Agricultural Biotechnology

Contents: Preface. 1. General introduction. 2. Techniques. 3. Biodiversity and agriculture. 4. Crop genetic resources and plant breeding. 5. Biological nitrogen fixation. 6. Transgenic crops and biosafety. 7. Food and nutrition. 8. Management. Glossary. Index.

"This book looks at the application of a variety of biotechnologies to agricultural development. It addresses recent concerns about the sterile-seed 'terminator' technology and about the biosafety of genetically modified foods/crops, and assesses the potential of apomixis as a possible countervailing strategy to the adverse effects of the terminator, for some crops. The book introduces the concepts of participatory plant breeding and diversified site-or field specific agriculture and points to their potential to meet the needs of small-scale farmers in developing countries whose traditional wisdom and indigenous knowledge can be put to good use through inputs from modern biotechnology for the benefit of humanity. The text provides a valuable source of recent information not only to researchers of agriculture and biotechnology but also meets the course requirements of students in agronomy, genetics and plant breeding, crop physiology and related disciplines in agriculture, biotechnology, food processing, nutrition and home science." (jacket)