BOTANY Higher Secondary Second Year - Textbooks Online

Sustainable agriculture includes scientific methods of farming that
utilise renewable resources, increase in yield, avoidance of manmade
complex substances known as Xenobiotics which are used as insecticides
and pesticides that cause pollution to soil and environment. Plant tissue
culture and biotechnology also play a major role in this. 50 varieties of
rice and 20 varieties in wheat have been developed in China by using
these new techniques without damaging the environment. New disease
resistant virus free plants and stress resistant plants, are successfully
produced. Similarly, transfer of nif (nitrogen fixing) gene to nonleguminous
crops will improve higher yield. Biotechnology and tissue
culture contributed more to sustainable agriculture by providing
biofertilizer, biopesticides, disease and insect resistant varieties through
creation of transgenic crops, single cell protein, production of valuable
pharmaceutical products and herbal drugs (Ginseng Vinca, Emetine from
Cephalis) by using micropropagation technique.
To conclude Sustainable agriculture is an eco-friendly farming system
associated with production of food while maintaining on biophysical
resources including soil, water, biota with no adverse impacts on the
environment. So it should
1. maintain or improve the production of clean food.
2. maintain or improve the quality of landscape which includes soil,
water, biota and aesthetics
3. have minimal impact on the environment.
4. be economically viable and
5. be acceptable to society.
Sustainable farming uses ecofriendly fertilizers, and pesticides and
modern technologies, such as improved seed, modern equipments for lowtillage
practices, pest control using biological control principles and weed
control that depends on crop rotations. Sustainable farms try to use wind
or solar energy instead of purchased energy and use organic manure and
nitrogen fixing legumes as green manures to maintain soil fertility thereby
reducing supply from outside farms. The emphasis is on maintaining the
environment without causing any pollution.
Organic farming is defined as production systems which avoids the
use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed
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