Author Description

This book introduces the reader to the pros and cons of genetic modification of crops and to the related terminator technology with special reference to their adoption in developing countries. In pointing out the benefits of transgenic crops or their food products, the book conveys the message that the bourgeoning populations of developing countries necessitate recourse to high-yielding genetically modified crops if the poor have to be fed and famines averted. At the same time however, certain alternatives to controversial technologies are suggested to minimize any hitherto undetected risks. The book should prove informative to students of agriculture, biotechnology, botany, genetics, agronomy and plant pathology. Contents Chapter 1: Exploitable Biotechnology; Introduction, Biotechnology and agriculture, Agrobiotechnology and sustainable agriculture, Plant biotechnology, The promise and peril of plant biotechnology, Molecular and traditional breeding, Plant tissue culture and seed production, Biosafety, Agroecological versus technological crop management, Ethics and public acceptance of biotechnology, Dimensions of risk; Chapter 2: Transgenic Crops in Europe and USA; Introduction, Global area under transgenics, Transgenic crops in Europe, Transgenic crops in USA, Production of biopharmaceuticals in transgenic plants, Biopharm crops, Health enhancing nutraceuticals, Performance in natural habitats, Transgenic plants and pest management; Chapter 3: Transgenic Crops in Developing Countries; Introduction, Transgenics in India, Breeding for improvement in Indian crops, Rice, Wheat, Maize, Sorghum, Pearl millet, Pigeonpea, Chickpea, Mungbean and uradbean, Cotton, Potato, India mustard, Soybean, Insect resistance, Management of resistance, Bt cotton in India, Fungus resistance, Virus resistance, Pre requisites for developing virus resistant transgenics, Weak regulatory strategies, GM crops in China, GM cotton, Cotton biotechnology in China; Chapter 4: Transgenic Crops: Sci