Drought has been one of the primary concerns of cultivators and has resulted in severe famines over the ages. That is why the recent development of drought resistant variety of corn has raised hopes for many of them. The detailed report can be seen here.
The researchers at AgriLife Research, which is a part of the Texas A&M University System, have developed a hybrid variety of corn which can perform better in under irrigated areas. The good thing is that it is created by hybridization of two varieties and it doesn’t involve any genetic engineering. So all those GM food bashers can now relax.
It has been noticed that due to increasing human population and over exploitation of the resources the ground water level has receded alarmingly over the years in various places in the US. Same thing will in fact be true for many other countries. This new variety is likely to consume 10% less water and hence is expected to make a huge difference in the remaining water level. Now the researchers are in the process of developing several other crops following the same procedure.
This new development can be a ray of hope for under developed and drought affected areas of South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa as well. Just like the high yielding hybrid crops brought about the green revolution in many of the third world countries a few decades ago, hopefully these drought tolerant crops would also be able to change the fortunes of many doomed farmers.
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Source Biopact