ABSTRACT
Over the past 60 years, medical advances and the tremendous increase in agricultural production resulting from the “Green Revolution”, has supported a rapid world population growth. It is estimated that the global population will reach 9 billion (Fig. 13-1) by the year 2050 (UN 2009). The capacity of agricultural production will have to further increase by 50% over the next 40 years to support the necessary energy demands of an expanding and more fastidious population. The challenge of meeting this goal is compounded by limiting fossil fuel supplies, competition for resources with biofuels, and the unpredictable impact of a changing climate. Thus, to satisfy the extra food requirement demanded by an increasing population either agricultural productivity must increase or the arable area must be expanded, resulting in encroachment into protected, marginal, or degraded land areas. This expansion will further increase the impact of environmental stresses on plant growth. Many of these effects can be ameliorated in the short term through the use of irrigation or drainage and the application of chemical inputs. However, as the availability of cheap fossil fuel becomes limited (Campbell 1997, 2005), the impact of adverse environmental conditions will no longer be a problem largely restricted to third-world nations. The development of crops that are better able to tolerate sub-optimal growth conditions is essential if these challenges are to be addressed.
