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"Farmers prefer apomictic… (Class 12 Biology 2024, Q17a)

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BiologyCBSE Class 12 · Board exam 2024, set 57/5/1 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 12 Biology 2024: question 17(a)

Set in the CBSE Class 12 board exam of 2024, paper 57/5/1, section B, question 17(a), for 2 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q17(a) · 2 marks · Very short answerSexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants

"Farmers prefer apomictic seeds to hybrid seeds." Justify giving two reasons.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2024 board paper, set 57/5/1.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Think about what happens to hybrid characters when hybrid seeds are sown again.

Hint 2

Apomixis means seed formation without fertilisation. Is the offspring then genetically like its parent?

Hint 3

Also compare the cost of buying seed every season.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. Reason 1: Hybrid seeds lose their hybrid character because the progeny segregate in the next generation. Farmers must therefore buy fresh hybrid seed every year. Apomictic seeds form without meiosis and fertilisation, so the plants raised from them stay genetically identical to the parent and keep the desirable hybrid traits generation after generation.

    1 mark

  2. Reason 2: Producing hybrid seed is expensive, which makes it costly for farmers. If the hybrids are made apomictic, the farmer can save and re-sow the seed, which is much cheaper.

    1 mark

Answer: Apomictic seeds do not segregate, so hybrid traits are retained and seed need not be bought every year; they are also cheaper than costly hybrid seed.

Where the marks are

  • States that hybrid progeny segregate, so hybrid seed must be bought every year, whereas apomictic seeds retain the parental characters (1 mark)
  • States that hybrid seed production is costly while apomictic seed is cheap and can be re-used (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2024 board paper, set 57/5/1: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.