Question

Who is credited with identifying petro crops?
A. Swaminathan
B. Calvin
C. Krebs
D. Borlaug

Answer 1

Hint: Calvin was first who studied about petro crops. Some plants or algae produce
hydrocarbons, ethanol etc which can act as actual and potential sources of energy, these plants are known as petrocrops. Some of the examples of petrocrops are calotropis procera, jatropha curcas etc.
Petro plants accumulate the photosynthetic pigment and have lactiferous canals which secrete milky latex in their stem which forms petroleum in the flowering plants. These plants are good for the environment as the ethanol produces very less carbon monoxide.

Complete answer:
> Swaminathan was known for his role in India’s green revolution, a program under which high yield varieties of wheat and rice were planted. Hence, this is not a right option according to the question.
> Calvin is the correct option for the given question as he was the first who studied about petrocrops.
> Krebs discovered a series of chemical reactions (urea cycle) by which ammonia is converted to urea. So, this is not a right option for the given question.
> Borlaug was an agronomist who contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production. So, Borlaug is not a correct option.

Note:
Petrocrops are quick energy conserving plants that are grown for production of Petrochemicals. These plants yield petroleum containing compounds as a substitute of petrol. Calvin did his study on Euphorbiaceae plants. Calvin also gave a Calvin cycle regarding the study of chemical reactions carried out in photosynthetic plants.