Books in the World Crop Series series

In a field of mature bananas, plants can be seen at all stages of vegetative growth and fruit maturity, providing a fascination for anyone who has an interest in growing crops.

The purpose of this four volume series is to make available for college teachers and students samples of important and realistic applications of mathematics which can be covered in undergraduate programs.

Hardly a decade ago, membrane receptors were an attractive but largely unproven concept. Such sensitivity and specificity is provided by the ability of receptors to bind certain ligands with very high affmity, and it is not surprising that most of the methods described in this volume depend upon this high affinity binding.

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) was discovered as a con sequence of the chronic problem encountered by cancer biologists in the early years of this century: the failure to maintain tumor lines by serial passage in outbred mice.

Elucidation of receptor mechanisms and receptor structure has become the common goal of many scientists from diverse backgrounds. The second group of receptors are the soluble cytoplasmic receptors for the steroid hormones. A third type of hormone receptor is the receptor for the thyroid hormones which appears to be confined to the nucleus.

However, in spite of its low profile, grassland research has resulted in considerable advances in our knowledge in the last 20 years, and we feel that this book provides a timely opportunity to bring together some of this work in a review of what is primarily the ecophysiology of the temperate grass crop.