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Consider the following statements regarding Gene banks.
Statement-I: Gene banks are crucial for India’s climate-resilient agriculture.
Statement-II: Gene banks provide immediate high-yield varieties to farmers.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
- a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
- b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
- c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
- d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
Solution: c)
- Statement-I is correct. Gene banks play a vital role in ensuring climate-resilient agriculture, especially in countries like India that face challenges such as droughts, floods, soil salinity, and changing pest patterns.
- These banks conserve genetic material—seeds, tissues, DNA samples—of diverse crop species and their wild relatives. Such genetic diversity is critical for plant breeders and agricultural scientists to develop crop varieties that are better adapted to extreme or shifting climate conditions. Thus, gene banks act as a foundational resource for agricultural resilience and food security.
- Statement-II is incorrect. While gene banks hold the genetic material necessary to develop high-yield or climate-resilient varieties, they do not directly supply such varieties to farmers.
The process involves extensive research, cross-breeding, and field trials conducted by plant breeding institutions, which may take several years. Therefore, gene banks are indirect contributors, not immediate providers of improved crop varieties.
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