of research. ... This publication serves as a valuable single source reference for all aspects of Jerusalem artichoke, and can only be highly recommended.—Thomas Brendler, Plantaphile, Berlin, Germany, in Economic Botany, 2009, 63(4)…The authors consider [the Jerusalem artichoke] to be an underexploited resource and have cited a ‘diverse and representative cross section of publications’ to provide access to the relevant literature and patents. Indeed, there is a list of patents on Jerusalem artichoke relating to medical and veterinary, food, drink and nutraceuticals, animal feed, non-food industrial applications as well as to genetic manipulation and biotechnology, cultivation, and plant breeding. …The key chapter is on genetics and plant breeding, as utilization will be dependent on such advances… the book represents a very useful account of the state of the knowledge of the Jerusalem artichoke.—Richard Wilkins in Experimental Agriculture, Vol. 44, 2008…a very useful source of up-to-date information for both, experimental botanists, biochemists and physiologists, as well as for specialists, who are interested in the breeding, cultivation and many-sided utilization of this crop.—Biologia PlantariumIf we look to Earth plant resources, we can find that nature’s storehouse is truly huge. …Some of these ‘‘alternative crops’’ are the wild plants, but some of them, like Jerusalem artichoke, are old species cultivated in ancient time. …summarizes our knowledge about nomenclature, origin, and history of Helianthus tuberosus. …a very interesting overview on physiological processes determining photosynthetic productivity of Jerusalem artichoke plants. …provides a detailed description of the latest research on this ‘old-new alternative’ crop, is well and systematically organized, reader-friendly with many clear tables, graphs, draws and some photos and is carefully edited. Each chapter is supplemented with rich bibliography, but at the end of book a list of issued patents that refer to Jerusalem artichoke and a subject and Latin binomials indexes are included. I would highly recommend this publication to all who are interested in alternative crops, for agriculture educators and students as well as for farmers because this book covers the subject comprehensive on scientific and practical point of view.—D. Choluj, in Acta Physiol Plant, 2008

• Introduction: An Underutilized Resource, Nomenclature, Origin and History, Classification, Identification, Distribution, Plant Morphology and Anatomy, Chemical Composition and Inulin Chemistry, Value in Human and Animal Diets, Biomass and Biofuel, Genetic Resources, Breeding, and Cultivars, Propagation, Developmental Biology, Resource Allocation, and Yield, Pollinators, Pests and Diseases, Agronomic Practices, Storage, Economics, Appendix