Plants, Biotechnology And Agriculture

Description: At a time when the world's food supplies are increasingly unable to meet the needs of a burgeoning population, there is significant diversity of opinion concerning the benefits and perceived dangers of the application of biotechnology to food production. "Plants, Biotechnology & Agriculture" provides the reader with a guide to plants as both organisms and resources. The first half of the book gives an overview of plant biology, suitable for students of plant biology and agriculture as well as those without a biology background. This is followed by an outline of the human exploitation of plants, from domestication to scientific manipulation. Further chapters describe the technologies that are now being used to improve crops, society's responses to these technologies, and how they are being modified as a result. The book concludes with a discussion of future challenges for biotechnology in the face of rapid population growth, depletion of non-renewable resources and climate change. It is suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students and lecturers of agriculture, horticulture and related disciplines.

Review: "The book is very well written, easy to read and well structured. Each chapter starts with an overview and finishes with a summary. Although the book covers a wide range of subjects, from plant genomics to plant function and breeding, the focus is always on biotechnology. The author's views are well balanced between the importance of the new GM technology and the reasonable doubts with single gene approaches.This book is highly suitable for the intended readers: senior level undergraduates, postgraduates studying fro a degree in biology, plant science, agriculture, biotechnology, crop science or breeding. I also recommend it fro everybody interested in crop improvement as a future challenge."

Contents: PART I. PLANTS AND THEIR GENOMES; 1. Plants and their exploitation by people; 2. The evolution of photosynthetic organisms; 3. Plant molecular genetics and genomics; PART II. HOW PLANTS FUNCTION; 4. Plant metabolism; 5. Plant organisation and development; 6. Plant responses to the environment; PART III. HOW PLANTS ARE MANIPULATED; 7. Domestication and the empirical exploitation of plants; 8. The scientific manipulation of plants; 9. Crop improvement in the 20th century; PART IV. PLANTS, SOCIETY AND THE FUTURE; 10. Plant biotechnologies in the 21st century; 11. Social context of plant biotechnologies; 12. Future challenges for plant biotechnology.