Education Journalist | Study Abroad Lead
CBSE Class 12 Biology Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production Important Questions have been provided in this article along with their detailed solutions as per the latest CBSE Board Curriculum. The article covers the important questions from the main concepts and topics covered in the chapter like Types of Breeding, MOET, Apiculture, Plant Breeding, Biofortification and Tissue Culture, etc.
Advancements in Food Production have become a major necessity in today’s world due to its ever-growing population. Farmers continue to face several challenges due to the increasing demand for food, pests, and disease outbreak. Technological innovations have offered solutions to farming challenges and increased food production. Major technological innovations include the use of high-yielding varieties, biofortification, embryo transfer technology and tissue culture. Animal husbandry and Plant breeding practices are also used to rear and breed animals by scientific principles and produce new pest-resistant varieties of crops.
Read More: Crop Production and Management
Very Short Answer Questions (1 Mark Questions)
Ques. Outcrossing and cross-breeding are two different aspects of animal outbreeding. How out crossing is different from cross-breeding?
Ans. Outcrossing is a type of breeding between two individuals of the same breed, whereas, in cross-breeding, two individuals (i.e., the superior male of one breed with a superior female of another breed) of different species are bred.
Ques. Name any alternate source of protein for animal and human nutrition
Ans. An alternate source of protein for animal and human nutrition is the Single Cell Protein.
Ques. Name any two semi-dwarf varieties of wheat introduced into all wheat growing places in India?
Ans. The semi-dwarf varieties of wheat introduced were Sonalika and Kalyan Sona.
Ques. State some economic values of Saccharum officinarum
Ans. Saccharum officinarum has higher sugar content and grows well in South India.
Ques. Name any two diseases the Himgiri variety of wheat is resistant to.
Ans. Leaf and stripe rust and Hill blunt disease are the two diseases the Himigri variety of wheat is resistant to.
Ques. Give the importance of Biofortification.
Ans. Biofortification helps in improving public health by practical means.
Ques. What is the role of the Genetic Mother in MOET?
Ans. In this method, a genetic mother is administered hormones with FSH-like activity to induce follicular maturation and superovulation, where 6 - 8 eggs are produced instead of a single egg in a cycle. Then, the animal is artificially inseminated or mated with a superior bull. Embryos at 8 - 32 celled stage are transferred from the genetic mother to the surrogate mother. The genetic mother is available again for superovulation.
Ques. List the economic value of Apis indica.
Ans. Commercial products like Honey and Beewax are manufactured from Apis indica species.
Ques. Why is the enzyme cellulase used to isolate genetic material only from plants and not from animals?
Ans. Cellulase is an enzyme that digests cellulose. Plant cells have cellulose in their walls, which is degraded by cellulase. On the other hand, animal cell wall has no cellulose, so cellulase is not required for isolating the genetic materials.
Read More: Difference between Plant Cell and Animal Cell
Short Answer Questions (2 Mark Questions)
Ques. Differentiate between Outbreeding and Cross-breeding.
Ans. Outbreeding is the breeding of unrelated animals, within individuals of the same breed, between different breeds or between different species. Crossbreeding is the method of mating a superior male of one breed with a superior female of another breed. It allows superior qualities of two different breeds to be combined.
Ques. List the main steps of plant breeding.
Ans. The five main steps of plant breeding are given as follows.
- Collection of variability
- Evaluation and selection of parents
- Cross hybridization among the selected parents
- Selection and testing of superior recombinants
- Testing, release and commercialization of new cultivars
Ques. How are the following two varieties of sugarcane different from each other?
(a) Saccharum Officinarum (b) Saccharum Barberi
Ans. Saccharum Barberi was originally grown in north India but did not have a good yield as the sugar content was low. Saccharum officinarum did not grow well in north India but had higher sugar content and thicker stem. So, these two species were crossed to have sugarcane varieties with higher sugar content and thicker stems. These grew well in the sugarcane belts of North India.
Read More: Artificial Hybridization in Plants
Ques. Identify A, B, C, and D in the given table.
| Crop | Crop Variety | Resistance to Disease |
| Wheat | Himigri | A |
| Brassia | B | White Rust |
| C | Pusa Komal | Bacterial Blight |
| Chilli | D | Chilli Mosaic Virus, Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Leaf Curl |
Ans. A. Leaf and stripe rust, Hill blunt
- Pusa swarnim
- Cowpea
- Pusa sadabahar
Ques. Why are the plants raised through micropropagation termed soma clones? Mention two advantages of this technique.
Ans. The method of producing many plants through tissue culture is called micropropagation. Each of these plants produced will be genetically identical to the plant from which they were grown, hence are called Soma clones. The advantages of Micropropagation are
- A large population of plants can be grown within a short period and limited space.
- Endangered species of plants are multiplied with this method and the plants are saved.
Ques. Explain giving reasons, for the need to keep the bee hives in the fields during flowering seasons.
Ans. Beehives are kept in the fields during flowering seasons because they are great pollinating agents and help in the pollination of flowers and in increasing the crop yield. They also collect nectars from the flowers, so honey yield also increases.
Read More: Pollination
Long Answer Questions (3 Marks Questions)
Ques. (A) Differentiate between Inbreeding and outbreeding?
(B) Explain inbreeding depression breeding and methods to overcome it.
(C) Mention the advantages of the inbreeding program in cattle.
Ans. (A) Outbreeding is the breeding of unrelated animals, within individuals of the same breed, between different breeds or between different species. When breeding is done between animals of the same breed, for 4 to 6 generations, it is called Inbreeding.
(B) When it is continued and close inbreeding, fertility and productivity reduce which leads to Inbreeding depression. We can overcome this by mating a selected animal with an unrelated superior animal of the same species.
(C) The advantages of Inbreeding are: It helps in restoring fertility and yield. The genes which are not desirable are also eliminated by this method.
Ques. (A) What are the desirable characteristics a farmer would look for in his sugarcane crops?
(B) How did the plant breeding technique help, north Indian farmers, develop sugarcane with the desired characteristics?
Ans. (A) The characteristics a farmer would look at in his crops are Disease and Pest resistance, Stress tolerance and crops with high yields.
(B) Saccharum Barberi was originally grown in north India but did not have a good yield as the sugar content was low. Saccharum officinarum did not grow well in north India but had higher sugar content and thicker stem. So, these two species were crossbred to have sugarcane varieties with higher sugar content and thicker stems. These grew well in the sugarcane belts of North India.
Read More: Improvement in Crop Yields
Ques. Write the different points to be kept in mind for successful beekeeping. Write the scientific name of the most common Indian species used for this purpose.
Ans. Important points to be kept in mind for successful beekeeping are as follows
- Selection of a good location for placing beehives.
- Proper methods of catching and hiving the bees.
- Managing beehives during various seasons.
- Good knowledge about beekeeping.
- Handling and collection of honey and beeswax
Apis indica is the common specie used for this purpose.
Ques. Why is Biofortification considered the most practical means to improve public health? Explain taking three examples.
Ans. Biofortification can be defined as the process of improving the nutritional quality of food crops by breeding with higher levels of nutrients.
Some of the examples are as follows.
- Vitamin A enriched carrots, spinach, pumpkin
- Vitamin C enriched bitter gourd, mustard, tomato
- Iron and calcium-enriched spinach and bathua
- Protein-enriched beans– broad, lablab, French and garden peas.
Read More: Biotechnology and Its Applications
Ques. Differentiate between Soma clones and Somatic hybrids. Give one example for each?
Ans. The difference is as follows:
| Soma Clones | Somatic Hybrids |
|---|---|
| These develop from any part of the plant when tissue culture or micropropagation is done. | These are formed when two somatic cells of two species are fused. |
| Genetically identical to the parent plant. | Different from the parent plant |
| Pure lines can be developed. | Pure lines cannot be developed. |
| Eg. Commercial production of fruit-producing trees like Apple, Banana, Tomato, etc | Eg. Somatic hybridization between potato and tomato (Pomato) |
Read More: Improvement in Food Resources Important Questions
Ques. High-yielding varieties of cattle are a good solution for enhancing food production. How does MOET technology help to increase the herd size?
Ans. MOET can be expanded as Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer Technology. MOET helps in increasing the herd size. In this method, an animal is chosen and administered hormones with Follicle Stimulating Hormone-like activity, to induce follicular maturation and superovulation, where 6 - 8 eggs are produced instead of a single egg in a cycle. Then, the animal is artificially inseminated or mated with a superior bull. Embryos at the 8-32 celled stage are transferred from the cow to the surrogate mother. The animal is available again for superovulation. MOET can be done in animals like cattle, sheep, rabbits, etc.
MOET in Cattles
Very Long Answer Questions (5 Marks Questions)
Ques. (A) State the importance of animal breeding.
(B) State the importance and limitations of inbreeding. How can the limitations be overcome?
(C) Give an example of a new breed of each cattle and poultry.
Ans. (A) The importance of animal breeding is as follows
- Helps in producing high-yielding varieties of animals. Eg. High milk-producing varieties in cattle and high egg-producing varieties in cows.
- Animal breeding helps in producing disease-resistant varieties of livestock.
- It also helps in producing powerful varieties of livestock.
(B) The importance of inbreeding is that it helps in restoring fertility and yield. Less desired genes are also eliminated in this method. Limitations of Inbreeding include reduced fertility and productivity. We can overcome this by mating a selected animal with an unrelated superior animal of the same species.
(C) A new breed of cattle is Karen swiss and a new breed of poultry is Leghorn.
Read More: Agriculture and Organic Farming
Ques. (A) What is plant breeding? List the two steps that classical plant breeding involves.
(B) How has mutation breeding helped in improving crop varieties? Give an example
(C) How has the mutation breeding program helped in improving public nutritional health. Give two examples to support the answer.
Ans. (A) Plant breeding can be defined as the manipulation of plant species to create desired plant varieties that are better suited for cultivation, give better yields and are disease resistant. The two steps involved in plant breeding include the selection of species and cross-hybridization of the selected varieties
(B) Mutations can be induced artificially by the use of chemicals or gamma radiations, and the plants can be selected and used such that the desirable characteristics can be used in breeding. Eg: Resistance to the yellow mosaic virus in mung beans is by mutation breeding.
(C) The nutritional quality of food crops can be enhanced by breeding with higher levels of nutrients.
Examples:
- Vitamin A enriched carrots, spinach, pumpkin
- Vitamin C enriched bitter gourd, mustard, tomato
Read More: Acquired and Inherited Traits
Ques. Write about the steps involved in breeding plants?
Ans. Plant breeding is usually done systematically. The five basic steps involved in the breeding of plants are as follows.
- Collection of variability: Different varieties and different species of crops are collected and preserved in the first step of plant breeding. The entire collection of alleles with all genes in a given crop is called germplasm collection.
- Evaluation and selection of parents: The collection is evaluated to select the crop with the desired characteristics.
- Cross hybridization among the selected parents: The crops with the desired characteristics are combined by cross-hybridization. The two parents then produce a single hybrid with the desired characteristics.
- Selection and testing of superior recombinants: The progeny of the hybrids with desired combinations are selected and finally result in plants that are superior to both the parent plants.
- Testing, release and commercialization of new cultivars: The newly selected crops are then evaluated for genetic traits, disease and pest resistance, etc. under crop management practices. It is then evaluated for at least three growing seasons at several locations. The results will be evaluated and then commercialized.
Also check:
Comments