Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
strategies for the effects of climate change that are already in
progress. Change of climate over time has led to a decrease in
crop yield due to inadequate rainfall, various abiotic stresses,
potential weeds, pests and diseases caused by fungi, bacteria
and viruses. Biotechnology and the application of advanced
techniques in agriculture will help in creating plants that will
adapt to these new climatic conditions. One of the important
ways of adapting to such changes is to apply agricultural bio-
technological strategies that counter the effects by improving
crop productivities per unit area of land cultivars.
The increasing demand for food crops worldwide can be
satisfied in two ways: first is to increase the area under pro-
duction and the second is to improve productivity on existing
arable land. Given the limited amount of land for cultivation
and a continuously changing climate, the second option seems
to be more lucrative. Some of the conventional biotechnological
options that organic farming technologies using biofertilisers
include good agronomical practices such as land management,
crop rotation, mixed farming, intercropping with leguminous
plants with nitrogen fixing abilities and application of tradi-
tional and indigenous knowledge on known chemical pests and
disease control methods (Bianchi et al., 2006). In this way, agri-
cultural biotechnology and other advanced breeding strategies
may help to further achieve higher yields and meet the needs of
an expanding population with limited land and water resources.
Adaptation to
abiotic stresses
Climate change poses an enormous intimidation in terms of
the available agricultural land and fresh water use. Abiotic
stress conditions such as salinity, drought, extreme tempera-
tures, chemical toxicity and oxidative stress impose negative
effects on agriculture and the natural environment (Bartels and
Sunkar, 2005). Rising sea levels increase water salinity and
force migration, resulting in greater population density with
reduced viable crop land and fresh water for irrigation. About
25 million acres of arable land is lost each year due to salin-
ity caused by indefensible irrigation techniques (Ruane et al.,
2008). It is estimated that if the increase in salinity continues
with this speed, it will lead to 30% loss of arable land within 25
years and 50% by the year 2050 (Wang et al., 2003; Valliyodan
and Nguyen, 2006). Seventy percent of the available fresh water
consumed is accounted by the agriculture sector (Brookes and
Barfoot, 2008), which is likely to increase with the increas-
ing temperature associated with climate change. Increasing
harsh conditions will force the plants to use more energy and,
hence, more water to grow. The problem is aggravated when the
