Includes bibliographical references and index.

Plants and their genomes -- Plants and their exploitation by people -- Photosynthesis and the evolution of plants -- Plant molecular genetics and genomics -- How plants function -- Plant metabolism -- Plant organization and development -- Plant responses to the environment -- How plants are manipulated -- Domestication and the empirical exploitation of plants -- The scientific manipulation of plants -- Crop improvement in the 20th century -- Plants, society and the future -- Plant biotechnologies in the 21st century -- Social context of plant biotechnologies -- Future challenges for plant biotechnology.

At a time when the world's food supplies are increasingly unable to meet the needs of a burgeoning population, there is significant diversity of opinion concerning the benefits and perceived dangers of the application of biotechnology to food production. This book provides the reader with a guide to plants as both organisms and resources.