Question

Assertion: Sharbati Sonora was developed from Mexican wheat variety.
Reason: It becomes possible by the hybridization process.
(a) Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion.
(b) Both Assertion and Reason are correct but Reason is not the correct explanation for Assertion.
(c) Assertion is correct but the Reason is incorrect.
(d) Both Assertion and Reason are incorrect.

Answer 1

Hybridization process requires two or more parent plants that contain desirable genetic traits. The process cannot be carried out in a single strain or induced. The progeny of the process is known as a hybrid.

Complete step by step answer:
- Sharbati Sonora is a wheat variety that was developed from a Mexican wheat variety. It was developed by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan is also responsible for bringing about the Green Revolution in India.
- It is an amber-colored grain that is developed by gamma irradiation of the Sonora 64 variety.
- This variety is thus a mutated strain, and not a result of hybridization.
- The original Mexican strain, Sonora 64, was developed by Dr. Norman Borlaug. This crop possesses a broad spectrum of resistance to major biotic and abiotic conditions.
- Mutation breeding is a plant breeding technique to induce mutations without compromising on the quality of the crop.
- Examples of mutagens used to induce it are radiations such as UV short wave, X-ray,
Alpha ($\alpha$) , Beta ($\beta$) , Gamma ($\gamma$) waves, chemicals such as cesium, EMS (ethyl methanesulfonate), nitromethyl, and urea.
- Sharbati Sonora is an example of a hexaploid variety. It has been subjected to various experiments to check its resistance and it has been found to be highly resistant to radiation.
So, the correct answer is ‘(c) Assertion is correct but Reason is incorrect’.

Note: The Green Revolution, or the third Agricultural Revolution, was a plan developed in the 1960s to increase crop production in developing countries by introducing efficient strains, irrigation facilities, fertilizers, and crop management. Other plant breeding systems include selection, hybridization, heterosis, and polyploid breeding.