Contents 1. Introduction 2. The origin of tropical crops 3. Dissemination of tropical crops outside their centers of origin 4. Tropical agriculture in colonial times 5. Independence and tropical agriculture 6. Tropical food crops 7. Outlook on tropical agriculture 8. Tropical food crops in a globalized economy 9. Historical background 10. Globalization 11. Free trade 12. The starting point 13. ...

Small RNAs regulate a large set of gene expression in all plants and constitute a natural immunity against viruses. Small RNA based genetic engineering (SRGE) technology had been explored for crop protection against viruses for nearly 30 years. Viral resistance has been developed in diverse crops with SRGE technology and a few viral resistant crops have been approved for commercial release. In ...

The global push towards a more biomass-based energy sector is ramping up efforts to adopt regionally appropriate high-yielding crops. As potential bioenergy crops are being moved around the world an assessment of the climatic suitability would be a prudent first step in identifying suitable areas of productivity and risk. Additionally, this assessment also provides a necessary step in evaluatin...

Shrinking arable land due to soil salinization and, depleting fresh water resources pose serious worldwide constraints to crop productivity. A vision of using plant feedstock for biofuel production can only be realized if we can identify alternate species that can be grown on saline soils and therefore, would not compete for the resources required for conventional agriculture. Halophytes have r...

G engineering can improve crop quality and agronomic performance. Biotech crops produced by this technology can potentially benefit producers as well as consumers in both developed and developing countries. The creation of the first genetically engineered (GE) organisms in the 1970s initiated a still ongoing debate regarding their safety. Despite this concern, GE crops have been increasingly ad...

Wherever humans have lived, they have made berries a part of their diet. Most of these have never been developed beyond local markets but some have become economically important crops. In this paper, the berry crops have been divided into four groups based on their current international popularity and potential future value. An overview of the status of development, current production, and futu...

This paper is intended to convey the message of the talk I gave at the Theo Murphy meeting at the Kavli Centre in July 2010. It, like the talk, is polemical, and conveys the exasperation felt by a practitioner of genetically modified (GM) plant science at its widespread misrepresentation. I argue that sustainable intensification of agriculture, using GM as well as other technologies, reduces it...

Transgenic Crops describes the basics of genetic modifi cation for agricultural purposes and a brief history of the technology and the governing policies surrounding it. This publication offers a brief overview of the main agricultural crops that have been genetically modifi ed, the characteristics they express, and the market roles they play. Unintended consequences, economic considerations, a...