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Agricultural biotechnology in China : origins and prospects / Valerie J. Karplus, Xing Wang Deng ; foreword by Norman E. Borlaug.
LIBRA S494.5.B563 K37 2008
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Karplus, Valerie J.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Agricultural biotechnology--China.
- Agricultural biotechnology.
- Agricultural innovations.
- China.
- Physical Description:
- xxiii, 165 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 25 cm
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Springer, [2008]
- Summary:
- Over the last thirty years, China has developed one of the world??'s largest public research programs in agricultural biotechnology. Building on a long tradition of agricultural advances, Chinese scientists have applied biotechnology techniques to develop hundreds of novel crop varieties suited to local farming conditions and challenges.
- Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects is a comprehensive examination of how the origins of biotechnology research agendas, along with the effectiveness of the seed delivery system and biosafety oversight, help to explain current patterns of crop development and adoption in China. Based on firsthand insights from China??'s laboratories and farms, Valerie Karplus and Dr. Xing Wang Deng explore the implications of China??'s investment for the nation??'s rural development, environmental footprint, as well as its global scientific and economic competitiveness.
- Contents:
- 1 From Seeds to Empires: China's Long Agricultural History 5
- Geography 5
- Earliest Roots: The Origins of Agriculture in China 6
- Rural Life in Early Imperial China: Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou Dynasties 7
- Benefits of Water Control, the Iron Plough, and Fertilizer 8
- Advances in Breeding and Agricultural Science: Jin through Song Dynasties 12
- New World Crops and Trade: Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties 13
- Agriculture and the Environment Prior to 1900 14
- Seeds of Change: Fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and World War II 15
- 2 Modern Science on the Farm: The Green Revolution 17
- Scientific Foundations 18
- From Darwin's Islands to Mendel's Garden 18
- Breeding for Higher Yields 19
- Global Diffusion of Green Revolution Varieties 22
- Greater Outputs, Greater Inputs 23
- Successes of the Green Revolution 24
- Shortcomings and Remaining Challenges 25
- 3 Transformation in China's Agriculture in the Twentieth Century 27
- Collectivization and Industrialization: 1950-1961 27
- The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution: 1959-1976 29
- Signs of Change: 1978 to the Present 31
- Agricultural Science and Technology 33
- China's Agricultural Research System 33
- High-Yielding Varieties 35
- Fertilizer 41
- Irrigation 42
- Pesticides and Weather Protection 42
- Challenges Ahead 42
- 4 Agricultural Biotechnology: New Tools for Ancient Practices 45
- The Molecular Basis of Life 45
- The Tools and Techniques of Agricultural Biotechnology 48
- DNA Sequencing and Genomics 49
- Whole Plants from Single Cells: Tissue Culture 50
- Transgenic Technology 51
- Applying Agricultural Biotechnology in Crop Design 53
- Biosafety Concerns 53
- Global Diffusion of Agricultural Biotechnology 54
- 5 Agricultural Biotechnology Takes Root in China 55
- Origins of Modern Plant Biology in China 56
- Science and Technology in the Pre-Reform Period: 1949-1978 56
- China's Agricultural Biotechnology Investment 57
- Administration of Research Agendas 59
- China's First Transgenic Crops 62
- Non-transgenic Applications of Biotechnology 73
- Role of International Institutions 75
- Unique Features of Agricultural Biotechnology in China 75
- 6 From Lab to Field: A Changing Seed Delivery System 79
- Seed Distribution in the Pre-Reform Years: 1949-1978 79
- Impact of Reforms 80
- Seed Development and Distribution Today 81
- Challenges and Concerns 83
- Collisions of State and Local Interests 83
- A Weakly Coordinated System 84
- The Multiple Roles of Research Institutes 84
- Intellectual Property Protection 85
- Dissemination of Transgenic Crops in China 86
- The Case of Bt Cotton 87
- Implications for Agricultural Biotechnology 90
- 7 China's First Transgenic Crops: Farm Level Impact 93
- Challenges to Cotton Farmers 94
- Biotechnology for Smallholders: The Case of Bt Cotton 96
- Bt Cotton and the Environment 99
- Transgenic Rice: Prospects for Commercialization 101
- Estimating Potential Impact 102
- Challenges to Adoption of Transgenic Rice 102
- Potential Farm-Level Impact: Other Crops 103
- 8 Biosafety and China's Regulatory Policy 105
- Global Context for Biotechnology Regulation 106
- Divergent Attitudes on Transgenic Crops 107
- Transatlantic Differences in Regulatory Approaches 109
- Global Adoption of Transgenic Crops 110
- China's Evolving Biosafety Regulatory Framework 111
- Trade and Border Control 115
- What's Behind China's Regulatory Decisions? 117
- Biosafety and Commercial Concerns 118
- Consumer Attitudes in China 118
- Maintaining China's Overseas Markets 120
- Evaluating Biosafety Regulation in China 120
- 9 Looking to the Future: Trends in Research and Rural Development Agendas 123
- China's Science and Technology Renaissance 123
- The Evolving Rationale for Biotechnology Support 124
- Revitalizing Research: Reform and Experimentation 125
- Upgrading the Educational System 126
- Trends in China's Life Sciences and Biotechnology Research 128
- Rural Policy and Agricultural Biotechnology 129
- China's Science and Development Policy: Implications for Agricultural Biotechnology 132
- The Role of History 135
- Lessons from the Laboratory 136
- Lessons from the Field 137
- China and the Future of Agricultural Biotechnology 139.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 143-153) and index.
- ISBN:
- 9780387711386
- 0387711384
- OCLC:
- 144228549
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