AGRICULTURAL NEWS - As the human population swells - and in the face of a changing and unpredictable climate - the demand for natural resources increases.
This leads to distressing rates of deforestation to prepare land for agriculture, medicinal and forestry products. Related to this is an alarming reduction in species worldwide.
This can only be ameliorated through urgent, intensive and sustainable agroforestry and conservation initiatives. This involves the conservation of natural forests as well as renewable plantation efforts. But to date only a scattering of such projects are in place worldwide.
Conservation and renewable plantation efforts are trailing behind the rate of resource exploitation and species disappearance. The problem is worsened by the vast number of endangered plant species. Once disturbed from their natural habitat, they can’t easily be reintroduced.
Conservation and renewable plantation efforts are trailing behind the rate of resource exploitation and species disappearance. The problem is worsened by the vast number of endangered plant species. Once disturbed from their natural habitat, they can’t easily be reintroduced.
This is because many of them do not readily produce seeds, or their seeds cannot be stored to ensure longevity of the species. The result is a decreasing gene pool.
This poses further risks, as vulnerable species become marginalised. They are only suitable to shrinking ranges and more susceptible to disease. To intensify conservation while enhancing agroforestry, smarter plant breeding practices are required.
Traditional breeding has allowed for the identification, selection and propagation of plants with a superior genetic makeup, or genotype, from a given plant population. But traditional methods often fail to isolate the required superior characteristics of a species. They can also take more than five or six breeding cycles before a valuable trait is established and maintained in a plant population. The process can take decades for perennial plants, like trees.
Plant biotechnology is increasingly being used to complement traditional screening and breeding practices. Plants can be grown in test tubes under controlled laboratory conditions. Advances in biochemistry and genetics have also ushered in an understanding of the factors that influence plant growth.
Together these developments have created the opportunity to precisely identify and mass propagate superior plant varieties within a fraction of the time of traditional methods. On top of this, if required, the precise altering of the genetic makeup of plants is now also possible. This enables plant genomes to be radically enhanced so that superior genotypes can be created, maintained and propagated.
Preserving valuable genes
Maintaining superior genetics for valuable traits is fundamental in agroforestry. But to maintain superior genetics, seed production is rarely an option. In producing a seed, the sexual cross between genetically different male and female parent plants results in the dilution of valuable genes. This often leads to offspring with unpredictable genetics.
This poses further risks, as vulnerable species become marginalised. They are only suitable to shrinking ranges and more susceptible to disease. To intensify conservation while enhancing agroforestry, smarter plant breeding practices are required.
Traditional breeding has allowed for the identification, selection and propagation of plants with a superior genetic makeup, or genotype, from a given plant population. But traditional methods often fail to isolate the required superior characteristics of a species. They can also take more than five or six breeding cycles before a valuable trait is established and maintained in a plant population. The process can take decades for perennial plants, like trees.
Plant biotechnology is increasingly being used to complement traditional screening and breeding practices. Plants can be grown in test tubes under controlled laboratory conditions. Advances in biochemistry and genetics have also ushered in an understanding of the factors that influence plant growth.
Together these developments have created the opportunity to precisely identify and mass propagate superior plant varieties within a fraction of the time of traditional methods. On top of this, if required, the precise altering of the genetic makeup of plants is now also possible. This enables plant genomes to be radically enhanced so that superior genotypes can be created, maintained and propagated.
Preserving valuable genes
Maintaining superior genetics for valuable traits is fundamental in agroforestry. But to maintain superior genetics, seed production is rarely an option. In producing a seed, the sexual cross between genetically different male and female parent plants results in the dilution of valuable genes. This often leads to offspring with unpredictable genetics.
