Male sterility constitutes the lack of_________?
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Answer: A. Functional pollen
Explanation
Male sterility is formally defined as the biological inability of a plant to produce functional pollen. Plants affected by this condition fail to develop viable male gametes capable of fertilization. Sterile pollen grains lack the physiological capacity to successfully fertilize female egg cells. Reproductive barriers in plants can involve female sterility, male sterility, or both. Male sterility can be governed by genetic factors, cytoplasmic factors, or environmental conditions. Breeders utilize male sterile plants to eliminate the labor intensive task of manual hand detasseling.
This trait is critically important for hybrid seed production across various agronomic crops. Understanding pollen sterility mechanisms helps researchers prevent unwanted self pollination in crops. Commercial hybrid vigor relies entirely on controlled cross pollination facilitated by male sterility. Option b is incorrect because sterile pollen describes the condition rather than its definition. Option c is wrong since the anther structure itself may remain intact while pollen is defective. Option d includes incorrect choices because only functional pollen loss defines male sterility.
- Subject
- Agriculture
- Category
- Agriculture
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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