BIOLOGY

FOLIO

CHAPTER 6 : NUTRITION
6.14 Technology Used in Food
Production

Name
Class

: Ariana Ng Chor Yee

: 4 Utarid

Teachers Name

: Pn Suheirfiza

Methods Used To Improve the Quality

and Quantity of Food Production
1.Direct Seeding

Seeds are sown directly into the soil using special machines

The seeds are covered with soil as they are being sown

Does not invoilve transplanting of seedlings

Results in less damage to the roots of the plants

Plants achieve faster growth, thus yield is increase

Less water is needed to irrigate the fields

Widely used in the planting of paddy

Direct seeding has several advantages:

Areas can be revegetated quickly and cheaply

Seeds cost less than seedlings

Seed is easier and cheaper to transport and store than seedlings

Seeding requires less time and labour than seedlings

A mixture of trees, shrubs and groundcovers can be sown at the same time. The different rates of
germination mimics natural regeneration

The mixture of tall, medium and small species can make a more effective windbreak

Direct seeded plants tend to have better root growth and are therefore more prepared for climatic
extremes

More plants may germinate in the years following sowing

On farm machinery can be used to prepare seed beds. This removes the need to use specialised
seeders.

Disadvantages of direct seeding include:

Less reliable establishment than for seedlings on some sites and across seasons. Not as suited as
seedlings to deep, non-wetting sands or heavy textured soil

There is a requirement of some species for a special seed treatment before sowing

There is a low survival rate of viable seed

When a mixture of species are sown, there are limits to the number of herbicides that can be used
for weed control

It often takes 9 to 12 months to properly see the results of a direct seeding project, with additional
plants sometimes geminating in the second season.

Direct Planting Equipment

Air seeder

Air drill

Figure 1. Air Seeder.

Figure 2. Air drill.

2. Hydroponics

Commercial technique for growing crop plants in culture solution

Roots of the plant are immersed in a solution (contains all micronutrients and macronutrients)
Plants are supported by the medium such as pebbles
Culture solution provides sufficient oxygen for respiration

Advantages

No soil is needed for hydroponics.

The water stays in the system and can be reused - thus, a lower water requirement.

It is possible to control the nutrition levels in their entirety - thus, lower nutrition requirements.

No nutrition pollution is released into the environment because of the controlled system.

Stable and high yields.

Pests and diseases are easier to get rid of than in soil because of the container's mobility.

Ease of harvesting.

PH balance of nutrient solution can be easily set.

Disadvantages
Without soil as a buffer, any failure to the hydroponic system leads to rapid plant death. Other disadvantages
include pathogen attacks such as damp-off due to Verticillium wilt caused by the high moisture levels
associated with hydroponics and overwatering of soil based plants. Also, many hydroponic plants require
different fertilizers and containment systems.[5]

Figure 3 : hydroponic process

3.Aeroponics

Modified technique of hydroponics

The plants are suspended in a special chamber with the roots exposed to the air
Nutrients solution are sprayed onto the roots of the plants at suitable intervals
Roots are able to absorb more oxygen in between the periods of spraying

Some of the key benefits of aeroponics:

Fast plant growth The chief feature of aeroponics. Plants grow fast because their roots have
access to a lot of oxygen 24/7.

Easy system maintenance In aeroponics, all you need to maintain is the root chamber (the
container housing the roots) which needs regular disinfecting, and periodically, the reservoir and
irrigation channels. The constant semi-moist environment of the root chamber which invites
bacterial growth is the only main drawback of all aeroponic system maintenance.

Less need for nutrients and water Aeroponic plants need less nutrients and water on average,
because the nutrient absorption rate is higher, and plants usually respond to aeroponic systems by
growing even more roots.

Mobility Plants, even whole nurseries, can be moved around without too much effort, as all that is
required is moving the plants from one collar to another.

Requires little space - Depending on the system, plants can be stacked up one on top of each
other. Aeroponics is basically a modular system, which is perfect for maxing out limited space.

Great educational value You can learn a great deal about plants from aeroponics. Kids especially
will love having a small aeroponic system to grow a pet plant, without having to get their hands
dirty.

Key disadvantages of aeroponics

Dependence on the system A typical aeroponics system is made up of high pressure pumps,
sprinklers and timers. If any of these break down, your plants can be damaged or killed easily.

Technical knowledge required You need a certain level of competency in running an aeroponic
system. Knowledge of nutrients amounts required by your plant is essential, because you dont
have any soil to absorb excess/wrong nutrients supplied.

Regular cleaning of the root chamber The root chamber must not be contaminated, or else
diseases may strike the roots. So you need to disinfect the root chamber every so often. Hydrogen
peroxide is often used as disinfectant.

High cost

Figure 4 : aeroponics system

4.Breeding of Plants
Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired
characteristics.[1] Plant breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from
simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular techniques
(see cultigen and cultivar).
Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, since near the beginning of human civilization. It
is now practiced worldwide by individuals such as gardeners and farmers, or by professional plant breeders
employed by organizations such as government institutions, universities, crop-specific industry associations
or research centers.
International development agencies believe that breeding new crops is important for ensuring food
security by developing new varieties that are higher-yielding, resistant to pests and diseases, droughtresistant or regionally adapted to different environments and growing conditions.

Figure 5 : Plant Breeding

The Yecoro wheat (right) cultivar is
sensitive to salinity, plants resulting from
a hybrid cross with cultivar W4910 (left)
show greater tolerance to high salinity

Benefits:
These methods of selective breeding can potentially positively influence world food production
in these ways improved quality of seed grains, increased levels of proteins in forage crops. It is
also beneficial by helping the plants to be more resilient to insects and disease. They are also
making them to have a capacity to grow on lands that are not suitable for them to grow in
which can be a benefit and that way you can get more food and a variety of different plants
even
if
it
is
in
a
land
which
cant
suit
them.

Risks:
Selective breeding is also a risk of changing the evolution of the species and because humans
are breeding different species for a particular trait this can lead for a risk of losing some of the
other genes from the gene pool altogether which is very hard to bring back.
For example for plants selective breeding could cause environmental problems if the plant
which is selectively reproduced and it uses more water than other plants around it causing
the plants around it to dry out and birds to lose homes and insects to lose food.
The process alters which traits are exhibited in subsequent generations by allowing only the
plants with a desired trait to breed can make the other plants in the place die out.

5.Animal Breeding
Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the evaluation (using best linear unbiased
prediction and other methods) of the genetic value (estimated breeding value, EBV) of livestock. Selecting
for breeding animals with superior EBV in growth rate, egg, meat, milk, or wool production, or with other
desirable traits has revolutionized livestock production throughout the world. The scientific theory of animal
breeding

incorporates

population

genetics, quantitative

genetics, statistics,

and

recently

molecular genomics and is based on the pioneering work of Sewall Wright, Jay Lush, and Charles
Henderson.

Types of breeding

Breeding stock

Purebred breeding

Backyard breeding

Benefits:
the methods of selective breeding can produce fitter and stronger animals that are of a
higher yield of milk, meat or eggs for example some cows are been breed to produce more
meat . This can be good as we can produce animals better suited to survive in poor climates
or marginal conditions and this can preserve human food supplies and can save life. Also for
some animals selective breeding can protects them from developing diseases like the
breeding of sheeps without tail and that can help them not to get affected by a disease.

Risks:

-see risk of plant breeding-

Figure 5 : Mafriwal
Cattle
A cross between Friesian
cow and Sahiwal bull

6.Tissue culture
Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under
sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition. Plant tissue culture is widely used to
produce clones of a plant in a method known as micropropagation. Different techniques in plant tissue culture
may offer certain advantages over traditional methods of propagation, including:

The production of exact copies of plants that produce particularly good flowers, fruits, or have other
desirable traits.

To quickly produce mature plants.

The production of multiples of plants in the absence of seeds or necessary pollinators to produce
seeds.

The regeneration of whole plants from plant cells that have been genetically modified.

The production of plants in sterile containers that allows them to be moved with greatly reduced
chances of transmitting diseases, pests, and pathogens.

The production of plants from seeds that otherwise have very low chances of germinating and
growing, i.e.: orchids and Nepenthes.

To clean particular plants of viral and other infections and to quickly multiply these plants as 'cleaned
stock' for horticulture and agriculture.

Plant tissue culture relies on the fact that many plant cells have the ability to regenerate a whole plant
(totipotency). Single cells, plant cells without cell walls (protoplasts), pieces of leaves, stems or roots can
often be used to generate a new plant on culture media given the required nutrients and plant hormones.

Figure 6 : Tissue culture

7.Genetic Engineering
Genetic

engineering,

also

called genetic

modification,

is

the

direct

manipulation

of

an

organism's genome usingbiotechnology. New DNA may be inserted in the host genome by first isolating and
copying the genetic material of interest using molecular cloning methods to generate a DNA sequence, or by
synthesizing the DNA, and then inserting this construct into the host organism. Genes may be removed, or
"knocked out", using a nuclease. Gene targeting is a different technique that uses homologous recombination to
change an endogenous gene, and can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene, or introduce point
mutations.
Genetic engineering techniques have been applied in numerous fields including research, agriculture, industrial
biotechnology, and medicine. Enzymes used in laundry detergent and medicines such as insulin and human
growth hormone are now manufactured in GM cells, experimental GM cell lines and GM animals such as mice
or zebrafish are being used for research purposes, and genetically modified crops have been commercialized.

Figure 7 : Process of genectic engineering

8.

Soil Management
Soil management concerns all operations, practices, and treatments used to
protect soil and enhance its performance.

Practices :

Controlling traffic on the soil surface helps to reduce soil compaction, which can
reduce aeration and water infiltration.

Cover crops keep the soil anchored and covered in off-seasons so that the soil is not eroded by wind
and rain.

Crop rotations[2] for row crops alternate high-residue crops with lower-residue crops to increase the
amount of plant material left on the surface of the soil during the year to protect the soil from erosion.

Nutrient management can help to improve the fertility of the soil and the amount of organic
matter content, which improves soil structure and function.

Tillage, especially reduced-tillage or no-till operations limit the amount of soil disturbance while
cultivating a new crop, and help to maintain plant residues on the surface of the soil for erosion
protection and water retention

Figure 8 : Effects of soil management

9.Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar/different types of crops in the
same area in sequentialseasons.
Crop rotation gives various nutrients to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the
replenishment of nitrogenthrough the use of green manure in sequence with cereals and
other crops. Crop rotation also mitigates the build-up ofpathogens and pests that often
occurs

when

one

species

is

continuously

cropped,

and

can

also

improve soil

structureand fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants. Crop rotation is

one component of polyculture.

Objectives

Growing the same crop in the same place for many years in a row disproportionately
depletes the soil of certain nutrients. With rotation, a crop that leaches the soil of one kind of
nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns that
nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients: for example, rice followed by cotton.

Figure 10 : Crop Rotation System

10.

Biological Control
Biological control is a bioeffector-method of controlling pests (including insects, mites, weeds and plant
diseases) using other living organisms.[1] It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural
mechanisms, but typically also involves an active human management role. It can be an important
component ofintegrated pest management (IPM) programs. There are three basic types of biological pest
control strategies: importation (sometimes called classical biological control), augmentation and
conservation.
Natural enemies of insect pests, also known as biological control agents, include predators, parasitoids,
and pathogens. Biological control agents of plant diseases are most often referred to as antagonists.
Biological control agents of weeds include seed predators, herbivores and plant pathogens.

Types of Biological Pest Control

Augmentation
Importation
Conservation

Figure 11 : Biological Pest Control