Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
multivariate image analysis and principal component analysis, potentially offers
an accurate, unsupervised method which is readily calibrated. This type of technol-
ogy is already used commercially in New Zealand. There is much developmental
work required in order to improve the preservation of food quality after harvesting
in the developing world Kitinoja et al. (
2011
). This requires science-based, simple
methods for crop handling. These should include the characterization of indigenous
crops in terms of their unique postharvest physiology (e.g. respiration rate, suscep-
tibility to water loss, chilling sensitivity, ethylene sensitivity).
Genetics and Plant Breeding
Since the rediscovery of Mendel's research identifying the principles of genetic
inheritance in the 1900s, plant breeding has made an enormous contribution to all
aspects of horticulture. Plant breeding is the fundamental means for coping with
current and future economic and social problems facing mankind. The technology
needed for the analysis and manipulation of genomes has advanced very rapidly in
parallel with changes in the speed of electronics, automation and robotics. In the
decade since the first plant genome (
Arabidopsis thaliana
) was sequenced, a central
goal of research has been to assign functions to genes. The advent of high-through-
put technology and robotics in biological research allows the study of gene function
on a global scale, monitoring entire genomes and proteomes at once. Systematic
approaches consider all possible dependencies between genes and their products.
The science of proteomics characterizes biological processes which are under ge-
netic control. Proteomic techniques now collect data for many proteins simultane-
ously. This identifies protein expression, modification, localization, turn-over and
protein-protein interaction during each stage of physiological change or disease
development. Recent advances the acquisition, storage and analysis of complex
biological data sets provides detailed understanding of the mechanisms regulating
plant development and responses to the environment. Over the next 25 years this
information and that which follows will be applied to plant breeding. New cultivars
will increase the efficiency of resource-use, develop pest, pathogen and stress resis-
tance, and safeguard product quality.
Raising efficiency in the chloroplast is central to improving photosynthetic ac-
tivity and increasing crop yields. Photosynthesis captures the sun's energy and con-
verts it into yield and crop quality ultimately increasing growers' profits, the world
food supply and its quality. Knowledge of photosynthesis and photorespiration has
reached such an advanced state that application to crop improvement is now fea-
sible (Armbruster et al.
2011
). Engineering C
4
traits into C
3
plants, which include
most horticultural crops, is an attractive means of crop improvement. The C
4
path-
way of photosynthesis drives productivity in several major food crops and bio-
energy grasses, including maize (
Zea mays
), sugarcane (
Saccharum officinarum
),
sorghum (
Sorghum bicolor
),
Miscanthus
x
giganteus
, and switchgrass (
Panicum
virgatum
) (Brutnell et al.
2010
). Traits from these plants could be used to great ad-
vantage in horticultural crops. The gains in productivity associated with C
4
photo-
