(a) Write the desirsble characters a farmer looks for in his sugarcane crop.
(b) How did plant breeding techniques help north Indian farmers to develop cane with desired characters ?

Explanation

Saccharum barberi was originally grown in north Inadian , but had poor sugar content any yield . Tropical canes grown in south India saccharum offcinarum had thicker stems and higher suger content but did not grown well in north India . These two species were successfully crossed to get sugarcane varieties combining the desirable qualities of high yield , thick stems, high sugar and ability to grow in the sugarcane areas of north India.
(b) Plant breeding is the purposeful mainipulation of plant species in order to create desired plant types that are better suited for cultivation give better yields and are disease rresistant. Conbentional plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years since the beginning of human civilisation , recorded evidence of plant breeding dates back to 9,000-11 ,000 years ago.