With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the following statements:
- A substantial saving in seed material is made when 'bud chip settlings' are raised in a nursery and transplanted in the main field.
- When direct planting of setts is done, the germination percentage is better with single-budded setts as compared to setts with many buds.
- If bad weather conditions prevail when setts are directly planted, single-budded setts have better survival as compared to large setts.
- Sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
This question concerns sugarcane propagation methods and comparative performance of different sett types. Statement 1 states that substantial saving in seed material is achieved when bud chip settlings are raised in a nursery and transplanted. Nursery-raised bud chip settlings use small propagules derived from a single bud or bud chips, thereby multiplying planting material more efficiently than using large setts. This reduces the quantity of seed cane required per hectare and is therefore correct from the standpoint of seed economy and modern propagation technology.
Statement 2 asserts that when direct planting of setts is done, germination percentage is better with single-budded setts than with setts with many buds. In reality, larger setts with multiple buds generally have higher germination and tillering potential under direct planting, because they contain more reserve food and meristematic tissue; single-budded setts may have lower germination when directly placed in the field. Therefore statement 2 is incorrect. Statement 3 claims that under bad weather during direct planting, single-budded setts have better survival than large setts; this is contrary to agronomic experience because larger setts tolerate adverse conditions better due to greater reserves, so statement 3 is incorrect.
Statement 4 states that sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture. Tissue culture raised planting material is an established method to produce disease-free, true-to-type sugarcane plantlets that are subsequently hardened and used as settlings or transplants. This practice is part of modern seed production and nursery techniques and is correct. Combining the correct statements yields 1 and 4 only, which corresponds to option c.
Exam traps include confusing nursery transplanting advantages with direct planting responses and assuming single-budded setts always outperform larger setts; careful reading of physiological reserves and propagation science resolves the options. The final takeaway is that nursery bud chip multiplication and tissue culture derived settlings are resource-efficient and modern propagation tools, while single-budded setts are not superior for direct planting or in adverse conditions.