Technology used in

food production
 Increase in population- increase
demand of food- a need to improve the
quantity and quality of food production
 In Malaysia, to meet the demand of food,
food has to be imported and efforts are
being carried out by the various
government agencies to diversify food
production
Methods to improve quality and
quantity of food production
 Direct seeding
 Hydroponics and aeroponics
 Selective breeding
 Tissue culture
 Genetic engineering
 Proper soil management
 Biological control
Direct sedding
 Seeds sown directly, involve no
transplanting hence plants achieve faster
growth and give higher yields.
 Example : cultivation of padi
Hydroponics and aeroponics
 Hydroponics- growing crop plants in
culture solution containing macronutirients
and micronutrients
 Aeroponics – culture solutions are sprayed
directly to the roots of plants
Advantages of Hydroponics and
aeroponics
 These method require less space
 Can be carried out on a large scale
 Does not require the use of insecticides and
pesticides
 Can be carry out all year round
 Suitable to carried out at home for home
consumption
 Example : Tomato, lettuce, spinach
Selective breeding
 Different plants and animals with
beneficial characteristics such as high
nutritional contents, shorter maturity time,
higher yields and higher resistance to
disease are selected.
 Example : Palm fruit

Cross between Dura and Pisifera to

produce Tenera
Tissue culture
 Produces clones with the same desired
characteristics as the parent
 Produce large numbers of young plants
within a short time
Genetic engineering
 Transfer of useful genes from one
organism to another
 GEO = genetically engineered organisms,
are called transgenic organisms
 GMF = genetically modified food
 Eg : wheat, tomatoes, soy beans
Proper soil management
 To prevent leaching, soil erosion,
depletion of soil nutrients and change in
soil texture
 Increase humus content of soil for better
crop yield
Biological control
 Control pests without using pesticides and
insecticides, for better crop yield
 Eg : the use of snakes and owls to control
rats in oil palm estates