NEET Foundation Biology Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Long Answer Questions

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Long Answer Type Question And Answers

Question 1. What is genetic manipulation? How is it useful in agricultural practices?
Answer.

Genetic Manipulation:

Genetic manipulation is a process of incorporating desirable (genes) characters into crop varieties by hybridization. Hybridization involves crossing between genetically dissimilar plants. This is done for the production of varieties with desirable characteristics like profuse branching in fodder crops, high-yielding varieties in maize, wheat, etc. Genetic manipulation is useful in developing varieties and it results in nurturing the following factors.

• Increased yield.
• Better quality.
• Shorter and early maturity period.
• Better adaptability to adverse environmental conditions.
• Desirable characteristics.

Question 2. What are the benefits of GMO crops?
Answer.

Benefits Of GMO Crops:

Cultivation practices and good crop yield also depends upon the weather, soil quality and availability of water. GMO crop varieties are useful as they can be grown in diverse climatic conditions such as drought and flood. Some of the varieties could have special characters such as tolerance to high soil salinity.

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Question 3. What are water augmentation and discuss its two methods?
Answer.

Water Augmentation:

Augmentation is a process of using existing water to carry out new work. To fulfil the demand of water used in the irrigation augmentation of ground water is done. It is carried out by two methods and they are listed below.

• Rainwater harvesting: This process includes collection of rainwater, which is further used to recharge ground water by digging up wells.
• Water-shed management: This process includes construction of check dams to reduce flow of rainwater and prevent soil erosion. It also increases the percolation of water into the ground.

Question 4. What are the advantages of intercropping and crop rotation?
Answer.

Advantages of using intercropping:

• It helps to maintain soil fertility.
• It increases productivity per unit area.
• Save labour and time.
• Both crops can be easily harvested and processed separately.

Advantages of using crop rotation:

• It improves the soil fertility.
• It avoids depletion of a nutrient from soil.
• It minimizes pest infestation and diseases.
• It helps in weed control.
• It prevents change in the chemical nature of the soil.

Question 5. What is aquaculture and discuss its two-aqua culture system?
Answer.

Aquaculture:

Aquaculture includes the production of high yield aquatic plants and animals which have high economic value, such as fishes, prawns, crayfish, shrimps, oysters and sea weeds. It includes two culture systems and they are as follows.

• Mariculture: In this type of culture, the marine fishes such as bhetki, eel and pearl spots are cultured in the coastal water for commercial purpose.
• Freshwater culture fishery: In this type, exotic crabs such as English carp, tench and trouts are cultivated in the lakes.

Question 6. Which method is commonly used for improving cattle breeds and why?
Answer:

Cross-breeding is a process in which indigenous varieties of cattle are crossed by exotic breeds to get a breed which is high yielding. During cross-breeding, the desired characters are taken into consideration. The offspring should be high yielding, should have early maturity and should be resistant to climatic conditions.

Question 7. Discuss the implications of the following statement.

‘It is interesting to note that poultry is India’s most efficient converter of low fibre food stuff (which  is unfit for human consumption) into highly nutritious animal protein food’.
Answer:

The basic aim of poultry farming is to raise domestic fowl for egg production and chicken meat. These poultry birds are not only efficient converters of agricultural by-products, particularly cheaper fibrous wastes (which is unfit for human consumption but can be formulated into cheaper diets for poultry birds) into high quality meat and it also help in providing egg, feathers and nutrient rich manure. For this reasons, it is said that, ‘poultry is India’s most efficient converter of low fibre food stuff into highly nutritious animal protein food’.

Question 8. What management practices are common in dairy and poultry farming?
Answer:

• Shelter: Dairy animals and poultry birds require proper shelter, i.e., well-designed dairy and hygienic shelter.
• Feeding: To get good yield of food product, proper feed is provided to dairy animals and poultry birds.
• Caring for animal health: Animal and birds must be protected from diseases caused by virus, bacteria or fungi.

Question 9. What are the differences between broilers and layers and in their management?
Answer:

Differences between broilers and layers and in their management:

The poultry bird groomed for obtaining meat is called broiler. The egg laying poultry bird is called layer. The housing, nutritional and environmental requirements of broilers are somewhat different from those of egg layers. The ration (daily food requirement) for broilers is protein rich with adequate fat. The level of vitamins A and K is kept high in the poultry feeds while layers require enough space and proper lightning.

Question 10. How are fish obtained?
Answer:

There are two ways of obtaining fish. One is from natural resources, which is called capture fishing. The other way is by fish farming, which is called culture fishery.

Question 11. What are the advantages of composite fish culture?
Answer:

Advantages of composite fish culture:

In composite fish culture, a combination of five or six fish species is used in a single fish pond. These species are selected so that they do not compete for food among them and are having different types of food habits. As a result, the food available in all the parts of the pond is used.

For example, Catlas are surface feeders, Rohus feed in the middle zone of the pond, Mrigals and Common Carps are bottom feeders and Grass Carps feed on the weeds, together these species can use all the food in the pond without competing with each other. This increases the fish yield from pond.

Question 12. What are the desirable characters of bee varieties suitable for honey production?
Answer:

Characters of bee varieties suitable for honey production:

• The variety of bee should be able to collect a large amount of honey.
• The bees should stay in a given beehive for a longer period.
• The bees should have capacity of breeding well.
• The variety of bee should be disease resistant.

Question 13. What is pasturage and how is it related to honey production?
Answer:

Pasturage means the flowers available to bees for nectar and pollen collection. In addition to adequate quantities of pasturage, the kind of flowers available will determine the taste of honey.

Question 14. How do good animal husbandry practices benefit farmers?
Answer:

Good animal husbandry practices are beneficial to farmers in the following ways.

• Improvement of breeds of the domesticated animals.
• Increasing the yield of foodstuffs, such as milk, eggs and meat.
• Proper management of domestic animals in terms of shelter, feeding, care and protection against diseases.

Question 15. What are the benefits of cattle farming?
Answer:

Cattle farming is beneficial in the following ways.

• Milk production is increased by high yielding animals.
• Good quality of meat, fibre and skin can be obtained.
• Good breed of draught animals can be obtained.