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⭐ In the context of the Third Agricultural Revolution, high-yielding varieties of cereals are considered essential because of their impact on what aspect of agricultural practice?

High-yielding varieties were specifically bred to produce more output, but this came at the cost of requiring substantially larger amounts of chemical fertilizers to reach their full potential compared to older, traditional crop varieties.

⭐ Core Definition: High-yielding variety

High-yielding varieties (abbreviated as HYVs) of agricultural crops are varieties of crops that are usually characterized by a combination of the following traits in contrast to the conventional ones:

Higher crop yield per unit area
Higher quality of crops
Improved response to fertilizers
Early maturation
Resistance to droughts and floods
High reliance on irrigation and fertilizers (see intensive farming)
Dwarfness (smaller size)
Resistance to many diseases and insects.

The most popular HYVs can be found among wheat, corn, soybean, rice, potato, and cotton. They are heavily used in commercial and plantation farms.

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👉 High-yielding variety in the context of Third Agricultural Revolution

The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period during which technology transfer initiatives resulted in a significant increase in crop yields. These changes in agriculture initially emerged in developed countries in the early 20th century and subsequently spread globally until the late 1980s. In the late 1960s, farmers began incorporating new technologies, including high-yielding varieties of cereals, particularly dwarf wheat and rice, and the widespread use of chemical fertilizers (to produce their high yields, the new seeds require far more fertilizer than traditional varieties), pesticides, and controlled irrigation.

At the same time, newer methods of cultivation, including mechanization, were adopted, often as a package of practices to replace traditional agricultural technology. This was often in conjunction with loans conditional on policy changes being made by the developing nations adopting them, such as privatizing fertilizer manufacture and distribution.

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