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Why is manual… (Class 12 Biology SQP 2025-26, Q17B)

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BiologyCBSE Class 12 · Sample paper, session 2025-26 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 12 Biology sample paper 2025-26: question 17(B)

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2025-26, section B, question 17(B), for 2 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

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

Why is manual transfer of desired pollen grains relatively easy in pea plants for hybridization, but in wheat, pollen grains are often utilized from pollen banks for hybridization purposes?

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2025-26.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Compare how long pollen stays viable in the two plants.

Hint 2

Cereals such as rice and wheat lose pollen viability in about half an hour.

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. Pea: Pea flowers are large and bisexual, so manual emasculation and transfer of pollen are easy. Pea belongs to Leguminosae, whose pollen stays viable for months. Fresh or stored pollen can therefore be used directly.

    1 mark

  2. Wheat: Wheat pollen loses its viability within about 30 minutes of release. Viable pollen is therefore stored in pollen banks by cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen at C and used when needed for hybridisation.

    1 mark

Answer: Pea pollen remains viable for months and its flowers are easy to emasculate; wheat pollen loses viability within ~30 min, so it is stored in pollen banks (cryopreserved).

Where the marks are

  • Pea: easy emasculation and pollen viable for months (Leguminosae) (1 mark)
  • Wheat: pollen viable only about 30 minutes, hence stored in pollen banks (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 paperSample paper 2025-26: 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.