Research Priorities for Effective Utilization of Agro- Industrial By- Products
Biotechnology including recombinant DNA techniques provides for genetic modifications in plants and other organisms that would not be possible with traditional technologies. This technology not only provides for opportunity to express new or improved traits, but also provides genetic identification tools which are accelerating the traditional plant breeding process. The quality traits associated with improvements in critical amino acids and energy utilization and reduction in negative nutritional factors offer the greatest economic opportunity in the more expensive feed formulation inputs. The targeted quality traits in corn grain from traditional genetic technologies and biotechnology are increased protein, lysine, methionine, oil, starch yield, modified starch, amino acids, oil composition, pigments, decreased phytate and added fructo- oligosaccharides.
Development of high oil corn which contains a high proportion of germ resulted in not only an increase in oil content but also protein, lysine and other essential amino acids, as the germ contains protein of higher quality than the endosperm. Quality traits targeted for expression from traditional genetic technologies and biotechnology in soybean include increased crude protein, lysine, methionine, and oil, modified oil composition and decreased oligosaccharides, lipogenase and trypsin inhibitor.
As of to date, no nutritional quality traits from biotechnology either with corn or soybeans have been commercialized. However, the added value grains will have an expanded role in the livestock feed industry.
- Thrust areas for future research
- Evolving high yielding oil seed varieties with zero or low levels of anti-nutritional factors
- Tapping new protein and energy sources and exploitation of un-conventional feed resources of vegetable origin
- Development of aflatoxin resistant groundnut varieties
- Technology development for low residual oil containing varieties, and
- Improved post-harvest technology