摘要
Humans hunted and gathered native plants and animals for thousands of years,eventually learning how to cultivate and exploit to feed ourselves.Crop cultivation and animal husbandry form the basis of modern civilization based on the conversion of solar energy directly into plant products and animal tissue and products indirectly.Agriculture aims to maximize photosynthesis by crops to produce desirable products and also minimize the impact of competing weed species,maximize the efficient use of water and soil fertility,and reduce losses in crop production due to disease and insect damage.This has required the domestication of plants that humans can exploit systematically to produce food,feed,fodder,and fiber.Surprisingly,this has been achieved in few species adapted by selection over thousands of years.This Opinion paper,as a result of discussions between a plant geneticist and plant breeder,aims to remind the community that the purpose of agriculture is to maximize yield per unit land area.
