Free Plant Breeding and Genetics MCQs with Answers

• A. Papaya
• B. All the above
• C. Hemp
• D. Datepalm

Explanation: Papaya, date palm, and hemp are dioecious, meaning male and female flowers occur on separate plants.

• A. Cruciferae
• B. Solanaceae
• C. All the above
• D. Leguminosae

Explanation: Single-locus, multiple-allele self-incompatibility systems occur in several families, including Cruciferae, Solanaceae, and some…

• A. CGMS
• B. CMS
• C. GMS
• D. all the above

Explanation: When pollen sterility depends on both cytoplasmic factors and nuclear genes, it is called cytoplasmic-genetic male sterility, abbreviated…

• A. Bateman (1952)
• B. Koelreuter (1763)
• C. Stout (1917)
• D. Braw baker (1958)

Explanation: Koelreuter reported male sterility in flowering plants in 1763 during his early hybridisation experiments.

• A. Genetic assortative mating
• B. Random mating
• C. Genetic disassortative mating
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Random mating means that any female gamete can unite with any male gamete with equal opportunity, producing a freely interbreeding…

• A. Herkogamy
• B. Dichogamy
• C. Homogamy
• D. Chasmogamy

Explanation: Homogamy occurs when anthers and stigmas mature at the same time, allowing self-pollination.

• A. Apogamy
• B. Autogamy
• C. Apospory
• D. Parthenogenesis

Explanation: Parthenogenesis is embryo development from an unfertilized egg cell. Apogamy differs because the embryo develops from a non-egg cell of…

• A. Flemming (1882)
• B. Nilson (1900)
• C. De Vilmorin (1856)
• D. Rimpu (1890)

Explanation: The term mitosis was coined by Walther Flemming in 1882, based on the thread-like appearance of chromosomes during cell division.

• A. Mitosis
• B. Meiosis
• C. Peleiotropy
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Meiosis generates variability through crossing over, independent assortment and the formation of genetically different gametes.

• A. Inbreeding
• B. Syn breeding
• C. Out breeding
• D. All the above

Explanation: Allogamy is fertilization between genetically different individuals, so it is a natural form of outbreeding.

• A. Genetic erosion
• B. Land races
• C. Centers of diversity
• D. Genetic diversity

Explanation: Genetic erosion is the gradual loss of genetic variability, often caused by replacing diverse landraces with a few uniform modern…

• A. teriary gene pool
• B. Land races
• C. Obsolete cultivars
• D. Modern cultivars

Explanation: Landraces are primitive, locally adapted cultivars maintained and selected by farmers over many generations.

• A. Gene sanctuaries
• B. Genetic erosion
• C. Genetic diversity
• D. Field gene banks

Explanation: Genetic diversity is the variation in genes and genotypes within a crop species or population.

• A. ICRISAT
• B. Florida
• C. CIP
• D. ICARDA

Explanation: ICARDA maintains the global barley germplasm collection at its genebank.

• A. ICARDA
• B. ICRISAT
• C. CIP Peru
• D. None of the above

Explanation: The global sorghum collection is maintained by ICRISAT, whose genebank conserves major dryland cereals and legumes.

• A. Exotic collection
• B. Indigenous collection
• C. Working collection
• D. None of the above

Explanation: A working collection is kept for immediate use in breeding and is generally stored for a short period of about 3 to 5 years.

• A. 12%
• B. 20%
• C. 15%
• D. 18%

Explanation: Tea, coffee and mango have seeds that lose viability rapidly when dried too far, so they cannot be safely reduced below about 12% moisture…

• A. Vavilov
• B. Jacob
• C. Wilkins
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Vavilov proposed the law of homologous or parallel variation, stating that related species tend to show parallel patterns of hereditary…

• A. Fischer
• B. Morgan
• C. Knight
• D. Muller

Explanation: Thomas Andrew Knight carried out the first artificial hybridization work in fruit crops, especially in strawberries and other…

• A. T.S. Verma
• B. R.S. Paroda
• C. R.B. Singh
• D. T.S. Venkatraman

Explanation: T. S. Venkatraman successfully produced the first reported intergeneric cross between bamboo and sugarcane.