Soltani (Gorgan U. of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran) and Sinclair (crop science, North Carolina State U.) say it is time to move beyond intuition in developing new varieties of crops. They develop and present quantitative hypotheses for the key processes in crop development, growth, and yield. They emphasize functions that offer comparatively simple hypotheses, yet are appropriate over a range of conditions. Chapter-end exercises are at three levels of sophistication. Models and programs described in the book can be downloaded from an associated website, which they plan to update frequently with extra exercises, revised crop parameter estimates, and specific crop models. Distributed in the US by Stylus Publishing. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)