Which among the following statements are correct?
(A) The hard seed coat provides protection to the young embryo.
(B) Fruit is the basis of our agriculture.
(C) A seed of a lupine, Lupinus arcticus, excavated from Arctic Tundra, germinated and flowered after a very long period of dormancy.
(D) Hydration and dormancy of mature seeds are crucial for storage of seeds which can be used as food throughout the year and also to raise crop in the next season.
(E) In some species of Asteraceae and grasses, seeds are produced without fertilisation; this is called apomixis.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → A, C and E only
(A) The hard seed coat provides protection to the young embryo. — True. The seed coat is formed from the integuments of the ovule. It is hard and guards the embryo inside.
(B) Fruit is the basis of our agriculture. — False. The book says seed is the basis of our agriculture. Crops are raised from seeds, and seeds can be stored for food and for sowing in the next season.
(C) A seed of a lupine, Lupinus arcticus, excavated from Arctic Tundra, germinated and flowered after a very long period of dormancy. — True. This lupine seed is the book’s example of a very old yet viable seed. It germinated and flowered after about 10,000 years of dormancy.
(D) Hydration and dormancy of mature seeds are crucial for storage of seeds which can be used as food throughout the year and also to raise crop in the next season. — False. Mature seeds are stored because they are dry. The book says dehydration and dormancy make storage possible. A hydrated seed takes up water and starts to germinate, so it cannot be kept.
(E) In some species of Asteraceae and grasses, seeds are produced without fertilisation; this is called apomixis. — True. Apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that mimics sexual reproduction. The seed forms without fertilisation.
So A, C and E are correct.
NCERT Extract:
Seed – “… The hard seed coat provides protection to the young embryo. Being products of sexual reproduction, they generate new genetic combinations leading to variations. Seed is the basis of our agriculture. Dehydration and dormancy of mature seeds are crucial for storage of seeds which can be used as food throughout the year and also to raise crop in the next season. … There are several records of very old yet viable seeds. The oldest is that of a lupine, Lupinus arcticus excavated from Arctic Tundra. The seed germinated and flowered after an estimated record of 10,000 years of dormancy.”
Apomixis and Polyembryony – “Although seeds, in general are the products of fertilisation, a few flowering plants such as some species of Asteraceae and grasses, have evolved a special mechanism, to produce seeds without fertilisation, called apomixis.”