MCQs on Enhancement of Food Production

Fisheries hold significant economic importance, particularly in coastal states. Key contributions include:

• Food Source: It provides a large population with protein-rich food like fish, prawns, and crabs.
• Employment: It is a major source of income and employment for millions of fishermen and workers in processing and marketing.
• By-products: Products like fish oil, fish meal (used as poultry feed), and fertilisers are derived, adding to the economy.
• Export: Shrimps, prawns, and other marine products are major export items, earning foreign exchange.

Inbreeding depression is the reduction in fertility and productivity that occurs after continuous inbreeding within a related animal population. This happens because harmful recessive genes, which are usually masked, become expressed. It can be overcome by a practice called out-crossing, which involves mating the affected animal with an unrelated superior animal of the same breed. This introduces new genes and helps restore fertility and vigour.

Plant breeding was the cornerstone of the Green Revolution. It led to the development of high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties of wheat and rice. For instance, semi-dwarf wheat varieties (like Sonalika and Kalyan Sona) and rice varieties (like IR-8 and Jaya) were introduced. These new strains were more responsive to fertilisers and irrigation, leading to a dramatic increase in food grain production and making India self-sufficient in food.

Biofortification is the scientific process of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value. This involves enhancing the content of essential micronutrients like vitamins, proteins, and minerals in staple foods. The main objective is to combat hidden hunger and micronutrient deficiencies. An excellent example is Golden Rice, which has been genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A.

Single Cell Protein (SCP) is considered a vital alternative protein source because it addresses the limitations of traditional agriculture. Microbes like Spirulina can be grown on a large scale using inexpensive substrates like wastewater or agricultural waste. This process is fast, independent of climate, and produces a protein-rich biomass that can be used as food or animal feed. This helps meet the increasing global demand for protein efficiently and with a reduced environmental footprint.

MOET accelerates herd improvement by maximizing the reproductive potential of elite female cattle (super-ovulation). The process is as follows:

• A superior cow is treated with hormones (like FSH) to produce multiple eggs instead of one.
• The cow is then artificially inseminated.
• The resulting embryos (at the 8-32 cell stage) are collected non-surgically and transferred to surrogate mothers.

Somatic hybridization is a genetic technique where protoplasts (plant cells without cell walls) from two different plant species are fused to create a hybrid cell. This cell can then be grown into a full plant (a somatic hybrid) that contains genetic material from both parent species. It differs from conventional hybridization, which involves the sexual crossing of two plants through pollination. Somatic hybridization is important because it allows for the combination of genes between species that cannot be crossed conventionally.