Question

A man-made allopolyploid cereal crop is
A) Hordeum vulgare
B) Solanum
C) Triticale
D) Zea mays

Answer 1

Hint Allopolyploids are the class of individuals that have two or more complete sets of chromosomes that too derived from distinct species. Allopolyploids are more common than autopolyploids because they do not show polysemic inheritance. Autopoluploids have better fertility rates. An example of Gossypium i.e., a species of cotton, these are hybrids formed from two diploid species of cotton.

Complete Step-by-step answer: 

Normally distinct species do not interbreed as they have different chromosome numbers, but offsprings by such unions are sterile as there is uneven chromosome pairing and if cytokinesis does not occur due to any reason then this hybrid offspring will have paired chromosomes from that parent and if that hybrid interbreeds with other parent species, all the chromosomes from both the parents will be paired. Now this will result in fertile offspring and will have a combined chromosome composition of both parental species. 

Allopolyploids are polyploids with chromosomes derived from different species. Allopolyploidization is one of the major evolutionary modes of plant speciation.
Triticale is a man-made species that is used to study allopolyploids. Because of their recent origin and also they are available in a highly diversified germplasm pool. It is a hybrid of wheat i.e., Triticum, and rye i.e., secale.

Hence the correct answer is option C.

Note:  Hordeum vulgare is a member of grass family. Its common name is barley. Solanum is a large genus of flowering plants which also include potato, tomato, and eggplant. Zea mays common name is maize and this is also a member of the grass family Poaceae.