Ch 9 covers strategies for increasing food production — animal husbandry (management of livestock), plant breeding (hybridisation, mutation breeding), tissue culture, single cell protein (SCP), and biofortification.
Animal husbandry: dairy farming (MUST), poultry, fishery (aquaculture, pisciculture), apiculture (beekeeping). Plant breeding steps: collection of variability → evaluation → cross-hybridisation → selection → testing, release. Successes: semi-dwarf wheat (Sonalika, Kalyan Sona — Green Revolution), IR-8 rice. Disease resistance breeding. Mutation breeding: using mutagens to create new varieties.
Tissue culture: totipotency — any plant cell can grow into complete plant. Micropropagation: mass clonal propagation. Somaclones: genetically identical plants. Somatic hybridisation: protoplast fusion. SCP (Single Cell Protein): microorganisms as protein source (Spirulina, Methylophilus). Biofortification: breeding crops with higher nutrients (IARI: vitamin A-rich carrots, iron-rich spinach, protein-rich beans).
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Biofortification is breeding crops to increase their nutritional value — higher vitamins, minerals, proteins, or healthier fats. Unlike food fortification (adding nutrients during processing), biofortification improves the crop itself. Examples by IARI: vitamin A-enriched carrots, spinach, pumpkin; iron and calcium-enriched spinach; protein-enriched beans, lablab. It addresses micronutrient deficiency in populations that rely on staple crops.
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