Question

A semi-dwarf variety of wheat is
a. Sonalika
b. IR-8
c. Triticum
d. Saccharum

Answer 1

Hint: A semi-dwarf variety of wheat was developed by Norman E. Borlaug at the International Centre of Wheat and Maize Improvement in Mexico. It was called Sonora by CIMMYT. The grain is amber coloured, bold, hard, attractive and resistant to rust.

Complete answer:
In between the period 1960 to 2000, the production of wheat increased by 75 millions tonnes from 11 million tonnes. It was due to the discovery of semi-dwarf varieties of both wheat and rice.

Semi-dwarf means a plant which is bigger than a dwarf plant but smaller than usual. Semi-dwarf varieties are now dominant varieties of wheat today consisting of 99% wheat production all over the world.

In 1963, several varieties of wheat like Sonalika and Kalyan Sona were discovered. These varieties are disease resistant and also highly yielding were introduced all over the wheat cultivation belt of India.

Characteristics of the semi-dwarf wheats were
- Longer ears and short clums
- A larger proportion of car weight at anthesis
- A greater ratio of grain yield to post-anthesis leaf area.

IR-8 is a semi-dwarf variety of rice discovered by International Rice and Research Institute (IRRI) Philippines and Taichung Native-1, Taiwan. However, Triticum is a scientific name of wheat. Saccharum are the variety of sugarcane that was discovered by crossing two different varieties of sugarcane.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: Sonalika is a semi-dwarf variety of wheat discovered by Norman E. Borlaug in between the periods of 1960 to 2000 that increased the production by 99%. This variety has yet played an important role in higher productivity of wheat all over the world.