Read the passage and answer the following questions :

The Green Revolution successfully increased food production by threefold, but it still couldn't meet the demand of the growing human population. The increased yields were primarily attributed to the use of improved crop varieties, better management practices, and the application of agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides. However, farmers in the developing world often find agrochemicals too expensive, and further improvements in yield using conventional breeding methods become challenging.To address the limitations of traditional breeding techniques, scientists developed a technology called tissue culture. Tissue culture involves the regeneration of whole plants from small plant parts (explants) that are grown in a controlled environment, such as a test tube, with specific nutrient media. This ability of explants to regenerate into whole plants is known as totipotency. The nutrient medium used in tissue culture contains carbon sources like sucrose, inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids, and growth regulators like auxins and cytokinins. By utilizing tissue culture techniques, a large number of plants can be propagated rapidly and efficiently, a process known as micro-propagation. These plants are genetically identical to the original plant from which the explants were obtained, making them somaclones. Many important food plants, such as tomato, banana, and apple, have been commercially produced using tissue culture. Another significant application of tissue culture is the recovery of healthy plants from diseased ones. Even if a plant is infected with a virus, the meristem (apical and axillary) regions remain free of the virus. Scientists can remove the virus-free meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain virus-free plants

The process of obtaining virus-free plants from infected ones using tissue culture involves:

Culturing meristems (apical and axillary) in nutrient media

(b) Culturing meristems (apical and axillary) in nutrient media

Explanation: The process of obtaining virus-free plants from infected ones using tissue culture involves culturing meristems, specifically the apical and axillary meristems, in a nutrient medium under sterile conditions.

Meristems are regions of active cell division in plants and are located at the tips of shoots (apical meristems) and in the axils of leaves where branches emerge (axillary meristems). These meristematic regions are typically free of viruses, even in infected plants.

To obtain virus-free plants, a small section of the meristem is carefully excised from the infected plant and placed in a nutrient-rich medium that contains essential nutrients, vitamins, and growth regulators. The meristem is allowed to grow and differentiate into a new, healthy plant, free from the virus.

Since meristems are free from viruses, this tissue culture technique ensures that the newly regenerated plant is free from the viral infection that might have been present in the rest of the infected plant.

This method is particularly useful for obtaining virus-free plants when other parts of the plant, such as leaves or stems, may be infected. By starting the regeneration process from virus-free meristems, researchers can obtain healthy, virus-free plants that can be used for further studies, breeding, or commercial production.