Cereal plant breeding

The mutagenic action of various agents on higher plants has been extensively studied, particularly in regard to cereals and other crop species. The potential value in plant breeding of induced heritable variations (Tor-sell, 1954 Rapoport et aL 1966) and the availability of self-fertilizing species to determine mutation frequencies have made these studies feasible. 

Seed. The primary use of plant breeding is to improve the productivity, cultivation characteristics, stress tolerance, and nutritional content of food crops, particularly cereal grains. The green revolution stressed productivity under modern ricultural methods. Later, more attention has been paid to tailoring crops to specific environmental and social conditions. An example is yellow rice, genetically engineered for high vitamin A content, to combat vitamin A deficiency in rice-dependent populations. 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CEREAL THROUGH PLANT BREEDING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY... 

Gramineae, Poaceae G. Weizen E froment, ble Worldwide, w. is the most important -> cereal crop, with 552 X 10 mt of grain, which is 60% more than ->rice. Wild forms of w. were developed into crops by simple selection methods (->plant breeding) already 8000 years ago in Eurasia. 

Cereal proteins are only about 70 percent efficient for dietary replacement purposes. The reason is that cereal proteins are deficient in lysine, an essential amino acid for humans (see Amino Acid Synthesis in this section). Thus a diet based on one source of protein (e.g., corn) can lead to malnutrition. A partial solution to the problem has been the breeding of high-lysine corn. Other plant proteins, particularly those from pod seeds (e.g., peas and beans) are deficient in the sulfur-containing amino acids. A successful vegetarian diet will therefore be balanced in cereals and pod seeds. 

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