
Improving quality & productivity of crops using Genetic engineering
The history of agriculture traces back to 10,000 BC when, according to archaeologists, first crops i.e. wheat was cultivated in different areas of the Middle East by humankind. Since antiquity, farmers got aware that some crops can not only produce better yields than others but some of them were naturally more resistant to insects and pests.
Later on, they learned that certain characteristics of crops can be produced by the cross-pollination of parent plants through a method which is called ‘natural selection’ or ‘classical breeding’. However, this method had various disadvantages. A sizeable number of parent plants had to be cross-bred many times to get the desired changes in the genetic makeup of the plants.
Furthermore, it was also observed that the genetic makeup of the offspring would be randomly re-assorted and while some offspring might produce the desired results, other desired genome may be lost along with transfer of undesired genome during the process. Plant breeders thus had to carry out repeated back-crossing to the desirable parent plants which was a time-consuming task.

With the exponential increase in the global population, demand for food and subsequently concerns for food security have also increased dramatically. New methods of crop cultivation have been developed to cater to the increased demands of food. Genetic engineering has provided a novel method for not only increase the production of crops but the quality of crops too.
Genetic engineering uses knowledge of the genetic makeup (DNA and genome) of the organisms and modifies them to produce specific results. Instead of using the more time consuming and more unpredictable natural selection or classical breeding methods, genetic engineering uses methods such as ‘gene technology’ or ‘recombinant gene technology’.
This technology transfers into the selected genes from one organism to another. Thus a herbicide-tolerant plant or a plant resistant to viruses, insects or droughts can be produced. Further variations such as modified flower color composition, delayed ripening or high yield crops can be carried out to create genetically modified (GM) plants.
Transgenic or GM crops have been planted in different countries around the globe from 1996 to 2015. According to a report around 179.7 million hectares planted in 2015 to GM crops with high market value, such as herbicide-tolerant soybean, maize, cotton, and canola; insect resistant maize, cotton, potato, and rice; and virus resistant squash and papaya. More than one trait can be hoarded into a plant with genetic engineering techniques. GM crops with combined traits such as herbicide tolerant and insect resistant maize, soybean and cotton, are also available commercially.
The only GM crop approved and grown in Pakistan is Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) cotton. It is grown mainly in Southern Punjab.
These commercial GM crops have proved instrumental in crop production and a couple of more such products are in the pipeline which will have a profound impact on food quality, environmental factors, pharmaceutical production, and in commercial crops.
For instance, rice has a great number compounds like iron and beta-carotene, which is an important micronutrient convert into vitamin-A in the human body); long-lasting banana ripens faster on the trees and can, therefore, be harvested earlier. Similarly, tomatoes with high levels of flavonols, which are powerful antioxidants; arsenic-tolerant plants; edible vaccines from fruit and vegetables; and low lignin trees for paper making all are examples of such products.
GM crops have not only been used to increase crop productivity but many countries have also used them to solve problems of water salinity and other environmental problems. Creating plants that are resistant and tolerant to drought or salinity (high salt content in soil) can provide solutions to the problems of food security and malnutrition in face of the increased demand for food due to increased global population, especially in developing countries.
The issue of global warming and climate change has emerged as a global challenge in the recent decades affecting the most developed to least developed nations at the same time. Genetically modified trees and plants that specifically target carbon dioxide and help in its sequestration have been demonstrated to be extremely useful in this global fight to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
However, people in certain countries are concerned about the adverse long term impacts on health and environment which due to GM crops. There is a number of risks associated with the use of biotechnology for crops with negative effects. Allergenicity in the form of serious allergic reactions is a major issue faced by consumers in the USA and Europe. Furthermore, various studies have shown that genetically modified organisms (GMO) can cause unintended harm to other organisms.
For instance, pollen from Bt corn―a GM crop― caused heavy toll of death in monarch butterfly caterpillar. Another unfavorable issue is that there could be cross-breeding between GM herbicide-resistant crops and weeds. This also results in the transfer of herbicide resistance genes to the weeds which will subsequently also become herbicide tolerant. In addition, GM crops affect entire ecosystems and the situation will eventually boil down into biodiversity reduction.
Owing to these concerns many countries have passed legislation acts to protect their consumers and industries form disastrous effects. Furthermore, some international multilateral conventions have signed and ratified by many nations to oversee the moral, ethical and environmental impacts of these genetically modified crops in particular and genetically modified organisms in general.

This includes the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and Cartagena Protocol. The goal of such efforts is to ensure safe handling, transport, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs), the aftermath of modern biotechnology that may have dire effects on biological diversity, taking into account high risks to human health. The protocol set the advanced agreement procedure for protection and to ensure a safe transfer of living modified organisms, including GM crops, across various countries.

Muhammad Abdullah Khan has done bachelors in Chemistry from Government College University
Lahore. He is a science enthusiast and loves to read and write about astronomy, cosmology and latest
scientific endeavors.
Hi there very cool blog!! Man .. Excellent .. Wonderful ..
I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also?
I am happy to find so many helpful info here
in the submit, we want develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.
. . . . .
Can I simply just say what a relief to uncover a person that genuinely understands what they’re
discussing on the internet. You definitely understand how to bring an issue to light
and make it important. More people need to check this out and understand
this side of the story. I can’t believe you are not more popular since you definitely possess the gift.
Great article! We are linking to this particularly great
article on our website. Keep up the good writing.
Genuinely when someone doesn’t know then its up
to other users that they will assist, so here it happens.
Hello there! Quick question that’s totally off topic.
Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
My weblog looks weird when browsing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a template
or plugin that might be able to correct this issue.
If you have any recommendations, please share.
Thank you!
Hey there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll
be book-marking and checking back frequently!
I’m not sure exactly why but this weblog is loading incredibly slow
for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end?
I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
Hi there, yes this post is really good and I have learned lot of things from
it concerning blogging. thanks.
Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your web site, how
can i subscribe for a blog website? The account helped me a acceptable deal.
I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast
offered bright clear concept
pain meds online without doctor prescription
prednisone 5mg daily cost of prednisone prednisone 2.5 mg price
prednisone 10mg tabs order prednisone order prednisone online no prescription
order original cialis online best price for daily cialis what is the generic name for cialis
prednisone otc price buy prednisone online order prednisone on line
liquid ivermectin for cats how to buy ivermectin buy ivermectin tablets
prednisone 50 mg canada prednisone for sale prednisone 20mg buy online
cialis w/dapoxetine best price for daily cialis what is super cialis, cialis dapoxetine
Hello, this weekend is nice in support of me, since this point in time i am reading this wonderful informative piece of writing here at my residence.
legal to buy prescription drugs without prescription how can i order prescription drugs without a doctor canadian drug pharmacy
Article writing is also a excitement, if you be
acquainted with afterward you can write otherwise it is complicated to write.
finasteride without prescription buy generic propecia generic propecia for cheap without precscription
buy propecia no prescription purchase propecia no prescription propecia 1mg generic
best ed pills non prescription ed meds online medication for ed dysfunction
best ed treatment best non prescription ed pills ed pills comparison
ed treatment drugs ed pills comparison treatments for ed
best ed medications ed pills otc best male enhancement pills
I always used to study article in news papers but now as I am a user of net so
from now I am using net for posts, thanks to
web.