Question

Atlas 66 is a ____________.

• A. protein rich wheat variety
• B. protein rich maize variety
• C. vitamin A rich rice variety
• D. sucrose rich sugarcane variety

Answer 1

The correct option is A protein rich wheat variety

Biofortification is the process of breeding nutrient rich crops with higher level of vitamins, minearls, proteins, etc. with the idea to improve public health.

Biofortification is done with the objectives of improving quality and content of nutrients in crops like :

• Proteins
• Oils
• Vitamins
• Micronutrients and minerals

Many crop varieties with improved nutritional contents have been developed by plant breeding.

Atlas 66 is a vareity of wheat with high protein content. It has high content of the amino acid lysine. Due to its high protein content, Atlas 66 is used widely in plant breeding programmes to improve the wheat quality. Hence option a is correct.

Biofortification has also resulted in the development of hybrid maize with high content of the amino acids, lysine and tryptophan.

Goldren rice is an example of a biofortified rice. It has high level of beta-carotene (precursor for vitamin A) to combat night blindness. Night blindness is the inability to see well at night or in poor light mainly due to vitamin A deficiency.

Improved variety of sugarcane was developed by crossing a sugarcane variety from South India (Saccharum officinarum with high sugar content) with that of North India (Saccharum barberi with less sugar content).

The sugarcane variety obtained as a result of the cross had thick stem and high sugar (sucrose) content like that of the South Indian variety and was able to grow in the low temperatures of North India. Saccharum officinarum will give less yield if directly grown in North India so the hybrid sugarcane is produced.