What biotechnology means for soil and water conservation

Excerpt

TEN years, ago, the term biotechnology was relatively obscure. Now it appears almost daily, in the financial news and elsewhere. What is biotechnology, and why the recent interest in it?.

Several definitions for biotechnology have been proposed. Webster's Dictionary defines biotechnology as “the use of the data and techniques of engineering and technology for the study and solution of problems concerning living organisms.” The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (3) defines it as “technology concerning the application of biological and engineering techniques to microorganisms, plants, and animals. Sometimes used in the narrower sense of genetic engineering.” Both definitions allow broad interpretation.

People associate biotechnology with the insertion of a gene from one organism into another. But this is only one facet of the developing linkage between biology and technology. Moreover, biotechnology and related sciences are perceived as recent advancements, which is not necessarily the case. Biotechnology has been in use for centuries. Cheeses, silage, leavened bread, and sauerkraut, are only a few examples.

Other applications of biotechnology are of more recent origin but well established in modern agriculture. One example includes inoculation of legumes for symbiotic dinitrogen fixation.

The recent excitement surrounding biotechnology …