Biotechnology Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

Biotechnology is a branch of biology that is used in order to develop technology, especially genetics. This same discipline has found many applications in agriculture that has resulted in the development of Genetically Modified Crops for high yield and pest resistance. This makes agriculture more feasible for farmers and the activity more ecologically sustainable. With the help of biotechnology in agriculture more scientific tools and methods have been developed which results in higher productivity of the crops. 

Keyterms: Biotechnology, Genetics, Agriculture, Crops, Genetically Modified Crops, living organisms, gene, Agriculture, water, weed, climate

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Biotechnology

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Biotechnology is that branch of applied sciences wherein living organisms (mostly their genes) are used to develop new products and processes. The resultant Biotechnology has applications in medicine, therapeutics, Agriculture etc. and it is environment friendly as well.

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Biotechnology in Agriculture

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Biotechnology is Agriculture is the use of biotechnical processes and products in the field of Agriculture to make this activity economically feasible as well as environment friendly.

Biotechnology in Agriculture is especially aimed at solving the problems faced by farmers like low yield, crops being destroyed by pests and weeds etc.

Genetically Modified crops (GM Crops): These are those crops who have been genetically modified using genetic engineering through physical methods or through agrobacterium to introduce the beneficial traits within the crop gene. The beneficial traits introduced within the crop are: High Yield, pest resistance, weed resistance, climate resistance, water efficiency, Biofortification (supplying essential food crops with vitamins and minerals) etc.

Examples of biotechnology in agriculture are: Bt-cotton, Bt-Brinjal, Dhara Mustard Hybrid, Golden rice (to combat vitamin A deficiency) etc.

Bt-cotton is the most common GM crop which is also legally cultivated in India. It is formed through introduction of bacillus thuringiensisinto the genome of cotton seed. It makes the crop resistant to pest attacks.

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Importance of Biotechnology in Agriculture

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Biotechnology in agriculture has become very important for modern day when the field size keeps on decreasing but the demand for food has grown exponentially especially in a country like India. The key points regarding importance of Biotechnology in Agriculture are:

• It has made crops tolerant of abiotic stresses like temperature, pressure and humidity etc. so that crops can be grown anywhere even if the climate is suitable or not.
• It has increased the crop yield manifold by the introduction of high yielding varieties.
• The nutritional value of common and staple food crops has increased through techniques like Biofortification which infuses staple food crops like wheat and rice with nutrients not otherwise found in them like vitamins and minerals.
• Biotechnology in agriculture has helped to protect the GM crops against pest attacks and weeds because genetic modification can make the crops pesticide tolerant and herbicide tolerant.
• GM crops are less susceptible to viral infection and are thus resistant to a myriad of diseases that might have afflicted them otherwise.
• Interestingly, GM crops can also be made so that they are water efficient and drought resistant. This trait is especially useful in the case of rice which uses a lot of water in its cultivation.

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Drawbacks of Biotechnology in Agriculture

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Biotechnology is Agriculture is definitely a revolutionary intervention but it's not without its fair share of problems too. Some of its negatives are:

• It's most likely that the pests will undergo genetic modification too and will be able to deal with pest resistant GM crops rendering the whole process useless.
• With the use of biotechnology in agriculture the consumption of GM crops isn’t safe for health as it uses toxins to combat pests and weeds, which when ingested through food GM crops can cause harm to human life if not immediately then gradually.
• GM crop seeds are costly and they are terminator seeds because private parties manufacture these seeds so they make them so that the seeds can’t be reused.
• GM crops grown along with indigenous varieties can put the existence of the original variety into danger as cross pollination can alter the genetic structure in the next generation. The Indian variant of Basmati faces this danger very acutely.
• Biotechnology in agriculture has made the crops highly adaptable which has made their production possible in unsuitable climates and this commercial production in areas where these crops should not be grown is taking a toll on its groundwater and ecology. For example, due to rapid commercialization of rice crops in west India the problem of stubble burning causes staggering increase in air pollution levels of Delhi every year.

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Things to Remember

• Biotechnology is a branch of applied science that genetically modified living organisms and in Agriculture it genetically modified crop seeds and inserts beneficial traits in them to make Agriculture possible even in the face of adversity.
• Biotechnology in Agriculture has revolutionized it by introducing crops with high yield, pest resistance, herbicide tolerance, and biofortification which can increase income in farmers and decrease their input cost.
• Biotechnology works in Agriculture through techniques like genetic engineering, molecular diagnostics, micropropagation, embryo rescue etc.
• The negatives of Biotechnology in Agriculture are the problems of antibiotics resistance, loss of biodiversity, growth of resistant pests and weeds etc.

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