Why is it in news?

Inspired by NASA’s attempts to grow wheat in space, Australian scientists have developed world’s first ‘speed breeding’ technique that can boost the production of the crop by three times.

Details

• The NASA experiments involved using continuous light on wheat which triggered early reproduction in the plants. This method is called speed breeding.
• By using speed breeding in specially modified glasshouses, six generations of wheat, chickpea and barley plants, and four generations of canola plants in a single year can be grown, as opposed to two or three generations in ordinary process.
• The quality and yield of plants in these conditions of controlled climate and extended daylight were as good, or even better than those grown on regular greenhouses.
• There has been a lot of interest in the world for these technique as the world has to produce 60-80% more food by 2050.
• The speed breeding technique will soon be put to industrial use.

Conclusion

• Increased commercialization of the speed breeding technique will greatly improve quality and quantity of food-insecure countries, thus, cutting their dependence on external aid and help create self sufficiency with respect to basic food needs of the general population
• It would also help some developing countries to dedicate their resources towards developmental work, rather than spending them on food imports.

Source: The Hindu, Pune Mirrior