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Novel crop science to improve yield and resource use efficiency in water-limited agriculture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2010

W. J. DAVIES ,
J. ZHANG ,
J. YANG  and
I. C. DODD
W. J. DAVIES*
Affiliation:
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
J. ZHANG
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Road, Hong Kong, China
J. YANG
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology of Jiangsu Province, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
I. C. DODD
Affiliation:
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: w.davies@lancaster.ac.uk
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Summary

Globally, agriculture accounts for 0·80–0·90 of all freshwater used by humans and, in many crop production systems, this water use is unsustainable. The current paper focuses on the potential exploitation of novel drought stress biology in both crop improvement programmes and via changed crop management practices. The aim is to deliver ‘more crop per drop’. In order to respond to the challenge of feeding a world population of seven billion and growing, it is concluded that an interdisciplinary approach is needed involving new genetic opportunities and plant breeding. It is also shown how crop management can exploit the drought stress physiology of plants to deliver improved water productivity without sacrificing crop yield.

Type
Foresight Project on Global Food and Farming Futures
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 149 , Issue S1: FORESIGHT PROJECT ON GLOBAL FOOD AND FARMING FUTURES , February 2011 , pp. 123 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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