Strategies for

Enhancement in Food
Production
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 Strategies for Enhancement in
Food Production
INTRODUCTION
y Conventional method of breeding was not
able to fulfill the nutritional requirement of
the world. Thus, the scientists developed new
breeding techniques that helped in increasing
the productivity and catering to the food
requirements of the world.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
y Animal husbandry deals with the care and
breeding of livestock that is useful to human
beings.

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

Definition

Animal Husbandry: It is the

agricultural practice of breeding
and raising livestock that is
useful to humans.

1.
 DAIRY FARM MANAGEMENT
y Cattle are used for the following: Definition
○ Ploughing the field
○ Driving carts for transportation Dairying: Dairying is the
○ Providing milk management of animals for milk
○ Providing meat and milk products for human
y Cattle are of two types: consumption.
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

Dual Purpose Breed

Cow milk yield is high while their
bullocks are good work animals.
Example: Kankrej and Ongole

y The cattle are fed and given a balanced feed

to keep them healthy.
y Milk yield is dependent primarily on the
quality of breeds.
y Breeds having high yielding potential are
combined with breed resistant to diseases.

2.
 POULTRY FARM MANAGEMENT
y Poultry includes chicken and ducks and Definition
sometimes turkey and geese.
y The birds are exclusively raised for eggs are known Poultry: It is the rearing of birds
as layers while the birds that are exclusively for their eggs and meat.
raised for meat are known as broilers.
y The birds that lay a large number of eggs are
crossed with birds having high meat quality
or disease resistance to have hybrids with the
superior quality.
y Feed involves/comprises of two main components
like:

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

○ Roughage-It has large amount of fibres but
less nutrients.
E.g., Hay, fodder grass, Elephant grass
○ Concentrates-It is rich in proteins and is
easily digestible. It is a mixture of cereals, oil
seeds and molasses.
y Besides concentrates and roughage, antibiotics,
minerals and hormones are added to the feed.
y The birds are fed on grains, oil cakes and green
vegetables. Broilers are also fed with diet rich in
proteins and fat with a high amount of Vitamin A
and K.

3.
 BEE-KEEPING OR APICULTURE
y Apiculture is done to produce honey and bee wax.
y Honey is used as: Definition
○ Food
○ Medicine in Ayurveda Apiculture: Rearing of honey
○ Bee wax is used for the preparation of bees in apiaries for the
cosmetics and polishes. production of honey and bee
○ Bee-keeping can be practised in area where wax.
there is pasturage i.e. some wild shrubs,
cultivated crops, fruit-orchards.
y Different species of honey bees are:
○ Apis dorsata – Rock bee or giant bee
○ Apis indica – Indian bee,most common
species
○ Apis florea – Little bee
○ Apis mellifera – Italian bee
Apis mellifera is better than the Indian species
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

y
because of
○ high yield
○ docile nature
○ large egg production
○ less swarming
y Beehives can be kept in
○ courtyard
○ verandah
○ roof of houses
○ places where an abundance of bee flora is
available.

4.
 FISH FARMING OR PISCICULTURE

y Fishery involves catching or rearing fish, shellfish

or other aquatic animals.
y A large number of the population depends upon
fish for their food.
y India occupies 7th position in the world in total
fish production.
y Fish farming is of two types:
○ Capture fishery – fishes are not raised but
captured directly from natural water bodies.
○ Culture fishery – Fishes are raised in artificial

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

water bodies.
y Fish farming can be in marine waters or in fresh
waters.

Definition
Pisciculture: The rearing and
breeding of fishes for their meat
is known as pisciculture.

5.
 Gray Matter Alert!!!

Blue Revolution: It was the

movement launched to increase
the production of fish and fish
products.
Aquaculture: The production of
fresh water and marine plants
and aquatic animals like prawns,
crabs, lobsters, oysters is known
as aquaculture.

ANIMAL BREEDING
Rack Your Brain
y Animal breeding aims at:
○ Increasing the quantity of the yield.
○ Improving the quality of the production. Which areas are suitable for
bee-keeping practices?
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

6.
 Inbreeding
y It includes the mating of superior males and Definition
females of the same breed for 4-6 generations.
y From the progenies superior males and females Inbreeding: Inbreeding refers
are identified for further mating. to the mating of more closely
related individuals within the
Advantages of Inbreeding same breed for 4-6 generations.
y It increases homozygosity and thus helps in
evolving purelines in animals.
y Inbreeding exposes the harmful recessive alleles,
which are eliminated by selection.
y Inbreeding also helps in accumulation of superior
genes and elimination of less desirable ones. Previous Year’s Question

Disadvantage of Inbreeding Which among the following is the

y Continuous inbreeding causes inbreeding real product of the honey bee?
depression. It reduces vigour, fertility and even (1) Honey
productivity. (2) Propolis
(3) Pollen
Solution (4) Bee wax
y To restore fertility and vigour in the animals
showing inbreeding depression, the selected
animals are mated with unrelated superior
animals of the same breed.

Out-breeding Definition

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

y It refers to the breeding of unrelated animals
either of the same breed or of different breeds or Inbreeding Depression: It is the
of different species. loss of vigour and fertility due to
y Outbreeding is of the following types: continuous inbreeding.

Out-crossing
y It is the process of mating animals within the
same breed, having no common ancestors in
both the generations of the mating animals up to
4–6 generations. Rack Your Brain
y The offspring of out-crossing is called an
outcross. How can inbreeding depression
be reversed?

7.
 Advantages of out-crossing
y Outcross helps to overcome inbreeding Previous Year’s Question
depression.
y Used for animals that are low in productivity.
Interspecific hybridisation is the
mating of
Cross-breeding
(1) animals within same breed
y It is the process in which superior males of one
without having common
breed are mated with the superior females of
ancestors
another breed of the same species.
(2) two different related species
y The hybrid can be directly used for commercial
(3) superior males and females
production or they can be subjected to further
of different breeds
inbreeding and selection, to develop new stable
(4) more closely related
improved breeds.
individuals within same
y Example Hisardale, a breed of sheep developed
breed for 4-6 generations
by crossing Bikaneri ewes and Marino rams.

Advantage of cross-breeding
y It combines the desirable qualities of the two Rack Your Brain
different breeds into a hybrid.
What is the professional approach
Interspecific hybridisation
at genetic level that can help to
y It is a process in which male and female animals
increase the productivity of low
of two different related species are crossed to
milk-producing cows?
combine the desirable and superior features of
both the parents into one.
y Example- Mule is produced by a cross between a
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

male donkey and female horse.

Previous Year’s Question
Artificial Insemination
y The process in which the semen collected from A true breeding plant is
superior male and is injected into the reproductive (1) one that is able to breed on
tract of the selected female. its own
(2) produced due to cross-
Advantages of artificial insemination pollination among unrelated
y Semen can be used immediately or stored at a plants
low temperature and used later when the female (3) near homozygous and
is reproductively mature. produces offspring of its own
y Semen can be transported in the frozen form to kind
a far place where the selected female is present. (4) always homozygous recessive
in its genetic constitution

8.
y Semen from one selected male animal can
inseminate many females.

Disadvantage of artificial insemination

y The chances of success of fertilization are low.

MULTIPLE OVULATION EMBRYO TRANSFER

TECHNOLOGY (MOET)
y High milk-yielding breeds of females and high
quality meat-yielding bulls have been bred to
increase the herd size in a short span of time.

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

9.
 Rack Your Brain

What is the role of ‘genetic

mother’ in MOET?

Previous Year’s Question

In cloning of cattle a fertilized

egg is taken out of the mother’s
womb and
(1) 
in the eight cell stage, cells
are separated and cultured
until small embryos are
formed which are implanted
into the womb of other cow
(2) in the eight cell stage the
individual cells are separated
under electrical field for
further development in
culture media
(3) from this upto eight identical
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

twins can be produced

(4) the egg is divided into 4 pairs
of cells which are implanted
into the womb of other cows

Rack Your Brain

Name one interspecific hybrid

mammal.

10.
 PLANT BREEDING
y Conventional or traditional plant breeding has Gray Matter Alert!!!
been practised for many years and most of our
present-day crops are the result of domestication. Monoculture: It is the practice
y Classical plant breeding techniques involve of growing a single crop, plant or
hybridisation of purelines and selection of plants livestock species on a farm.
with desirable qualities.
y The list of traits that breeders have tried to
incorporate into crop plants is as follows:
○ High yield
○ Quality of the product increased Definition
○ Increased tolerance towards environmental
stresses Germplasm: It is the total of all
○ Resistance to pathogens the alleles of the genes present
○ Increased tolerance to an insect pest in a crop.
y The main steps in breeding a new genetic variety
of a crop are:

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

11.
 GREEN REVOLUTION
y It was launched in mid 1960’s that has increased Previous Year’s Question
the food production to meet the food requirement.
y It used many techniques to raise high-yielding
India’s wheat yield revolution in
and disease resistant varieties in wheat, rice,
the 1960s, was possible primarily
maize.
due to
(1) hybrid seeds
Wheat
(2) increased chlorophyll content
y Norman E. Borlaug developed semi-dwarf
(3) mutations resulting in plant
varieties of wheat at the International Centre for
height reduction
Wheat and Maize Improvement in Mexico.
(4) quantitative trait mutations
y Varieties of wheat like Sonalika and Kalyan Sona
were developed in India.
y They are high-yielding and disease resistant.

Rice Rack Your Brain

y Semi-dwarf rice varieties were derived from IR-8
and Taichung Native-1. Name one semi-dwarf variety of
y The derivatives were introduced in India in 1966. wheat which is high yielding and
y Better-yielding semi-dwarf varieties like Jaya disease resistant.
and Ratna were developed in India.

Sugarcane
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

12.
 Millets
y Breeding programmes have resulted in the
development of high-yielding varieties of millets
resistant to water stress.

PLANT BREEDING FOR DISEASE RESISTANCE

y Plant breeding for disease resistance has two Definition
advantages:
○ Enhanced food production. Resistance: It is the ability of the
○ Reduced dependence on the use of chemicals plant to prevent the pathogen
pesticides, insecticides and fungicides. from causing disease.
y Resistance is the ability of the plant to prevent
the pathogen from causing disease.

Table. Pathogens and their Diseases

Causative Agent Diseases

Tobacco mosaic,
Virus
Turnip mosaic
Previous Year’s Question
Black rot of
crucifers, citrus Crop plants grown in monoculture
Bacteria
canker, blight of are
rice (1) highly prone to pests

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

(2) low in yields
(3) free from intraspecific
Rust of wheat, competition
red rot of sugar (4) characterised by poor root
Fungi
cane, late blight of
system
potato

y The steps involved in the conventional method of

breeding for resistance are:
○ Screening the germplasm for resistant
sources.
○ Hybridisation of selected parents.
○ Selection and evaluation of the hybrids.
○ Testing and release of the new varieties.

13.
 Table. Crops Resistance to Diseases Caused by Pathogens

Crop Variety Resistance to disease(s)

Pusa Shubhra
Cauliflower Black rot, curl blight black rot
Pusa Snowball K-1

Wheat Himgiri Leaf and stripe rust and hill bunt

Brassica Pusa Swarnim White rust

Cowpea Pusa Komal Bacterial blight

Chilli Pusa Sadabahar Chilly mosaic, tobacco mosaic and leaf curl

y The gene for resistance to yellow mosaic virus

was found in a wild species of bhindi having a
low yield.It has been transferred from the wild
species to form a new variety of Abelmoschus
esculentus, called Parbhani kranti. Definition
y Since there is limited availability of disease
resistant genes in the crop plants and their wild Mutagens: Mutation causing
relatives, thus mutation breeding is carried out agents are called mutagens.
for disease resistance.
y By mutation,the DNA is being modified and thus
disease resistant gene(s) is/are created.
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

y Mutation breeding involves the following steps:

○ Inducing mutation(s) through chemicals or
mutagens. Previous Year’s Question
○ Screening the plant materials for disease
resistance or genes with desirable benefits. Which of the following is generally
○ Multiplication of the selected plants for direct used for induced mutagenesis in
use or for breeding. crop plants?
y Example-Mung bean has been developed by (1) X-rays
mutation breeding and has developed resistance (2) UV (260 nm)
to yellow mosaic virus and powdery mildew. (3) Gamma rays (from cobalt 60)
(4) Alpha particles

14.
 Disadvantages of Mutations
y Some mutations can be lethal and the plants
may be killed.
y It may not always give the desired results.
y Mutations will only be inherited if they occur in
the germ cells.

PLANT BREEDING FOR RESISTANCE TO INSECT

PESTS
y Insect pest resistance in crops can be in the
form of
○ morphological
○ physiological
○ biochemical

Table. Crops Resistance to Diseases Caused by Insect Pest

Resistance to
Crop Characteristics Features
pest(s)

Hairy leaves Cereal leaf beetle

Wheat Morphological
Solid stem Stem sawfly

Hairy leaves
Morphological and Jassids
Cotton Smooth leaves and
physiological Bollworm
nectarless condition

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

High aspartic acid and low
Maize Biochemical Stem borer
nitrogen and sugar contents

y Breeding for pest-resistance follow the same

steps as breeding for disease resistance.
y The following are good sources of resistance
genes:
○ Cultivated varieties
○ Germplasm collections of crop or wild
relatives

15.
 Table. Crops Resistant to Diseases Caused by Pests

Crop Variety Resistance to pest(s)

Pusa Sawani, Pusa

Okra (bhindi) Shoot and fruit borer
A–4

Brassica (Rapeseed) Pusa Gaurav Aphids

Pusa Sem–2, Pusa

Flat bean Jassids, aphids and fruit borer
Sem–3

PLANT BREEDING FOR IMPROVED FOOD QUALITY

Definition
y A large number of people in the world do not
receive their daily nutritional requirement of Biofortification: It is the
vitamin A, iron, iodine and zinc. This is known breeding of plants with higher
as hidden hunger . levels of proteins, vitamins,
y Hidden hunger can reduce the life span, cause minerals and healthy fats.
diseases and reduce the mental abilities of
the people.
y One of the methods for developing crops
with higher levels of these nutrients is
biofortification.
y Biofortification is the breeding of plants with
higher levels of proteins, vitamins, minerals
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

and healthy fats.

y Examples of crop varieties, developed in India
by biofortification are:
○ Lysine and tryptophan-rich varieties of
maize.
○ High protein variety of wheat. E.g., Atlas
66
○ Iron-fortified variety of rice.
○ Vitamin C rich – Bitter gourd, tomato,
mustard, bathua.
○ Iron and Calcium rich – Spinach and
bathua.
○ Protein rich – French beans, Lablab beans,
Broad bean and Garden peas.

16.
 ○ Vitamin A rich – Carrots, spinach and
pumpkin.

SINGLE CELL PROTEIN (SCP)

y Protein is an important nutrient of our daily diet.
Each individual needs an adequate amount of
protein that they can get from pulses and meat.
y A large amount of grains are needed to feed the
animals and thus to obtain proteins.This again
puts a lot of pressure on the generation of more
cereals.
y Single cell protein is one of the alternative source
of proteins for nutrition of humans and animals.
y Microbes are grown on a large scale and used as
nutrient-rich food. Example-Spirulina
Advantages of Single Cell Protein: Previous Year’s Question
y Rich in proteins, minerals, vitamins and
carbohydrates and fats.
Breeding of crops with high
○ Can be easily grown on waste water from
levels of minerals, vitamins and
potato processing plants, animal manure,
proteins is called
molasses.
(1) somatic hybridisation
○ The use of waste material reduces pollution.
(2) biofortification
○ They reduce the pressure of cultivating a large
(3) biomagnification
amount pulses, for e.g., 250 g of Methylophilus
(4) micropropagation
methylotrophus bacterium has been used to
produce 25 tonnes of protein while 250 kg

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

of cow produces 200g of proteins and a lot
of pulses are needed to fulfil the nutritional
requirement of the cattle.

TISSUE CULTURE Definition

y Some parts of a plant like the leaf, stem, root,
Plant Tissue Culture: It refers to
anther, ovary have the ability to generate a whole
the regeneration of whole plant
new plant and this is known as totipotency.
from any cell or tissue or organ
y The first evidence of cellular totipotency was
of a plant in a suitable nutrient
given by F.C Steward.
medium in vitro.
y This ability of plants is used in tissue culture
technique.
y It is the technique of regeneration of whole plant
from any part of a plant(explants) by growing
it in a suitable nutrient medium under aseptic
conditions in vitro.

17.
 y It is also known as micropropagation as large
number of plants can be grown in a short period
of time.
y The plants produced are genetically identical and
are known as somaclones.
y Materials required-Explant, nutrient petri dish,
hormones (auxins, cytokinins), agar.
y Conditions required-Aseptic, proper aeration.
y Procedure-Explant is taken and sterilised and
then placed on a petri dish with the nutrient
medium.This is carried out in a sterile laminar
airflow.
y The cells of the explants and multiply and form a
multicellular structure known as callus.
y The rooting and shooting hormone auxins and
cytokinins are added to the petri dish containing
the callus.
y Within a few weeks roots and shoot develop and
then the new plantlets are shifted to the fields.

Advantages of Tissue Culture

y Large number of plants can be grown in a short
span of time.
y Seedless plants can be grown.
y Less space is needed to grow the plants.
y Characteristics of the parent plant is passed to
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

the offsprings.

Note: Pollen grains, anthers, ovaries and

ovules are haploid explants. Colchicine is
added to the culture medium to generate
diploid plantlets from them.

MERISTEM CULTURE
y Meristematic tissue is taken from the tip of the
plant.E.g., Shoot or root tip.
y The tip of the plant is used as it is free of virus.
y The tissue is grown in a nutrient medium along
with auxins and cytokinins.

18.
y New plantlets develop from the meristematic
tissues. Definition

Advantages of Meristem Culture Somatic Hybridisation: The

y Rapid multiplication of the plants. process of fusion of protoplasts
y Production of virus-free plants. of somatic cells derived from
y Used for conservation of germplasm. two different plants in a suitable
nutrient culture medium.
SOMATIC HYBRIDISATION
y Somatic hybridisation is the process of fusing
protoplasts of somatic cells derived from two
different plants in a suitable nutrient/culture
medium, under aseptic/sterile conditions.

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

Definition
y The process includes the following steps: Somaclones: Genetically identical
y Protoplast is taken from the cells of the plants developed from any part of
leaves, roots, callus, pollen grains. The plant a plant by tissue culture.
parts are first sterilised in ethyl alcohol.

19.
 ○ Isolation of protoplasts by digesting the
cell wall by use of enzymes. Microenzyme,
Cellulase are used etc. Rack Your Brain
○ Fusion of the protoplasts of the selected
varieties. Are somatic hybrids and
○ Fusion of the protoplast can be induced by somaclones the same?
Sodium nitrate treatment, Calcium treatment,
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and by electrical
fusion.
○ This results in the hybrid of the desired
characteristics of both the plant protoplasts.
○ The fused protoplast is grown in a suitable Previous Year’s Question
culture medium, and differentiate to form
somatic hybrids. This process is known as Somaclones are obtained by
somatic hybridisation. (1) plant breeding
○ Example- Pomato produced by fusion of (2) irradiation
protoplasts of tomato and potato. (3) genetic engineering
(4) tissue culture
Advantages of Somatic Hybridisation
y Somatic hybrids can be raised where sexual
hybridisation is not possible.
y Desired qualities of two plants can be combined
by protoplast fusion.
Rack Your Brain

Mention two limitations of

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

traditional breeding techniques.

20.
 Summary

21.
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

Summary

22.
Solved Exercise

Q1 The name of Norman Borlaug is associated with

(1) white revolution
(2) green revolution
(3) yellow revolution
(4) blue revolution

A1 (2)
Norman Borlang is credited with green revolution that increased food grain pro-
duction in the world.

Q2 A protoplast is a cell
(1) undergoing division
(2) without cell wall
(3) without plasma membrane
(4) without nucleus

A2 (2)
Protoplast is the cytoplasm and the nucleus removed from the cell.

Q3 Out-breeding is an important strategy of animal husbandry because it

(1) is useful in overcoming inbreeding depression

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

(2) exposes harmful recessive genes that are eliminated by selection
(3) helps in accumulation of superior genes
(4) is useful in producing purelines of animals

A3 (1)
Continuous inbreeding causes inbreeding depression that can be eliminated by
outbreeding i.e., out-crossing.

23.
 Q4 A technique of micropropagation is
(1) protoplast fusion
(2) embryo rescue
(3) somatic hybridisation
(4) somatic embryogenesis

A4 (4)
Somatic embryogenesis is a technique of micropropagation in which new
plantlets develop from somatic cells.

Q5 Which of the following enhances or induces fusion of protoplasts?

(1) IAA and kinetin
(2) IAA and gibberellins
(3) Sodium chloride and potassium chloride
(4) Polyethylene glycol and sodium nitrate

A5 (4)
Polyethylene glycol and Sodium nitrate induce the fusion of two different
protoplasts.

Q6 Tissue culture medium, the embryoids formed from pollen grains are due to
(1) cellular totipotency
(2) organogenesis
(3) double fertilisation
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

(4) test tube culture

A6 (1)
Totipotency is the ability of the cells to multiply and form new plants.

Q7 Which statement is correct?

(1) A. indica is largest wild honey bee.
(2) Wax is waste product of honey bee.
(3) Workers are the smallest of the three castes.
(4) Drone of honey bee is diploid

24.
A7 (3)
Workers are the smallest of the three castes. A. florea is the smallest wild honey
bee. Wax is a product of honey bee. Drone honey bee is haploid.

Q8 The new varieties of plants are produced by

(1) introduction and mutation
(2) selection and introduction
(3) selection and hybridization
(4) mutation and selection

A8 (3)
Selection of plants with desirable traits and then hybridizing them to produce new
improved varieties.

Q9 High milk yielding varieties of cows are obtained by

(1) use of surrogate mothers
(2) super ovulation
(3) artificial insemination
(4) all of these

A9 (4)
High milk yielding varieties of cows can be obtained by MOET by artificial
insemination, super ovulation, and use of surrogate mother.

Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

Q10 The term aquaculture means
(1) inland fisheries
(2) aspergillosis
(3) marine fisheries
(4) both (1) and (3)

A10 (4)
Aquaculture is the rearing of inland and marine fisheries.

25.
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

26.