ARS Mains Examination Previous Year Question Paper GPB 1998

 

1.  (a) What are quality traits in wheat ? Discuss the breeding procedures for improving quality traits in wheat ?
   (b) What are the attributes related to heat tolerance in durum wheat ?
2. “Chromosome engineering has made significant contribution to plant breeding”. Comment upon this statement.
3. Define biodiversity. Discuss the importance of conservation of biodiversity and also suggest how in-situ and ex-situ conservation of genetic resources are useful for crop improvement ?
4. (a) What is an ideal variety ? Describe in detail the procedure adopted in India for varietal release and notification of any field crop species.
   (b) Give the name of one recently released and notified varieties/hybrids in each cereal (Paddy, Wheat, Maize, Jowar and Bajra).
5. (a) Discuss briefly the role of dwarfing genes in wheat breeding. Whom do you consider the Chief Scientist behind this work ? Describe his outstanding contribution.
   (b) Describe the usefulness of apomixis, incompatibility and male sterility in breeding crop plants.
6. (a) Demonstrate that meiosis is of particular importance to plant breeder as a mechanism to provide variability.
   (b) Describe briefly the plastid inheritance.
7. (a) Define Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
   (b) In view of the success story of rice hybrids, discuss the problems and prospects of hybrid wheat.
   (c) What will be the possible number of single crosses, three way crosses and double crosses using four (4) inbred lines. Give stepwise procedure with example for predicting the performance of double cross hybrids in maize.

8. Consider the population of two contrasted crops, maize and wheat, give the distinction between outbreeders and inbreeders, and also give the main features of F₂ population considering ‘N’ independent-loci each segregating for positive and negative effect of alleles.
9. (a) Define stability. Describe suitable procedure used for measuring the stability of performance of cultivars and give its merits and demerits.
   (b) An experiment was conducted on ten (10) test candidates (G) of pea over eight (8) different environment (E). give the d.f. [for(G), (E+(G × E)], E(linear), G × E (linear) and Pooled deviations.
10. Write short notes on any five of the following :
    (a) Law of Homologons Series.
    (b) Plant Breeder’s Right.
    (c) All India Coordinated Trials.
    (d) Regression.
    (e) Chi-square Test.
    (f) CBD.
    (g) Complementation Test.
    (h) Seed Certification.
    (i) Multilines.
    (j) Disease triangle.