StrategiesForEnhancementInFood

Production

AnimalHusbandry
Introduction

Thepracticeofbreedingandraisinglivestockiscalledanimalhusbandry.
Itincludesbreedingoflivestock(cows,buffaloes,pigs,etc.),poultryfarming,
andfisheries.

FarmManagement

DairyF armManagement
Milkyieldisdependentuponthequalityofbreedselected.Q uality
encompassesyieldingpotentialanddiseaseresistance.
CareofcattleProperaccommodation,adequatewater,feedingina
scientificmanner(qualityoffodder),hygiene,visitsbyaveterinary
doctor
Alltheseprocessesnowadayshavebecomemechanisedandproper
recordkeepingisfollowed.
DairyF armManagement
Poultryincludesmeatfrombirdssuchaschicken,ducks,andturkey.
Themainemphasisinpoultryfarmingisselectionofadiseasefree
andhealthybreed.
Safefarmconditions,properfeed,water,andhygienearealso
necessary.

AnimalBreeding

BreedAgroupofanimalsrelatedbydescentandsimilarinmostcharacters
suchasgeneralappearance,features,size,etc.
Aimsofbreeding:
Toincreaseyieldofanimals
Toimprovedesirablequalitiesinproduce
Breedingisoftwotypesinbreedingandoutbreeding.
Inbreeding
Matingofmorecloselyrelatedindividualsofsamebreedforfour
generations
 Superiorfemalesandsuperiormalesareidentifiedandmated.
SuperiorfemalesProducemoremilkperlactation
SuperiormalesGiverisetoasuperiorprogeny
Inbreedingincreaseshomozygosity.Itevolvesapureline.
Itaccumulatessuperiorgenes,butalsothreatenstoaccumulate
harmfulrecessivegenes

Continuousinbreedingmayreducefertilityandproductivity.This
problemiscalledinbreedingdepression.
Outbreedingprovidesasolutiontoinbreedingdepression.
OutbreedingItincludesoutcrossing,crossbreeding,andinterspecific
hybridisation.
OutcrossingItisthematingbetweenanimalsofsamebreed,but
nothavingcommonancestorsfor45generations.Itisusuallyused
foranimals,whichhavebelowaverageproductivityandgrowthrate.
CrossbreedingItisthematingbetweensuperiormaleofone
breedwithsuperiorfemaleofanotherbreed.Superiorqualitiesofboth
thebreedscombineandthisisknownashybridvigour.Theprogenyso
formediscalledhybrid.Ahybridmaybeusedasitisormaybefurther
subjectedtoinbreeding.
Example:HisardalesheepisahybridofBikaneriewesandMarino
rams.
InterspecificHybridizationMalesandfemalesofdifferent,but
relatedspeciesaremated.Progenyhasdesirablefeaturesofboththe
species.
ExampleMuleisaninterspecifichybridofdonkeyandhorse.

ControlledBreedingTechniques

ArtificialInsemination

Semeniscollectedfromthemaleandinjectedintothereproductivetractof
thefemale.

Semencanbefrozenforlateruseorusedimmediately.

MultipleOvulationEmbryoTransfer(MOET)Technology
CowisadministeredwithFSHlikehormone,whichinducesfollicular
maturityandsuperovulation.
 Insuperovulation,insteadofoneegg/cycle,68eggsareproduced
percycle.
Thecowiseithernaturallymatedwithasuperiorbullorartificially
inseminated.
Fertilizedeggisrecoveredat832cellstagesnonsurgicallyand
transferredtoasurrogatemother.
Usingthistechnique,highmilkyieldingbreedsoffemalesandlean
meatyieldingbullshavebeenbredsuccessfully.

Apiculture

Apicultureisthepracticeofbeekeeping.Itincludesmaintenanceof
beehivesforproductionofhoney.
Usesofapiculture:
Honeyhasahighnutritivevalueandmedicinalvalue.
Honeybeesalsoproducebeeswaxthatisusedinpreparationof
polishesandcosmetics.
MostcommonlyrearedspeciesofhoneybeeisApisindica.
Beekeepingisnotlabourintensive.Itisrelativelyeasy,butrequiressome
specializedknowledgeabout
natureandhabitsofbees
selectionofsuitablelocationforkeepingbeehives
catchingandhivingofswarms
beehivemanagementduringdifferentseasons
handlingandcollectionofhoneyandbeeswax

Fisheries

Includecatching,processing,andsellingoffishes,shellfishes,andother
aquaticanimals(prawn,crab,lobster,etc.)
EdiblefreshwaterfishesC
atlaandRohu
EdibleMarinefishesHilsa,pomfrets,andsardines
Aquacultureandpisciculturearethetechnologiestocommerciallyrearfishes.
ThefisheriesindustryisflourishinginourcountryandBlueRevolutionison
thevergeofbeingimplemented.

PlantBreeding
WhatisPlantBreeding?
 Itisthepurposefulmanipulationofplantspeciesinordertocreatedesired
planttypeswhicharebettersuitedforcultivation,givebetteryields,andare
diseaseresistant.
Classicalplantbreeding:Itincludescrossingofsuperiorpurelinesand
selectionofplantswithdesiredcharacteristics.
Modernplantbreeding:Itincludestheuseofmolecularbiologyand
genetics.
Desirableplanttraitswishedtobeincorporatedbyplantbreeding
Increasedcropyield
Improvedquality
Tolerancetoenvironmentalstresses
Pathogenresistance
Tolerancetoinsectsandpests

StepsInvolvedinBreedingaNewGeneticVarietyofaCrop

Collectionofgeneticv ariability
Geneticvariabilityisavailedfromthewildrelativesofthecrop.
Hence,allthewildvarietiesandrelativesofthecroparecollectedand
preserved.
Thenaturalgenesavailableinapopulationareutilisedbythismethod.
Entirecollectionofplants/seeds(wildtypes/relatives)ofthegiven
crop,whichhasallthediverseallelesforallgenes,iscalled
germplasmcollection.
Evaluationandselectionofparents
Fromtheavailablegeneticvariability,thegermplasmisanalysedand
evaluatedtoidentifytheplantswithdesirabletraits.
Crophybridisationamongselectedparents
Twoselectedparentsarecrossed(hybridised).Thisfacilitatesthe
combinationofdesiredtraitsfromtwodifferentplants.
Pollengrainsfromoneplantaredustedoverthestigmaoftheother
plant.
Selectionofsuperiorrecombinants
Amongthehybridprogeny,thoseplantsareselectedwhichhavethe
desiredcharactercombination.
Carefulscientificevaluationofprogenyisrequiredforselection.
Thisstepyieldstheplantthatissuperiortoboththeparents.
 Testing,releaseandcommercialisation
Selectedyieldsareevaluatedfortraitslikequality,diseaseresistance,
insectresistance,etc.
Thesecropsaregrowninresearchfieldsandtheirperformanceis
recordedunderidealconditions.
Thiscropisthengrownbyfarmersatseverallocations,foratleast
threegrowingseasons.
Thecropisevaluatedbycomparingwiththebestavailablelocalcrop
cultivar(whichactsasareference).

IndianHybridCrops

WheatandRice

In1960s,wheatandriceproductionincreasedtremendously.
NormanE.Borlangdevelopedsemidwarfvarietiesofwheat.
SonalikaandKalyansonaaretwoofthehybridwheatvarietiesgrownin
India.
SemidwarfwheatvarietiesweretakenfromIR86(InternationalRice
ResearchInstitute)andTaichungnativeI(fromTaiwan).
JayaandRatnaarethebetteryielding,semidwarfricevarietiesthatwere
laterintroduced.

Sugarcane

SaccharumbarberiisanativeofNorthIndiaandS
.officinarumbelongsto
SouthIndia.
S.officinarumhasthickerstemsandhighersugarcontent,butitdoesnot
growwellinNorthIndia.
Thesetwovarietieswerecrossedtogetthedesirablequalitiesofboth
(Highersugarcontent,thickerstemsandtheabilitytogrowinNorthIndia).

Millets

Hybridmaize,jowarandbajrahavebeensuccessfullydevelopedinIndia.
Thesevarietiesarehighyieldingandresistanttowaterstress.

ApplicationsofPlantBreeding
Ifresistancetoaparticulardiseaseisalreadypresentinaplant,itreduces
thedependenceoftheplantonfungicidesandbacteriocides.
Beforebreeding,onemustknowthecausativeagentofadisease,andits
 modeoftransmission.
Somecommondiseases:
Fungalbrownrustofwheat,redrotofsugarcaneandlateblightof
potato
Bacterialblackrotofcrucifers
Viraltobaccomosaic
Diseaseresistancecanbeprovidedbyconventionalbreeding,mutational
breedingorgeneticengineering.
Conventionalbreeding:Itincludesthebasicstepsofscreening,
germplasm,hybridisation,selection,testingandrelease.
Examplewheatvariety,H
imgiri(resistanttoleaf/striperustandhill
bunt)andBrassicavariety,P
usaswarnim(resistanttowhiterust)are
bredbyconventionalbreeding.
Onelimitationofthismethodisthatthegenesfordiseaseresistance
arelimitedinnumber.
Mutationalbreeding:Inthismethod,geneticvariationsarecreated,which
thenresultinthecreationoftraitsnotfoundintheparentaltype.
Mutationsareinducedwiththehelpofmutagens(likechemicals)or
irradiation.
Theplantsinwhichthedesiredcharacter(inthiscase,thedesired
resistance)hascomethroughmutationareselected.
Geneticengineering:
Certainwildvarietieshavediseaseresistantcharacteristics,butthey
arelowyielding.
Diseaseresistantgenesfromsuchvarietiesareintroducedin
highyieldingvarietiesthroughrecombinantDNAtechnology.
Exampleresistancetotheyellowmosaicvirusinb
hindiwas
transferredfromawildspeciestoproduceanewdiseaseresistant
varietyofb
hindi,ParbhaniKranti.

PestResistantCrops

Certainmorphologicalcharacters(likehairyleaves,solidstemsofwheat)
naturallyprovideresistancefrominsectsandpests.
Similarly,biochemicalcharactersprovideresistancefrominsectsandpests.
Forexample,thehighasparticacidandlownitrogenandsugarcontentin
maizeleadtoresistanceagainstmaizestemborers.
 Suchvarietiesarebredwithnonresistantvarietiestoproducepestresistant
hybrids.
ExamplePusaGauravvarietyofB
rassicaisresistanttoaphids.

ImprovementinF oodQuality

Alargenumberofpeopleallovertheworldsufferfrommicronutrient,protein
andvitamindeficiencies(hiddenhunger)sincetheycannotaffordtobuyfood
richinthesenutrients.
Suchdeficienciesleadtodiseases,mentalretardationandreducedlifespan.
Analternativetothisproblemistobreedcropsthatarerichinnutrients.
Thisapproachiscalledbiofortificationofcrops.O bjectivesofbiofortification
aretoimprove
Proteincontentandquality
Oilcontentandquality
Vitamincontent
Micronutrientandmineralcontent
Examples
Maizehybridsdevelopedintheyear2000havetwicetheamountof
lysineandtryptophancomparedtoothermaizehybrids.
Atlas66(awheatvarietyhavinghigherproteincontent)

SingleCellProtein&TissueCulture

SingleCellProtein(SCP)

Singlecellproteinmeansthatmicrobesareusedasasourceofprotein.
Microorganisms,despitebeingverysmall,arecapableofproducingtonnesof
proteinsduetotheirhigherratesofbiomassproduction.
Justlikemushroomculture,itisexpectedthatmicrobeswillsoonbe
acceptedasasourceoffood.
Presently,S
pirulina,analgaiswidelyacceptedasasourceofSCP.Itis
economicalandecofriendlyaswell.
Itcanbegrownoneconomicalsubstrateslikewastewaterfrompotato
processingplant,straw,molassesorevensewage.

TissueCulture

Tissuecultureistheprocessofdevelopingacompleteplantfromapartofa
 plant.Theplantpartiscalledanexplant.
Explantscanbegrowninsterileconditionsinspecialnutrientmediato
regeneratecompleteplants.
Nutrientmediacontainacarbonsource(suchassucrose),organicsalts,
vitamins,aminoacidsandphytohormones.
Hence,propagationisachievedforalargenumberofplantsinashort
duration.Thisprocessiscalledmicropropagation.
SomaclonesAlltheplantsobtainedbytissueculturearecalled
somaclonessincetheyaregeneticallyidenticaltoeachotheraswellasthe
parentplant.
SomatichybridisationItreferstothehybridisationofthesomaticparts
oftwoplants.Protoplastsareisolatedandfusedtogetahybridprotoplast,
whichgrowsfurthertoformanewplant.Thisnewplantiscalledasomatic
hybrid.

E.g.,protoplastsofpotatoandtomatohavebeenactuallyfusedtoforma
Pomato,butthisplantisnotcommerciallyviable.

Applicationsoftissueculture
Manyimportantplantslikeapple,bananaandtomatohavebeengrown
onlaboratoryscalebyusingthismethod.
Thismethodcanbeusedtorecoverahealthyplantfromadiseased
plant.Exampleaplantinflictedwithvirusmaynothavevirusinits
apicalandaxillarymeristems.Hence,thesepartscanbeculturedto
obtainahealthyplant.