Over the past ten years, the orchid industry has been growing at a steady pace in South–East Asia and East Asia. In some Asian countries, orchids have become an essential export item. To maintain this progress, there is an urgent need for a book that will help the region's orchid growers in improving their cultivation and management skills, and guide new students in understanding orchid physiology. This book provides a comprehensive description of tropical orchid physiology relevant to commercial growers, research workers and graduate students. An integrated and unifying theme of tropical orchid physiology, with a clearly written factual text as well as illustrations, is presented over nine chapters. Each chapter is designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on a particular aspect of orchid physiology. This book complements the existing scientific literature available for improving orchid cultivation and setting a new research agenda, especially in the tropics.

Contents:

• The Relevance of Orchid Physiology to the Industry
• A Brief Introduction to Orchid Morphology and Nomenclature
• Photosynthesis
• Respiration
• Mineral Nutrition
• Control of Flowering
• Partitioning of Assimilates
• Flower Senescence and Postharvest Physiology
• Recent Advances in Orchid Tissue Culture
• Appendix I: Updated Literature (1997 to 2003)
• Appendix II: "Can We Use Elevated CO₂ to Increase Productivity in the Orchid Industry?" (From the Malayan Orchid Review)

"... appears to be the first such volume devoted exclusively to orchid physiology ... Such books which deal with the relevance of orchid science to commercial cultivation are hard to find.

The book is an excellent contribution to orchid biology and offers delightful reading supported with beautiful illustrations and photographs. The orchid cultivators, especially, will find it extremely informative as it addresses many practical aspects, which a common floriculturist seeks to know. The researchers on orchid biology will find it hard to resist once they have a glimpse of it."

"This book is an excellent source of information for established scientists and students who want to gain a better understanding of orchid physiology and its relation to horticulture and cultivation ... The authors do an admirable job of providing a comprehensive and clear account of tropical orchid physiology. How orchids grow is explained in a manner that is relevant to orchid growers."

"The book is, in effect, a primer and compendium of research, most of it local or regional, into all aspects of orchid physiology. It combines fundamental research with applied relevance, and should be an indispensable resource for those applying science in this field ... The senior author, Professor C S Hew, was awarded the Singapore 1997 National Science Award for his pioneering and substantial work in this field."

“This is an excellently written, well illustrated and solidly produced book which is very suitable for a wide audience.”

“This book is a wonderful reference. It summarizes many of the great research papers not written in English and can be very hard to get a hold of even in a university setting. This book will be a challenge to the beginning and average orchid growers, but a great tool for those in need of scientific information.”

Review of the First Edition

"... it is excellent and would be hard to beat or even equal ... is well written in a clear, easy-to-read style; contains a large amount of good information in its 331 pages; is excellently produced and bound."