nuclear uses in agriculture luis eduardo estrada me337d
Post on 03-Jan-2016
212 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Nuclear uses in agriculture
Luis Eduardo Estrada
ME337D
Main uses
Food irradiation
Plant breeding
Soil and water studies
Insect / pest control
Food Irradiation
Gamma, x-ray and beta particle irradiation
Preserves meat and produce for longer periods of time by eliminating bacteria and microorganisms.
Plant breeding
Modify the genetic makeup of seeds to achieve different strains of genetically enhanced plants.
Achieve higher yield, high climate tolerance, faster growth, immunity against pests.
Plant breeding cont.
Develop saline-tolerant rice varieties.
Development of disease-tolerant bananas
Higher yield crops for corn, wheat, soy, etc.
Genetically induced changes in the size of
many fruits.
Soil and water studies
Fertilizer intake tracing by isotope ratio detection ( 15-N, 13-C, 34-S, 18-O)
1. Allows for better fertilizer use to achieve biggest intake with least amount of fertilizer
Water intake measurements by isotope ratio detection (18-O and deuterium)
1. Detects intake source and quantity.
Insect / pest control
Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)
1. Used as suppression, containment and prevention techniques.
Works by irradiating large amounts of the target insect with gamma or beta radiation to make it sterile.
Released to the environment so they mate without releasing offspring.
Great reduction in need of pesticides.
Myths
Irradiated food is radioactive
Genetically enhanced food is unnatural and dangerous
Sterile Insect technique makes the pests radioactive.
top related