ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 4428
Poster No. = 2416


SOILS, PLANTS, PESTS: INCREASING SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION


D. J. Greenland, Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, United Kingdom


The domestication of wheat and rice first enabled food production to exceed the needs of the producers, and a greater population to be supported. Empirical crop improvement was sufficient to allow the world population to increase to about 1 billion before Mendel established the scientific basis for plant improvement. However only in newly cultivated soils was the natural fertility sufficient for the potential of the new plant types to be realised. The discovery of inorganic fertilisers first enabled soil improvement to catch up with plant improvement and enabled food production to support the population explosion of 20th C. Genetic engineering should remove the threat of serious pest attacks. Soil degradation due to nutrient and organic matter depletion, acidification and erosion remains the most immediate threat to world food supplies.


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