11 Enhancement of Food Production - part 01 - Improvement In Food Production, Plant breeding Improvement In Food Production :

 

11 Enhancement of Food Production - part 01 - Improvement In Food Production, Plant breeding

Improvement In Food Production :
  • Food is one of the basic needs as it gives us energy for everything. 
  • It keeps us alive, strong and healthy. It can be defined as any thing solid or liquid, which when swallowed, digested and assimilated in the body, keeping us well. 
  • It is organic, energy rich, non-poisonous, edible and nourishing substance.
  • Green plants synthesize their own food through photosynthesis. 
  • But animals including humans can not synthesize their food on their own, hence are dependent on plants directly.
  • The famine is responsible for dearth of food, besides the rapid and dramatic increase in world population over the time. 
  • To meet the increasing demand for food, there is need for improvement of food production, both quantity wise and quality wise (nutritive).
  • Plant breeding and animal breeding help us to increase the food production.
Plant breeding :
  • The improvement or purposeful manipulation in the heredity of crops and the production of new superior varieties of existing crop plants, constitute what is called plant breeding. 
  • Applied branch of botany. 
  • An art and the science of changing and improving the heredity of plants. 
  • Can be carried out by using the applications of principles of genetics, taxonomy, physiology, pathology, agriculture, rDNA technology,etc.
  • Is a method of altering the genetic pattern of plants to increase their value and utility for human welfare. 
  • The plant breeding is done to increase crop yield, improve quality, increase tolerance to environmental stresses, make the plants resistant to pathogens and increase tolerance to insect pest. 
  • Green Revolution was the result of a sequence of scientific breakthroughs and developmental activities that successfully fought hunger by increasing food production. 
  • Seeds with superior quality, use of chemicals - pesticides and fertilizers, and multiple cropping system supported by the use of modern farm machinery and proper irrigation system, helped for the development of high-yielding and disease resistant varieties in wheat, rice, maize, etc.
  • In fact, plant breeding dates back to about 10,000 years ago. 
  • The present day crops are the result of domestication and acclimatization.
Do U Know?
  • Primary aim of plant breeding is to obtain a new crop veriety superior to the existing type, in all characters. 
  • This purposeful manipulation incorporates various objectives. which differ form plant to plant depending upon its type and the use. 
  • Some objectives are common- like yield, quality, resistance, life cycle span, etc., 
  • while some objectives will differ on the basis of the type and use of plant.
Do u Know ?
  • Different methods of plant breeding include Introduction, Selection, Hybridization, Mutation breeding, Polyploidy breeding, Molecular plant breeding, Tissue culture, rDNA technology, SCP, etc.
Know the Scientist :
Dr. Norman E. Borlaug:
  • An American biologist, who has been called “Father of the Green Revolution”,“Agriculture’s greatest spokesperson” and “The Man Who Saved a Billion Lives.”
  • Dr. Borlaug, a 1970 Nobel Laureate, was honoured for his work in the ‘Green Revolution,’ saving millions of lives from famine in India, Mexico, and the Middle East.
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan:
  • He has been called the “Father of Green Revolution in India” for his role in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. 
  • He advocated moving India to sustainable development, especially using environmentally sustainable agriculture, sustainable food security and the preservation of biodiversity. 
  • He is pioneer in mutation breeding in India. 
  • He developed new varieties of wheat like sonora, NP 165 and sarbati.

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