Crop Production Techniques

Crop Production

• Glasshouses and Polythene Tunnels: These structures improve crop yield by controlling environmental factors:
  • Light: Artificial lighting supplements natural light during winter. Transparent walls allow natural light for photosynthesis in summer.
  • Temperature: Heating systems maintain optimal temperatures, even in cold weather, increasing productivity.
  • CO2: Heaters burning fossil fuels increase CO2 levels, enhancing photosynthesis.
• Fertilizers: Boost crop yield by supplying essential nutrients:
  • Phosphates: Crucial for DNA and cell membranes.
  • Nitrates: Necessary for DNA and amino acids, enabling plant growth.
• Pest Control:
  • Chemical Pesticides: Chemicals targeting specific pests like fungi (fungicides), weeds (herbicides), and insects (insecticides).
    • Advantages: Effective pest control, often readily available, and fast-acting.
    • Disadvantages: Potential pest resistance, environmental pollution, and the need for consistent reapplication.
  • Biological Control: Natural methods preventing pests, such as
    • Natural Predators: Introducing beneficial organisms like ladybirds for aphid control.
    • Pathogenic Microorganisms: Introducing disease-causing agents to target pest populations.
    • Sterile Males: Introducing sterile males to disrupt breeding patterns.
    • Pheromones: Utilizing pheromones to disrupt mating rituals.
    • Advantages: Eco-friendly, no chemical residues, and long-term solutions.
    • Disadvantages: Can be a slower process compared to chemical control.

Food Production: Other Examples

• Bread Production:
  • Yeast, added to flour and water, ferments during bread-making.
  • Initial aerobic respiration produces CO2, raising the dough.
  • Anaerobic respiration (when oxygen is limited) produces alcohol and CO2.
  • Baking kills yeast and evaporates alcohol.
• Yogurt Production:
  • Milk sterilization: All equipment is sterilized & the milk is pasteurized and homogenized for quality control.
  • Lactic Acid Fermentation: Specific bacteria (lactobacillus) are added, which ferment lactose into lactic acid, lowering the pH and thickening the milk into yogurt.
• Industrial Fermentation: Large-scale production using fermenters offers highly controlled conditions:
  • Nutrients: Provided via pipes for targeted feeding.
  • pH Control: Maintaining the desired pH using buffers.
  • Air Flow: Providing oxygen for aerobic respiration, filtering to prevent contamination.
  • Mixing: Stirring paddles ensure even distribution of nutrients and temperature.
  • Waste Removal: Removing waste products to maintain hygiene.

Animal and Plant Breeding

• Fish Farming: Creating controlled environments for fish breeding:
  • Water Quality: Maintaining clean water environments in breeding tanks/ponds.
  • Predation Control: Preventing both intraspecies and interspecies predation, which reduces mortality.
  • Disease Control: Using pesticides to remove pathogens and antibiotics to prevent diseases.
  • Waste Removal: Cleaning up dead fish and other waste to prevent infections.
  • Selective Breeding: Choosing breeding fish based on traits for targeted characteristics.
• Selective Breeding: Producing desirable traits in plants or animals using generations of selection and breeding. This applies to both plants and animals for traits such as:
• High yield: For increased production.
• Disease resistance.
• Drought tolerance.
• Growth rate.
• Quality: for example, higher quality fur or increased egg production for birds.

Genetic Modification

• Genetic Modification (GM):

  • Purpose: Altering an organism's DNA to enhance desired characteristics using restriction enzymes and ligase.
  • Process: Inserting a gene from one species into another to achieve specific traits.
  • Recombinant DNA: Combining different genetic elements to build the desired DNA structure.
  • Vectors: Using plasmids or viruses to carry the inserted gene into the host organism.
  • Applications:
    • Insulin Production: Genetically modified bacteria produce large amounts of human insulin, crucial for type 1 diabetes patients. This process involves cutting plasmid DNA, inserting the human insulin gene, and then introducing the recombinant plasmid back into the bacteria.

• Genestically Modified Plants: Crops genetically enhanced to achieve:

  • Increased Yield.
  • Drought/Disease Resistance.
  • Extended Shelf Life.