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With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the following statements : 1. A substantial saving in seed material is made when 'bud chip settlings' are raised in a nursery and transplanted in the main field. 2. When direct planting of setts is done, the germination percentage is better with single-budded setts as compared to setts with many buds. 3. If bad weather conditions prevail when setts are directly planted, single-budded setts have better survival as compared to large setts. 4. Sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 3 (1 and 4 only). This is based on the following technical evaluation of sugarcane cultivation practices:
- Statement 1 is correct: The Bud Chip technology involves extracting only the bud with a small piece of nodal tissue. Raising these in nurseries and transplanting them reduces seed material requirement significantly—from roughly 6-8 tonnes per hectare in traditional planting to only about 0.5-0.7 tonnes per hectare.
- Statement 4 is correct: Tissue culture is a proven method for producing disease-free, high-quality sugarcane settlings. It ensures rapid multiplication of new varieties and uniform crop stands.
- Statement 2 is incorrect: In direct planting, single-budded setts usually show lower germination percentages compared to multi-budded setts (2 or 3 buds). Multi-budded setts benefit from the "priming effect" and stored moisture/nutrients in the internodes.
- Statement 3 is incorrect: Under adverse weather or moisture stress, single-budded setts are highly vulnerable and have poor survival rates compared to larger setts, which possess greater physiological reserves to withstand stress.
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis question signals a shift from 'Where is it grown?' (Geography NCERT) to 'How is it grown?' (Agri-Technology). It is directly lifted from the 'Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI)' guidelines and extension literature. If you only studied rainfall/temperature data, you would fail; you needed to know 'Resource Efficient Agriculture' trends.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Advantages by adopting this system are • Saving in the seed cost ▪ Only about 2-3 t/ha against the normal 8-10 tonnes/ha."
Why this source?
- Explicitly states seed-cost savings when using single-bud settlings raised in a nursery and transplanted.
- Gives quantitative comparison showing a large reduction in seed requirement (2–3 t/ha vs 8–10 t/ha).
Web source
Presence: 3/5
"Transplanting of settlings raised in polybags offers great advantages in sugarcane seed production. Nursery raised from sugarcane bud chips and planting"
Why this source?
- Confirms transplanting of settlings (nursery-raised bud chips) is practiced and offers advantages in seed production.
- Supports the method (raising settlings in polybags/nursery) that underlies seed-material savings.
Web source
Presence: 3/5
"Sugarcane bud chips: a promising seed material."
Why this source?
- Cites research characterizing sugarcane bud chips as a 'promising seed material', supporting the practice's viability.
- Provides academic backing that bud-chip settlings are considered an effective seed alternative.
- Explicitly states seed-cost savings when using single-bud settlings raised in a nursery and transplanted.
- Gives quantitative comparison showing a large reduction in seed requirement (2–3 t/ha vs 8–10 t/ha).
- Confirms transplanting of settlings (nursery-raised bud chips) is practiced and offers advantages in seed production.
- Supports the method (raising settlings in polybags/nursery) that underlies seed-material savings.
- Cites research characterizing sugarcane bud chips as a 'promising seed material', supporting the practice's viability.
- Provides academic backing that bud-chip settlings are considered an effective seed alternative.
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART I, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 2: Kings, Farmers and Towns > The Sudarshana (beautiful) lake in Gujarat > p. 38
Strength: 5/5
“Transplantation is used for paddy cultivation in areas where water is plentiful. Here, seeds are first broadcast; when the saplings have grown they are transplanted in waterlogged fields. This ensures a higher ratio of survival of saplings and higher yields.”
Why relevant
Describes transplanting in paddy as a practice that improves survival and yields by raising seedlings in a nursery and then transplanting them.
How to extend
A student could analogously ask whether transplanting sugarcane settlings would similarly increase survival and thus reduce the amount of seed cane needed per hectare compared with direct planting.
Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Sugarcane (Saccharum spp) > p. 34
Strength: 4/5
“Sugarcane can be grown in a wide range of climates from warm tropical south to foothills of Himalayas. However, its height is strongly infuenced by the age of the crop and the season. For good bud-sprouting, moist soil and temperature range of 21°-25°C are necessary, whereas emergence and tillring occur best at 30°-35°C with relative humidity of about 50% and bright sunshine. Temperature above 50°C arrests its growth, and that below 20°C slows it markedly, and less than 10°C with severe frost proves fatal during its germination and establishment. Te crop does its best in tropical region, receiving a rainfall of 75 to 120 cm.”
Why relevant
Gives the specific environmental requirements for good bud-sprouting (moist soil, temperature range), which affects success of nursery-raised buds.
How to extend
A student could compare these requirements with regional climate maps to judge where nursery-raised bud chips would reliably establish and thus potentially save seed material.
NCERT. (2022). Contemporary India II: Textbook in Geography for Class X (Revised ed.). NCERT. > Chapter 4: The Age of Industrialisation > Food Crops other than Grains > p. 85
Strength: 4/5
“Sugarcane: It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop. It grows well in hot and humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and an annual rainfall between 75cm. and 100cm. Irrigation is required in the regions of low rainfall. It can be grown on a variety of soils and needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil. It is the main source of sugar, gur (jaggary), khandsari and molasses. The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.”
Why relevant
Notes that sugarcane requires manual labour from sowing to harvesting, implying labour costs and practicality matter when adopting nursery/transplant methods.
How to extend
A student could weigh likely labour inputs for nursery/transplant versus direct set planting to infer whether seed savings would be offset by higher labour (affecting adoption and net seed savings).
Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 10: Spatial Organisation of Agriculture > CROPPING PATTERNS > p. 1
Strength: 3/5
“Infrastructural Factors: The cropping patterns are also closely controlled by the infrastructural factors Such as irrigation, electricity, roads, marketing and storage facilities. In India, due to the extension of irrigation facilities, the area under sugarcane, rice, tobacco, orchards, vegetables and oilseeds has increased substantially.• 3. Institutional Factors: Land tenancy, land tenure, and size of fields also affect the cropping patterns. For example, in a system of crop sharing, it is the landlord who finalizes the cropping pattern, guiding by profit maximizing principle. A”
Why relevant
States that extension of irrigation and infrastructure has expanded area under sugarcane, implying that availability of water/irrigation affects cropping practices and the feasibility of techniques like transplanting.
How to extend
A student could map irrigated areas against regions practising transplanting-like methods to see where nursery transplant would be practical and where seed savings might be realized.
INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY, TEXTBOOK IN GEOGRAPHY FOR CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 3: Land Resources and Agriculture > Sugarcane > p. 32
Strength: 3/5
“Sugarcane is a crop of tropical areas. Under rainfed conditions, it is cultivated in sub-humid and humid climates. But it is largely an irrigated crop in India. In Indo-Gangetic plain, its cultivation is largely concentrated in Uttar Pradesh. Sugarcane growing area in western India is spread over Maharashtra and Gujarat.”
Why relevant
Identifies sugarcane as largely an irrigated, tropical/sub-humid crop concentrated in certain states, providing spatial context for where nursery methods might be trialed.
How to extend
Using this state-level distribution, a student could focus analysis on major sugarcane states (e.g., Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu) to check local experiments or extension recommendations about bud chip transplanting and seed use.
Describes transplanting in paddy as a practice that improves survival and yields by raising seedlings in a nursery and then transplanting them.
A student could analogously ask whether transplanting sugarcane settlings would similarly increase survival and thus reduce the amount of seed cane needed per hectare compared with direct planting.
Gives the specific environmental requirements for good bud-sprouting (moist soil, temperature range), which affects success of nursery-raised buds.
A student could compare these requirements with regional climate maps to judge where nursery-raised bud chips would reliably establish and thus potentially save seed material.
Notes that sugarcane requires manual labour from sowing to harvesting, implying labour costs and practicality matter when adopting nursery/transplant methods.
A student could weigh likely labour inputs for nursery/transplant versus direct set planting to infer whether seed savings would be offset by higher labour (affecting adoption and net seed savings).
States that extension of irrigation and infrastructure has expanded area under sugarcane, implying that availability of water/irrigation affects cropping practices and the feasibility of techniques like transplanting.
A student could map irrigated areas against regions practising transplanting-like methods to see where nursery transplant would be practical and where seed savings might be realized.
Identifies sugarcane as largely an irrigated, tropical/sub-humid crop concentrated in certain states, providing spatial context for where nursery methods might be trialed.
Using this state-level distribution, a student could focus analysis on major sugarcane states (e.g., Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu) to check local experiments or extension recommendations about bud chip transplanting and seed use.
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