Thomson Jennifer A
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, Republic of South Africa.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Feb 27;363(1492):905-13. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2007.2191.
Sub-Saharan Africa could have a shortfall of nearly 90Mt of cereals by the year 2025 if current agricultural practices are maintained. Biotechnology is one of the ways to improve agricultural production. Insect-resistant varieties of maize and cotton suitable for the subcontinent have been identified as already having a significant impact. Virus-resistant crops are under development. These include maize resistant to the African endemic maize streak virus and cassava resistant to African cassava mosaic virus. Parasitic weeds such as Striga attack the roots of crops such as maize, millet, sorghum and upland rice. Field trials in Kenya using a variety of maize resistant to a herbicide have proven very successful. Drought-tolerant crops are also under development as are improved varieties of local African crops such as bananas, cassava, sorghum and sweet potatoes.
如果维持目前的农业生产方式,到2025年撒哈拉以南非洲地区可能会短缺近9000万吨谷物。生物技术是提高农业产量的途径之一。已确定适合该次大陆的抗虫玉米和棉花品种已经产生了重大影响。抗病毒作物正在研发中。其中包括对非洲地方病玉米条纹病毒具有抗性的玉米以及对非洲木薯花叶病毒具有抗性的木薯。诸如独脚金之类的寄生杂草会侵袭玉米、小米、高粱和旱稻等作物的根部。在肯尼亚进行的使用对除草剂具有抗性的各种玉米的田间试验已证明非常成功。耐旱作物也在研发中,非洲当地作物如香蕉、木薯、高粱和红薯的改良品种也在研发中。