Insects Injurious to Staple Crops

Biofortification of Staple Food Crops: Six Questions

More than half the world’s population suffers from micronutrient malnutrition. Biofortification of staple food crops is a new public health approach to control vitamin A, iron, and zinc deficiencies in poor countries. Biofortification is the development of micronutrient‐dense staple crops using traditional breeding practices and modern biotechnology. It has multiple advantages: it capitalizes o...

Quantification of ferritin from staple food crops.

Ferritin-iron has been shown to be as bioavailable as ferrous sulfate in humans. Thus, biofortification to breed crops with high ferritin content is a promising strategy to alleviate the global iron deficiency problem. Although ferritin is present in all food crops, its concentration varies between species and varieties. Therefore, a successful ferritin biofortification strategy requires a meth...

Agronomic Approaches to Increasing Zinc Concentration in Staple Food Crops

Chapter 9. Biofortification of Staple Crops

Micronutrient malnutrition, also called “hidden hunger”, caused by the deficiency of micronutrients in the diet, afflicts more than two billion people worldwide, especially women and preschool age children (Welch and Graham 2002; White and Broadley, 2009) in the developing countries who are largely dependent on staple food crops. The consequences, in terms of malnutrition and health, are devast...

The Environmental Effects of Genetically Modified Crops Resistant to Insects

Transgenic crops are currently being cultivated on a commercial scale in many countries. The area devoted to transgenic pest resistant varieties worldwide reached 13 million hectares in 2001. These varieties offer valuable benefits but also pose potential risks. Assessments of their impact on the environment are conducted before they are approved for commercial use, as required by the regulator...