Solution: Pomato is a cross between a potato and a tomato. This is an intergeneric sort of hybrid. Somatic hybridization can result in the formation of pomato. Somatic hybridization is the process...
What are three options to increase food production? Discuss each giving the salient features, merits and demerits.
Solution: The three options to increase food production are- Using Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer Technology to boost food production is one option. The demerits of this method is- Multiple...
Discuss how the property of plant cell totipotency has been utilized for plant propagation and improvement
Solution: During the 1950s, scientists discovered that an explant can be used to grow an entire plant. Explant refers to any component of a plant that has been cultivated in a test tube under...
(a) Mutations are beneficial for plant breeding. Taking an example, justify the statement.
(b) Discuss briefly the technology that made us self-sufficient in food production.
Solution: (a) The mutation is processed, allowing the plant's genetic sequence to be altered. Mutations can happen naturally or be produced. Mutations in the mung bean induced resistance to yellow...
Does apiculture offer multiple advantages to farmers? List its advantages if it is located near a place of commercial flower cultivation.
Solution: Apiculture is the maintenance of hives of honeybees for the production of honey. It is also known as beekeeping. Farmers can benefit from apiculture in a variety of ways. The following are...
‘Modern methods of breeding animals and plants can alleviate the global food shortage’. Comment on the statement and give suitable examples.
Solution: The claim that contemporary ways of growing animals and plants can help ease the global food deficit is valid. When we compare the state of food security during World War II to the current...
What are the advantages of tissue culture methods over the conventional method of plant breeding in crop improvement programmes?
Solution: In crop improvement programs, tissue culture has the following advantages over traditional plant breeding methods: i. Any portion of the parent plant can be used to...
(a) The shift from grain to meat diets creates more demands for cereals. Why?
(b) A 250 kg cow produces 200 g of protein per day but 250 g of Methylophillusmethylotrophus can produce 25 tonnes of protein Name this emerging area of research. Explain its benefits.
Solution: (a) We know that an organism at a specific trophic level consumes 90% of the biomass it consumes for its own needs, leaving just 10% for the creature at the next trophic level. So, to...
You are a Botanist working in the area of plant breeding. Describe the various steps that you will undertake to release a new variety.
Solution: When a botanist works in the field of plant breeding and development, there are a few processes that must be followed. Various strategies can be used to create a new plant variety. The...
Give a few examples of biofortified crops. What benefits do they offer to society?
Solution: Golden rice (fortified with vitamin A, iron, and zinc), sweet potato (fortified with beta carotene), vitamin A enriched carrot, iron-enriched bitter gourd, and other biofortified crops....
What are the physical barriers of a cell in the protoplast fusion experiment? How are the barriers overcome?
Solution: The physical barrier that prevents protoplast fusion is the cell wall. With the help of the enzymes cellulase and pectinase, the cell wall, which is made up of cellulose and pectin, is...
Discuss briefly how pure lines are created in animal husbandry.
Solution: Pure line is a breed or strain of plants and animals that have homozygous alleles and have similar characters for various generations. In-breeding is used to establish pure lineages....
Discuss natural selection and artificial selection. What are the implications of the latter on the process of evolution?
Solution: Natural selection and Artificial selection are defined as- Natural Selection: Nature picks creatures with desirable characteristics, as the term implies. Organisms that are better adapted...
Define the term ‘stress’ for plants. Discuss briefly the two types of stress encountered by plants.
Solution: Any unfavorable influence on the plant generated by any reason, whether biotic or abiotic, is referred to as stress. Stress has an impact on the plant's growth and development. Water...
Discuss the importance of testing of new plant varieties in a geographically vast country like India.
Solution: India is a huge country with a lot to offer. Different soil types and climatic conditions can be found in different sections of the country. To be successful throughout India, a crop...
Plants raised through tissue cultures are clones of the ‘parent’ plant. Discuss the utility of these plants.
Solution: Tissue culture is a technique that allows us to grow thousands of identical plants from a single cell. Tissue culture plants are used to make thousands and thousands of perfect duplicates...
What is the difference between a breed and a species? Give an example for each category.
Solution: A breed is a group of animals with similar appearance, behavior, and other characteristics, whereas a species is a collection of plants and animals that live together and can reproduce...
“Give me a living cell of any plant and I will give you a thousand plants of the same type” Is this only a slogan or is it scientifically possible? Write your comments and justify them.
Solution: Tissue culture, we know, has made it feasible to grow a new plant from any portion of an existing one. Tissue culture is the method through which we can produce thousands of plants of the...
Is there any relationship between dedifferentiation and the higher degree of success achieved in plant tissue culture experiments?
Solution: Meristematic tissue cells undergo differentiation and lose their ability to divide in order to create permanent tissue, as we know. Plants, on the other hand, have the rare capacity to...
The culture medium (nutrient medium) can be referred to as a ‘highly enriched laboratory soil. Justify the statement.
Solution: A culture media is a growth medium that has been artificially created. This medium contains a variety of nutrients, chemicals, growth regulators, and food supplements that the growing cell...
It is easier to culture plant cells in vitro as compared to animal cells. Why?
Solution: Plant cells can be cultured in vitro more easily than animal cells. The reasons behind this are as follows: (a) Meristem is present in a plant, and meristem cells are always divided....
Suggest some of the features of plants that will prevent insect and pest infestation.
Solution: Morphological features: Various plants have a certain hair-like structure in the stem and other parts of the plants, these features prevent insect pests and Biochemical features...
Name the improved characteristics of wheat that helped India to achieve a green revolution.
Solution: The improved qualities of wheat that helped India accomplish the green revolution were as follows: (a) Semi-dwarf plants: Semi-dwarf plants use the majority of their resources to produce a...
What is meant by germplasm collection? What are its benefits?
Solution: Germplasm is nothing more than a collection of genes. The collection of plants or seeds that include all of the various alleles for all of the genes in a specific crop is completed. The...
How can we improve the success rate of fertilization during artificial insemination in animal husbandry programmes?
Solution: Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer Technique (MOET) is used to improve fertilizing success rates. A cow is given an FSH-like activity hormone to enhance follicular maturation and...
Lifestyle diseases are increasing alarmingly in India. We are also dealing with large scale malnutrition in the population. Is there any method by which we can address both of these problems together?
Solution: Adopting nutritious foods can help prevent both malnutrition and lifestyle problems. As part of an overall healthy diet, eating a diet high in various vegetables and fruits may protect...
A farmer was facing the problem of low yield from his farm. He was advised to keep a beehive in the vicinity. Why? How would the beehive help in enhancing yield?
Solution: It appears that the low yield from the farm was because of the absence of sufficient pollinators. We know pollination is important for seed production in many crops. Insects are important...
Explain the concept of the Blue Revolution.
Solution: The rise of aquaculture as a significant and highly productive agricultural activity is referred to as the 'blue revolution.' Its vision is to achieve economic prosperity for the country,...
It is said, that diseases are spreading faster due to globalization and increased movement of people. Justify the statement taking the example of the H5N1 virus.
Solution: Globalization is aided by migration from one location to another. As a result, there is a greater risk of infectious diseases spreading quickly. The virus can even spread from person to...
You are planning to set up a Dairy Farm. Describe the various aspects you would consider before you start the venture. Solution: Before launching the business, keep the following factors in mind:
(i) Breed Selection: The breed should be capable of producing a high milk output. It should be able to fend off a variety of ailments. (ii) Cattle shed construction: Cattle sheds should be well...
The term ‘desirable trait’ can mean different things for different plants. Justify the statement with suitable examples.
Solution: If the character of height is taken into consideration, tallness can be desirable for one plant whereas undesirable for another plant. The same is the case with dwarfness. (a) While a...
Give two important contributions of Dr M. S. Swaminathan.
Solution: The two contributions of Dr. M. S. Swaminathan are- (i) M.S. Swaminathan produced high-yielding, short-duration rice cultivars, notably scented Basmati. He is known as the ‘Father of Green...
Differentiate between pisciculture and aquaculture.
Solution: Pisciculture is the culture of just fishes to obtain products of fish whereas aquaculture is the culture of all aquatic plants and animals. Aquaculture - Fish is a high-protein food with a...
Interspecific crosses are rare in nature and intergeneric crosses almost unknown. Why?
Solution: In the interspecific crossing, two different male and female species mate. The offspring produced in this manner will be sterile. As a result, inter-specific crosses are rare in nature....
Discuss the two main limitations of a plant hybridization programme.
Solution: The following are the two main limits of the plant hybridization program: (a) Germplasm collection: Cultivators and agricultural scientists require seeds from currently produced kinds as...
What is emasculation? Why and when is it done?
Solution: Emasculation is the process of removing the male portion of a bisexual flower, the anther. The male reproductive component (stamens) of a flower, usually a bisexual flower, is...
How is a somatic hybrid different from a hybrid?
Solution: The fusion of any two organisms produces a somatic hybrid, whereas the fusion of two different varieties or two related species produces a hybrid. Nuclear and cytoplasmic fusion occurs as...
Would it be wrong to call plants obtained through micro-propagation as ‘clone’? Comment.
Solution: No, it is not incorrect because each plant will be genetically identical to the original plant from which it was developed, i.e., clones/soma clones. A clone is a live entity that is...
What are the duties of a veterinary doctor in the management of a poultry farm?
Solution: They must pay attention to animal behavior. At regular intervals, they should perform a basic check-up. Vaccination is given for a particular amount of time. Analyzing and inspecting the...
What is aquaculture? Give an example of an animal that can be multiplied by aquaculture.
Solution: Aquaculture is defined as the culture or farming of all the aquatic plants and animals for economic use. Therefore, aquaculture is the breeding of aquatic animals or the cultivation of...
A person who is allergic to pulses was advised to take a capsule of Spirulina daily. Give the reasons for the advice.
Solution: Spirulina is a high-protein food that contains all of the essential amino acids. Spirulina has a considerably higher protein content than pulses. As a result, it may be a healthier protein...
Why are proteins synthesised from Spirulina called single-cell proteins?
Solution: Single called protein is a protein-rich meal manufactured by microorganisms (SCP) Spirulina is a type of bacteria that has a lot of protein. Since bacteria proliferate at such a rapid...
Why is it easier to culture meristems compared to permanent tissues?
Solution: Meristems have the ability to divide continuously throughout their lives, and their walls are thin and elastic to aid division, making them ideal for tissue. They divide and differentiate...
What is protoplast fusion?
Solution: Protoplast fusion is a way of fusing somatic cells from various plants to create a hybrid. Both spontaneous and induced fusion procedures can be used to combine protoplasts from two...
Why are plants obtained by protoplast culture called somatic hybrids?
Solution: Somatic hybrids are formed by fusing isolated protoplasts from two different plant varieties, each with a desirable characteristic, to produce a hybrid protoplast that can be grown to form...
What is meant by ‘hidden hunger’?
Solution: Many people are able to obtain a product that is solely composed of carbohydrates. Other nutrients, such as protein, vitamins, and minerals, are not available to these people. This is...
A few statements are given below followed by a set of terms in a box. Pick the correct term and write it against the appropriate statement
a. Mating of closely related individuals within the same breed
b. Mating of animals of the same breed but having no common ancestors on either side for 4-6 generations
c. Mating of animals of two different species
d. Breeding of animals belonging to different breeds
(i) Crossbreeding, (ii) Inter-specific hybridization, (iii) Outbreeding, (iv) Outcrossing, (v) Inbreeding
Solution: a) Mating of closely related individuals within the same breed - v) inbreeding b) Mating of animals of the same breed but with no common ancestors on either side for at least 4-6...
Name a man-made cereal? Trace how it was developed and where is it used?
Solution: Triticale was the earliest cereal created by humans. It's a cross between wheat and rye. It was first bred in the laboratory in Scotland and Sweden in the late 1800s. It blends wheat's...
In the area of plant breeding, it is important not only to preserve the seeds of the variety being cultivated but also to preserve all its wild relatives. Explain with a suitable example.
Solution: Although wild variants of domesticated plants have a low yield, they are disease and insect-resistant. They have various resistant characters (genes) that can be introduced in other...
In animal husbandry, if two closely related animals are mated for a few generations, it results in loss of fertility and vigour. Why is this so?
Solution: Two closely related species are mated for a few generations, the technique is known as inbreeding, and if this is continued, inbreeding depression occurs. The condition is known as...
Can gamma rays used for crop improvement programmes prove to be harmful to health? Discuss.
Solution: If gamma rays aren't directly exposed to humans, they can't be hazardous to their health. Only the crop varieties are mutated as a result. Since humans are not in direct contact with the...
Millions of chicken were killed in West Bengal, Assam, Orissa and Maharashtra recently. What was the reason?
Solution: Millions of chickens were murdered (culled) in West Bengal, Orissa, and Maharashtra after the H5N1 virus, the cause of Bird Flu. Since they were infected with the bird flu virus, which can...
A collection of all the alleles of all the genes of a crop plant is called:
a. germplasm collection
b. protoplasm collection
c. herbarium
d. soma clonal collection.
Solution: Germplasm collection refers to the full collection of all the various alleles of all the genes in a certain crop. It is used to assess the desirable character combinations in plants. It is...
33 per cent of India’s Gross Domestic Product comes from
a. Industry
b. Agriculture
c. Export
d. Small-scale cottage industries.
Solution: Agriculture, together with its associated industries, is unquestionably India's major source of income, particularly in the country's vast rural areas. It also makes a substantial...
The agriculture sector of India employs about:
a. 50 per cent of the population
b. 70 per cent of the population
c. 30 per cent of the population
d. 60 per cent of the population.
Solution: India's agriculture sector employs over 70% of the population, with 80 percent of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 20.5 percent of India's GDP. So, the...
More than 70 per cent of the livestock population is found in:
a. Denmark
b. India
c. China
d. India and China.
Solution: India and China account for more than 70% of the world's cattle population. However, the contribution to global agriculture production is only 25%, implying a very poor productivity per...
Which one of the following products of apiculture is used in cosmetics and polishes:
a. honey
b. propolis
c. wax
d. Royal jelly
Solution: Apiculture, also known as beekeeping, is the practice of maintaining bee colonies in order to produce honey. Beeswax is a by-product of honey bees that are used to make numerous polishes...
Which one of the following is a marine fish:
a. Rohu
b. Hilsa
c. Catla
d. Common Carp.
Solution: Rohu, Catla, and common carp are freshwater fish, while Hilsa is both a freshwater and a marine fish. Freshwater fish are hypertonic to their surroundings, meaning that the concentration...
To isolate protoplast, one needs:
a. pectinase
b. cellulase
c. both pectinase and cellulase
d. chitinase.
Solution: Plant cell walls are made up of cellulose, soluble proteins, and pectin, and are organized in layers. As a result, both pectinase (a pectin-degrading enzyme) and cellulase are required to...
Protoplast is:
a. another name for protoplasm
b. an animal cell
c. a plant cell without a cell wall
d. a plant cell.
Solution: The protoplasm of a living cell whose cell wall has been removed is known as protoplast. In other words, a protoplast is a plant cell that lacks a cell wall. It is done in order to create...
Micro-propagation is:
a. propagation of microbes in vitro
b. propagation of plants in vitro
c. propagation of cells in vitro
d. growing plants on a smaller scale.
Solution: Plants are propagated by developing plantlets in tissue culture and then transplanting them into the wild. Tissue culture is a technique for growing plant cells, tissues, or organs in an...
Lysine and tryptophan are:
a. proteins
b. non-essential amino acids
c. essential amino acids
d. aromatic amino acids.
Solution: The essential amino acids are those that our bodies cannot synthesize and must be obtained from our food. Lysine and tryptophan are essential amino acids. Non-essential amino acids are...
The biggest constraint of plant breeding is:
a. availability of desirable gene in the crop and its wild relatives
b. infrastructure
c. trained manpower
d. transfer of genes from unrelated sources.
Solution: Plant breeding is the process of introducing a desired gene from a wild type into plants. When a related species is involved, the genes can only be transmitted from the wild type. The...
An explant is:
a. dead plant
b. part of the plant
c. part of the plant used in tissue culture
d. part of the plant that expresses a specific gene.
Solution: An explant is a section of the plant that has been removed and cultivated under sterile conditions in special nutritive media. In tissue culture, this is the procedure for producing a...
Given below are a few statements regarding somatic hybridization. Choose the correct statements.
(i) protoplasts of different cells of the same plant are fused
(ii) protoplasts from cells of different species can be fused
(iii) treatment of cells with cellulase and pectinase is mandatory
(iv) the hybrid protoplast contains characters of only one parental protoplast.
a. (i) and (iii)
b. (i) and (ii)
c. (i) and (iv)
d. (ii) and (iii)
Solution: Somatic hybridization is a technique for manipulating cellular genomes by fusing protoplasts from different species. Treatment of cells with digesting enzymes can be used to isolate their...
The term ‘totipotency’ refers to the capacity of a:
a. cell to generate whole plant
b. bud to generate whole plant
c. seed to germinate
d. cell to enlarge in size
Solution: The ability to create a completely new plant from any cell is referred to as totipotency. Explants could be used to regrow the entire plant (any part of the plant that is taken out and...
The scientific process by which crop plants are enriched with certain desirable nutrients are called:
a. crop protection
b. breeding
c. bio-fortification
d. bio-remediation.
Solution: The process of improving the nutritional quality of food crops by agronomic methods, traditional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology is known as biofortification. Biofortification...
Use of certain chemicals and radiation to change the base sequences of genes of crop plants are termed:
a. recombinant DNA technology
b. transgenic mechanism
c. mutation breeding
d. gene therapy.
Solution: Mutation breeding is the technique of exposing seeds to chemicals and radiation to create mutants with desirable qualities that may be bred with other growers. The base sequence of genes...
Fungicides and antibiotics are chemicals that:
a. enhance yield and disease resistance
b. kill pathogenic fungi and bacteria, respectively
c. kill all pathogenic microbes
d. kill pathogenic bacteria and fungi respectively.
Solution: Biocidal chemical substances known as fungicides are used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. They stop pathogenic fungi from growing and causing major damage to crops. Antibiotics...
Which one of the following combination would a sugarcane farmer look for in the sugarcane crop?
a. Thick stem, long internodes, high sugar content and disease resistant
b. Thick stem, high sugar content and profuse flowering
c. Thick stem, short internodes, high sugar content, disease-resistant
d. Thick stem, low sugar, content, disease-resistant
Solution: Saccharum barberi is sugarcane that is grown in north India, but it has a low sugar content and yield. Saccharum officinarum, on the other hand, was grown in south India and has thick...
Several South Indian states raise 2-3 crops of rice annually. The agronomic feature that makes this possible is because of
a. shorter rice plant
b. better irrigation facilities
c. early yielding rice variety
d. disease-resistant rice variety
Solution: Rice is grown in some South Indian states twice a year. This is owing to the development of improved rice varieties with increased nutritious content and higher annual yields. Golden rice...
In virus-infected plants, the meristematic tissues in both apical and axillary buds are free of the virus because:
a. the dividing cells are virus-resistant
b. meristems have anti-viral compounds
c. the cell division of meristems is faster than the rate of viral multiplication
d. Viruses cannot multiply within the meristem cell (s).
Solution: The meristematic tissues are virus-free because virus spread in plant tissue does not keep up with meristem growth, which means meristem growth outpaces viral multiplication. Since they...
Which one of the following is not a fungal disease?
a. Rust of wheat
b. Smut of Bajra
c. Black rot of crucifers
d. Red rot of sugarcane
Solution: The fungus Puccinia graminis causes stem, black, and cereal rusts. It belongs to the phylum Basidiomycota, which is part of the kingdom Fungi. Infected plants produce fewer tillers and...
Sonalika and Kalyan Sona are varieties of:
a. wheat
b. rice
c. millet
d. tobacco
Solution: Wheat varieties like Sonalika and Kalyan Sona are semi-dwarf varieties developed by Norman E. Borlaug in Mexico in 1963. These are drug-resistant varieties with a high yield. There are...
Inbreeding is carried out in animal husbandry because it:
a. increases vigour
b. improves the breed
c. increases heterozygosity
d. increases homozygosity
Solution: Mating genetically identical creatures are referred to as inbreeding. Interbreeding aids in the expression of advantageous recessive alleles for a trait. Interbreeding is carried out in...
A group of animals which are related by descent and share many similarities are referred to as:
a. breed
b. race
c. variety
d. species
Solution: A breed is a collection of animals that are connected by descent and share several characteristics such as overall appearance, size, and traits. Leghorn, for example, is a better chicken...
The chances of contacting bird flu from a properly cooked (above 100°C) chicken and egg are:
a. very high
b. high
c. moderate
d. negligible
Solution: When prepared correctly, chicken and other poultry products are safe to eat. The H5N1 virus, which causes avian flu, dies when poultry is cooked to 70 degrees Celsius. As a result, all...