Biology · Biotechnology and Its Applications · NEET
NCERT states genetic modification has: (i) made crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses (cold, drought, salt, heat); (ii) reduced reliance on chemical pesticides (pest-resistant crops); (iii) helped reduce post-harvest losses; (iv) increased efficiency of mineral usage by plants (this prevents early exhaustion of soil fertility); (v) enhanced nutritional value of food, e.g., Golden Rice, i.e., Vitamin A enriched rice. Learn these five as a list - NEET picks the wrong or missing point as an option.
No. These are two separate benefits and NEET mixes them up. Abiotic stress = non-living stress like cold, drought, salt and heat. Pest resistance = protection from living pests (insects), which lowers pesticide use. Cold and drought are abiotic; insect attack is biotic. If an option says drought tolerance is 'pest resistance', it is wrong.
GM plants can take up and use soil minerals more efficiently. NCERT gives the reason clearly: this prevents early exhaustion of the fertility of the soil. So the benefit is not just for the plant - it protects the soil for future crops. NEET often asks for this exact reason.
Golden Rice is the NCERT example for the fifth benefit - enhanced nutritional value of food (Vitamin A enriched rice). It is listed here as an example, but it has its own detailed page because NEET asks specifically about the daffodil gene and beta-carotene. Study it separately after this list.
Yes. Pest-resistant GM crops (like Bt crops) make their own insect-killing protein, so farmers spray fewer chemical pesticides. Less spraying means less chemical harm to soil, water and non-target insects. NCERT frames this as 'reduced reliance on chemical pesticides'.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Exactly five: abiotic stress tolerance, reduced pesticide reliance, reduced post-harvest losses, better mineral use efficiency, and enhanced nutritional value.
Increased efficiency of mineral usage by plants - NCERT says this prevents early exhaustion of the fertility of the soil.
Golden Rice, which is Vitamin A (beta-carotene) enriched rice - the NCERT example of enhanced nutritional value.
Yes. Pest-resistant GM crops make their own protective protein, so farmers spray fewer chemical pesticides.
Abiotic. Cold, drought, salt and heat are non-living (abiotic) stresses. This is a common NEET trap versus biotic pest resistance.
