Plants Genes And Agriculture

What needs to happen if we are going to feed almost 10 billion people by the year 2050 in a sustainable way? Written for first- and second-year university students, this interdisciplinary textbook addresses this challenging question, presenting biological, economic, and sociocultural issues at an introductory level. Presenting and integrating information from many disciplines, this book invites readers to consider the complexity of feeding humanity and increasing food production sustainably. Topics covered include: the development, physiology, and nutrition of plants human nutrition and food safety photosynthesis and energy transformations genetics, molecular biology, and genomics, including the techniques of genetic transformation (gene silencing, gene editing with CRISPR) used in modern crop breeding crop domestication and plant breeding soil ecosystems The applications of modern biotechnology to agriculture extend far beyond GMOs, and include crop improvements that rely on knowledge of the plant’s genomes and its analysis by bioinformatics. Challenging and controversial topics such as the safety of pesticides and GMOs, the increasing demand foranimal products and the stresses this puts on agricultural output, organic farming and foods, and patenting new crop varieties are dealt with in a balanced way, inviting teachers and students to consider all the implications of these serious questions.

This book integrates many fields to help students understand the complexity of the basic science that underlies crop and food production.

Jones and Bartlett and the American Society of Plant Biologists have teamed up for the second edition. This book integrates many fields to help students understand the complexity of the basic science that underlies crop and food production. It is truly an interdisciplinary text that brings together aspects of genetics and plant breeding, molecular biology and genetic engineering, population increases and the difficulty of eradicating hunger, pest control practices and their environmental consequences, the role of biotechnology in modern crop production, and much more.

Genes in the Field provides an interdisciplinary foundation for an important new conservation program: maintaining biological resources of crop plants within the systems where they have evolved. The book offers a truly global vision of the on-farm conservation movement and, like no other before it, provides a comprehensive review of the issues and challenges of on-farm conservation of genetic resources. The book's chapters are written by a collection of outstanding scholars and academics from a variety of disciplines; they include biologists, agronomists, anthropologists, economists, lawyers and agricultural development specialists. Genes in the Field is truly global in scope and multidisciplinary in character. It will appeal to a large, varied and international audience. Its most general appeal will be to professionals in the fields of conservation and agricultural development, particularly those who are involved in planning or implementing conservation programs. For course work, the book will be appropriate for graduate programs in agricultural development and conservation.

"The book...is, in fact, a short text on the many practical problems...associated with translating the explosion in basic biotechnological research into the next Green Revolution," explains Economic Botany. The book is "a concise and accurate narrative, that also manages to be interesting and personal...a splendid little book." Biotechnology states, "Because of the clarity with which it is written, this thin volume makes a major contribution to improving public understanding of genetic engineering's potential for enlarging the world's food supply...and can be profitably read by practically anyone interested in application of molecular biology to improvement of productivity in agriculture."

Conceived with the aim of sorting fact from fiction over genetically modified (GM) crops, this book brings together the knowledge of 30 specialists in the field of transgenic plants. It covers the generation and detection of these plants as well as the genetic traits conferred on transgenic plants. In addition, the book looks at a wide variety of crops, ornamental plants and tree species that are subject to genetic modifications, assessing the risks involved in genetic modification as well as the potential economic benefits of the technology in specific cases. The book’s structure, with fully cross-referenced chapters, gives readers a quick access to specific topics, whether that is comprehensive data on particular species of ornamentals, or coverage of the socioeconomic implications of GM technology. With an increasing demand for bioenergy, and the necessary higher yields relying on wider genetic variation, this book supplies all the technical details required to move forward to a new era in agriculture.

'Plants, Genes, & Agriculture' looks at the human population and the food supply now and how the global food system has changed over time. It looks at the role of plants in the human diet. It considers the importance of genes, genomics, and molecular biology. It asks how we can convert solar energy into crop-production and considers innovations in agriculture. The text also looks at soil ecosystems, plant nutrition, biotic challenges from weeds, plant diseases, biotic changes, and abiotic stress. The text then considers food safety, and asks specifically if foods made from GE crops are safe to eat. It ends looking at how technology has impacted plants and agriculture over the last few years.