How biotechnology affects agricultural practices?
Biotech engineering uses certain steps to enhance the growth of plants. They apply all their sources on the DNA of a certain crop or certain plant to get a particular growth or production.
Biotechnology uses two main core techniques to enhance the birth of modern agro-technology-:
1. Genetic engineering/ Recombinant DNA technology:
It uses the techniques to alter the chemistry of genetic material (DNA and RNA), then they are introduced to the host organism cell and when it is introduced, they change the phenotype of the host organism.
When the genetically modified chromosome is introduced to the host body, the stereochemistry of the DNA in all cells changes. Hence, the body becomes genetically modified as per the requirement.
2. Bioprocess Technology-:
To make the body of organism contamination-free. Therefore, maintenance of sterile (microbial contamination-free) ambiance in chemical engineering processes to enable the growth of only the desired microbe/eukaryotic cell in large quantities for the manufacture of biotechnological products like antibiotics, vaccines, enzymes, etc.
Most of the time crops suffer due to pests, insects, fungus, etc. Therefore the fungicides, insecticides, pesticides were used by farmers to kill them but these fertilizers are used to increase the acidity of soil because the crops were hazardous to eat sometimes.
The engineers came up with the idea of DNA cloning in a better way. So it is by birth that plants can become pest or insect resistant.
What are the biotechnological applications in agriculture?
Three ways by which we can increase food production over large scale farming-:
- Agro-chemical based
- Organic agriculture
- Genetically engineered crop-based agriculture
The green revolution succeeded in tripling the food supply but yet it was not enough to feed the growing population of humans. Increase in crop yields have partly been due to the use of improved crop varieties, crop patterns but it mainly increases due to better management practices and due to the use of agrochemicals (insecticides and pesticides). But still, due to the growing and developing world, poor farmers can’t afford the cost of agrochemicals.
Moreover, due to harmful effects on the environment of agrochemicals, they were not suitable for excessive use. The use of genetically modified crops was the only solution.
Plants, bacteria, fungi, and animals whose genes have been altered by manipulation are called genetically modified organisms (GMO).
So, A question automatically pops into our mind, What are the uses of genetically modified plants?
- Increase in the nutritional value of food e.g. golden rice: vitamin A enriched rice
- It makes the crops more tolerant to environmental stress like cold, drought, salt, heat.
- Helps to reduce the post-harvest losses. E.g. flavor saver tomato: a transgenic variety of tomato flavor saver due to the inhibition of polygalacturonase enzyme which degrades pectin. So that tomato remains fresh and retains flavor much longer. Flavr saver tomato is developed by antisense technology.
- It increases the efficiency of mineral usage by plants
- To produce herbicide-resistant plants e.g. First transgenic crop was tobacco.
- Pest-resistant crops: reduced reliance on chemical pesticides.
How does agricultural biological technology affect the economy?
Benefits to the community-:
- An increase in the yield by technology helps to bring down the food scarcity in a country.
- Growing crops over a large scale and increasing production by technology help in the holistic development of the ecosystem.
- The use of technology has a great social and environmental impact.
Benefits to the environment-:
- Intercropping pattern system helps to keep the fertility of the soil.
- Green farming.
- Growing crops prevents deforestation.
Benefits to customers-:
- Production of eco-friendly green products.
- The product produced is durable, stronger, and price competitive.
- Dependable supply.
Technology helps in a lot of ways to save the future generation by Giving them proper nutrition which should be our prime focus. Hence, technology gives us several life surviving aids.
Also Read: 5 Emerging Innovations In The Field Of Agriculture
