Like Having "God as Your Co-Author"

Janurary 3rd, 2000

CONTACT: Linda McCandless, llm3@cornell.edu, 315-787-2417

by John Zakour

Dr. Haruo Tashiro

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Dr. Michael Villani

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Note:The second edition of Turfgrass Insects of the United States and Canada is a Comstock book published by Cornell University Press (CUP). The book can be ordered by calling CUP Services at 1-800-666-2211, or send credit card, check or money order for $60 + $3.50 shipping and handling for 1 copy (from NYS, add 8% sales tax) to CUP Services, PO Box 6525, Ithaca, NY, 14851

GENEVA, NY: Imagine rewriting the Bible "with God as your co-author." That’s how Michael Villani, Cornell University professor of entomology, characterized writing the second edition of Turfgrass Insects of the United States and Canada with original author Haruo Tashiro, retired professor of entomology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. Patricia J. Vittum, associate professor of entomology at the University of Massachusetts, also co-authored the recently released book.

The first edition, which was released in 1987 and written solely by Tashiro, is considered the "bible" of the turfgrass industry and is the manual of choice among golf courses from Pebble Beach to Silver Creek. In 1992, because of advances in such areas as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Tashiro decided it was time to write a new edition.

The second edition took three years to complete. Tashiro, who has been retired for over 15 years, thought the book would benefit from having co-authors because he was not comfortable with more current topics like IPM, which was just an emerging field when he retired. Tashiro enlisted Villani, his successor in the department, and his last graduate student, Vittum, to co-author the new edition.

In addition to updating the original chapters, the second edition includes new or extensively rewritten chapters on areas such as: IPM, the principles of biological control, sampling techniques, setting thresholds, and chemical control strategies. The new edition also features more recent images featuring the life stages of nearly all turfgrass pests found in the United States and Canada.

According to Villani, "The book was a true collaboration. Vittum was the first author because she tended to tackle those distasteful tasks that go with the glory and responsibility of first authorship."

Before the rewrite started, the three authors sent copies of the original chapters to turf entomologists around the country with the request that they take a hard and critical look at the chapter(s) and offer feedback and suggestions. Vittum and Villani then split up the original chapters and worked on improving readability, adding new citations, and reorganization.

Villani’s responsibilities were the soil insect chapters. He credits graduate student Paul Robbins with having major input on several of the scarab chapters. New life-sized line drawings by Robert Jarecke, who worked in Villani’s lab, were added to each chapter. Species distribution maps were drawn by Station graphic artist Elaine Gotham. Vittum and Villani then added new chapters on IPM, chemical and biological control tactics. Villani credits graduate student Jennifer Grant with major input on the biocontrol chapter.

After each chapter was rewritten, Tashiro read and made suggestions. All three authors then reviewed the entire text.

The 422-page edition features 576 photographs on 72 color plates. Many of the photos were taken by Tashiro himself who set up a photo lab in the basement of his home with the aid of Station photographers Joe Ogrodnick and Rob Way. Although Tashiro admits he is "very proud of the entire book," he is "most pleased" with the new plates. Ogrodnick took those photographs that Tashiro did not.

The new edition appears to be as well received as the original.

"There is no book available that offers such comprehensive, yet in-depth coverage of turfgrass insects and associated pests," said Dr. Rick L. Brandenburg, professor of entomology at North Carolina State University. Many others join Brandenburg in offering wholehearted praise of the book and believe it will continue to be regarded with respect by the turf community.

When asked about plans for a third edition, Tashiro gave the nod to Villani who said maybe he’ll tackle that one in another 10 years.

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