ABSTRACT
In the last 40 years, world food production has risen dramatically, resulting in improved global food security. Production of the three main food grains (wheat, rice, and maize) increased threefold between 1961 and 2006 (from 642 million to nearly 2 billion metric tons). Increased food production was a result of increased acreage and higher yields (+250%) as a result of green revolution practices: stronger plants, more nutrients, better pest and disease resistance, and more irrigation. Production increases also occurred in other crops (e.g., vegetables, oil seeds, fodders, and fruits), although some dryland crops such as pulses and small grains lost ground. The purpose of this chapter is to identify new post-green revolution technology in crop science that will help achieve future global food needs. Future increased production will be required in many crops as well as cereals as consumers demand more nutritious food and more meat-based products. Important technologies discussed include major advances in molecular biology leading to more efficient development of improved varieties and improved crop management in irrigated, but also dry rainfed environments where many of the rural poor subsist (e.g., improved rainfall harvest). Conservation agriculture is described as one way to achieve the management
Abstract .................................................................................................................. 317 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 318 Molecular Biology ................................................................................................. 318
Marker-Assisted Breeding................................................................................. 319 Genomics........................................................................................................... 320 Transgenic Crops ............................................................................................... 321 Tissue Culture ................................................................................................... 324
Efficient Crop Production ...................................................................................... 324 Conservation Agriculture .................................................................................. 325 Organic Farming ............................................................................................... 327 Precision Agriculture ......................................................................................... 328 Dryland Agriculture .......................................................................................... 328
Extension of Technology ....................................................................................... 329 Conclusions and Study Topics ............................................................................... 331 References .............................................................................................................. 331
efficiency. Precision agriculture, presently used in developed countries, combines remote sensing with modeling to better achieve efficient crop production. In developing countries, especially in dryland areas, microdosing techniques in water and nutrient management, improved innovation systems, and networks to accelerate the innovation process will be needed. To be successful, new innovations must be made available to all farmers through effective policy decisions, available credit to purchase the technology, and accessible markets for the extra production. Computers, the Internet, and cell phones to improve communications will be useful in future food production systems for all economic levels of farmer.
