Disease Protection Plant disease, including fungal and viral diseases, can devastate the yield and quality of crop production. To minimize the economic loss resulting from plant disease, farmers often must plant more acreage than they expect to harvest. This extra acreage increases farmers planting, fuel, water and fertilizer expenses, which must be passed on to the consumer. Not all farmers can afford the costs of these traditional methods of disease control. The expense of chemical insecticides is prohibitive in many parts of the world, such as parts of Africa, where, for example, the feathery mottle virus can destroy up to 80 percent of farmers sweet potato harvests.
Biotechnology makes possible the development of crops protected from certain types of plant viruses.
By introducing a small part of the DNA from a virus into the genetic makeup of a plant, researchers have developed crops that have built-in immunity to targeted diseases. Disease-protected crops offer agricultural, economic and environmental benefits to farmers. Farmers will be less dependent on chemical insecticides used to control insects that carry viral disease, and they will be able to protect their crop yields. Weed Control Farmers have battled weeds since the beginning of farming. Farmers can fight weeds with tillage, herbicides or, typically, a combination of these techniques.