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Farmers prefer apomictic… (Class 12 Biology 2026, Q17b)

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BiologyCBSE Class 12 · Board exam 2026, set 57/5/1 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 12 Biology 2026: question 17(b)

Set in the CBSE Class 12 board exam of 2026, paper 57/5/1, 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

Farmers prefer apomictic seeds over hybrid seeds. Give any two reasons.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2026 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 seeds from a hybrid crop are sown again.

Hint 2

Apomixis forms seeds without fertilisation. How does that affect genetic uniformity and the farmer's cost?

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 must be bought every year, because sowing seeds collected from a hybrid crop gives offspring in which the characters segregate, so the hybrid traits are lost. Apomictic seeds form without meiosis and fertilisation, so the progeny keeps the hybrid characters unchanged. Farmers can then keep using their own seed year after year.

    1 mark

  2. Reason 2: Hybrid seed is costly to produce and to buy. Apomictic hybrid seed would remove this repeated expense, so it is far more cost-effective for farmers.

    1 mark

Answer: No segregation of hybrid characters, so seed need not be bought every year; apomictic seed is cheaper and cost-effective.

Where the marks are

  • Explains that apomictic seeds show no segregation of characters, so farmers need not buy hybrid seed every year (1 mark)
  • States that apomictic seeds are cost-effective because hybrid seed production is expensive (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 paper2026 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.