Contributions of genetic improvement in food production

Plant breeding has had major impact in food production from the early 1900s to present days. With the development and expansion of agriculture, man began to entrust his diet to a restricted group the plant species. In 1996, about 90% of world production already fell only 15 species. During early years in the nineteenth century, breeding of plants occurred in rather rudimentary way and without any scientific basis. The rediscovery of Mendel's laws and principles of heredity were the main basis advances in the science of plant breeding. Today, biotechnology has been a new face of plant breeding by modifying genome plants the aiming economic interest, developing new, better cultivars. Key-words: Food production, Plant breeding, Development