___________________________________________________________________________________
Concepts;
A major challenge in agriculture today is producing enough food to feed the world's growing population.
Traditional breeding programs and biotechnology are being used to increase crop yields and disease-resistance.
Genetic information encoded in the germplasm of plants is a valuable asset to plant breeders but is being eroded.
____________________
Most of the World's food supply comes from just 14 plants.
About 80 percent of the total calories consumed by humans come directly or indirectly from just six kinds of plants:
- wheat
- rice
- maize
- potatoes
- sweet potatoes
- manioc
The first three are cereal plants and next three are starchy staples. All are rich in carbohydrates but do not provide a complete, well-balanced diet. They are usually eaten with legumes, which are rich in protein and with leafy vegetables.
In addition to the 6 major food crops, there are 8 plants of significant importance to human diets:
____________________________________________
World Crop Production
___________________________________________________________________________________
At the same time, ethnobotanical data suggest that some 7,000 of the approximately 250,000 plant species have been used by humans for food. These should provide us a basis for developing a much broader array of plant crops and products and increase the prospect of a more sustainable system of agriculture.
___________________________________________
The Green Revolution:
Irrigation
Fertilizers
Pesticides
Disease Resistance
Genetic Diversity
Monoculture
Sustainable Agriculture
Germplasm
Seed Banks
Alternative Crops
Amaranth
Tomarillo (Cyphomandra)
Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense)
Genetic Engineering
Pesticide resistance
Herbicide resistance
______________________________________
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Soil Conservation
Providing ground cover
Managing Topography
Reduced Tillage
Low Input Sustainable Systems
Conservation of Genetic Resources
_