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 History of crop improvement

• By trial and error for almost 9900 years

• By scientific principles of breeding for last 100 years

• By chemical induced mutation for last 75 years

• By rDNA technology last 25 years

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 CHALLENGES AHEAD

-Population in 2050 AD: 1.5 B

-Shrinking area of cultivated land
-Diminishing water resources
-Malnutrition and undernourishment
-Deterioration in soil quality
-Climate change (global warming)

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 Genetically Modified (GM) Crops

What is a GM crop?

GM crops are genetically improved and contain a

gene or genes from the same or a different species
artificially inserted in its genome.

Tissue Culture & Transformation – gives the

maximum flexibility for moving genes within or
between species.

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 Leaf Disk Method for A. t. Mediated Transformation

Leaf Disk Preparation Co-cultivation with Agrobacterium Selection for Transformation

Regeneration of Shoots
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 Bt- COTTON

Bt-cotton - First GM crop – 2002

Second in global cotton production
Area – 8.0 million hectares – 2008
Yield gain - 31%
Reduction in pesticide sprays – 39%
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NUTRITIONAL QUALITY
“Golden Rice”

*Expression of enzymes
of β-carotene
pathway in rice
endosperm
*Amelioration of
Vitamin A deficiency

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Bt Brinjal: Putting Science into Agriculture

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Bt-Brinjal

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