BIOTECHNOLOGY

Agricultural Biotechnology

Agricultural biotechnology is a range of tools, including traditional breeding techniques, that alter living organisms, or parts of organisms, to make or modify products; improve plants or animals; or develop microorganisms for specific agricultural uses. Modern biotechnology today includes the tools of genetic engineering.

Biotechnology provides farmers with tools that can make production cheaper and more manageable. For example, some biotechnology crops can be engineered to tolerate specific herbicides, which make weed control simpler and more efficient

Genetically Modified Crops

1. There is less loss after harvest.
2. The crops can be modified to have additional nutrients value for human welfare.
3. These crops are modified to be highly efficient, i.e, the high yield with less usage of minerals.
4. The decrease in the use of insecticides and pesticides which lead to pollution in the environment.
5. More tolerance to the natural stresses like natural calamities, extreme temperature and weather conditions, lack of water and minerals

One of the most common examples is that of Bt Cotton. Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis