Programmes directed towards the common crop plants
These programmes can be directed towards incorporating the following traits among common crop plants.
- Non-photo inhibition of photosynthesis particularly in the tropics would mean several fold increase in biomass produced over the same period provided-water and carbon dioxide supply are non-limiting.
- Resistance to high temperature beyond mesophilic ranges can allow agriculture in several areas that are left uncultivated because of prohibitive temperatures. To a large extent any strategy to achieve this would depend on the water status of the environment.
- Cold-hardiness in cultivars can help curb the losses often incurred because of extremely low temperatures reached during winters in some parts of the world.
- Drought resistance in crop plants will be particularly helpful to our primarily rain-fed agriculture.
- Salt tolerance in plants will bring a lot more of territory under green cover.