Risk Assessment of Herbicide Resistant Crops with Special Reference to Pollen Mediated Gene Flow

Abstract

The world population is projected to become a staggering 8.3 billion by 2030 from about 6 billion today, which will aggravate food insecurity especially in developing countries [31]. By 2050, developing countries will account for 93% of cereal and 85% of meat demand growth [73]. In agricultural crop production systems, insects, diseases and weeds continue to threaten sustainability and account for ~40% loss in crop production. Availability of farm land and productivity is decreasing because of soil erosion, degradation and annexation of farm land for alternative uses. The availability of water for agricultural crops is also decreasing. Drought, storm, flood and heat waves are predicted to occur more frequently and would have a large impact on crop productivity [19]. Since atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to rise at rates that are both unprecedented and alarming, efforts have been made to understand their implications on crop production [2]. Higher growing season temperatures can have dramatic impacts on agricultural productivity, farm incomes and food security [8]. Salinity and other soil toxicities are likely to be much more problematic in some areas. In semiarid regions, reduction in production of primary crops including maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) are predicted in the next two decades [58].