Rice yielding and plant hormones

Abstract

Food shortage is a serious global problem in this century. According to FAO estimates, 852 million people worldwide were undernourished in 2000-2002 (FAO 2004). The global population, now at 6.4 billion, is still growing rapidly and is supposed to reach 8.9 billion by 2050 (UNFPA 2004). Cereals are an important source of calories for humans, both by direct intake and as the main feed for livestock. Approximately 50% of the calories consumed by the world population originate from three cereal species: rice (23%), wheat (17%), and maize (10%) (Khush 2003). However, the rate of world population growth currently exceeds the rate of growth in food production. To meet the expanding food demands, crop grain production needs to be increased by another 50% by 2025 (Khush 2001).