Question

High-yielding varieties of wheat were primarily developed by Indian scientists by cross breeding traditional varieties with

• A. American varieties
• B. Mexican varieties
• C. European varieties
• D. African varieties

Answer 1

The correct option is B Mexican varieties

During the period 1960 to 2000, wheat production increased from 11 million tonnes to 75 million tonnes. This was due to the development of semi-dwarf varieties of wheat and rice. Nobel laureate Norman E. Borlaug, at International Centre for Wheat and Maize Improvement in Mexico, developed semi-dwarf wheat. The Mexican dwarf wheat was first released to farmers in 1961 and resulted in a doubling of the average yield. In 1963, several varieties such as Sonalika and Kalyan Sona, which were high yielding and disease resistant, were introduced all over the wheat-growing belt of India.

Therefore, the correct answer is option B.