Plant breeding methods, natural

Naturally occurring antinutrients and food toxicants, and those formed during food processing, adversely affect the nutritional quality and safety of foods. Because of the need to improve food quality and safety by plant breeding, fortification with appropriate nutrients, and processing methods, and because of the growing concern about possible direct relationships between diet and diseases, research is needed to ... 

Comparatively new are the - hybrid breeding method and - genetic engineering methods. Both may provide more rapid progress than conventional p. methods. While the first provides access to never-before reached yields (e.g., in - com), the latter enables variation beyond the natural barrier of a genus or even a family of plants (- taxonomy). 

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