From: Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>

>>In essence, it's the same set of mistakes made in all of agriculture: increasing production is demanded from the same set of resources year after year.

>Increase in productivity is the keystone of the Green Revolution, started by Norman Borlaug:

You simply cannot talk about increasing productivity without limits....those trying to feed the world know this....and this is the point of the quote you posted from our book.

"However, developing a new rice plant to save half the world from starvation is not all smooth sailing. The scientists at IRRI have encountered many problems in the development of Super Rice. For instance, most current high-yielding rice varieties produce around 100 grains per panicle. The prototype Super Rice, on the other hand, produced 250 to 300 grains per panicle, which was too many. The plant simply couldn't supply enough carbohydrates and nutrients to fill the grains. The breeders overcame the problem by reducing the number of grains back to 200, which still makes Super Rice twice as productive as older plant types."

The article continues with such astute observations as:

"One of the legacies left by the Green Revolution is environmental damage caused by the heavy use of chemical pesticides."

http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/rice/story.htm

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