Previous Year Question
Though coffee and tea both are cultivated on hill slopes, there is some difference between them regarding their cultivation. In this context, consider the following statements :
Coffee plant requires a hot and humid climate of tropical areas whereas tea can be cultivated in both tropical and subtropical areas.
Coffee is propagated by seeds but tea is propagated by stem cuttings only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Climate required by coffee:
Coffee is fundamentally a tropical evergreen plant requiring a warm, humid and frost-free climate.
Commercial coffee cultivation is concentrated mainly within the tropical region between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Arabica coffee performs well in relatively cooler tropical highlands, whereas Robusta coffee is suited to warmer and more humid conditions at lower elevations.
Well-distributed rainfall, high humidity, partial shade and well-drained soil favour coffee cultivation. Hill slopes help prevent waterlogging.
Climate required by tea:
Tea is also a warm and humid crop, but its geographical range is wider than that of coffee.
It is cultivated in both tropical and subtropical regions.
In tropical regions, it is commonly grown on mountain slopes and high plateaus, where elevation moderates temperature.
Its cultivation from the relatively low valleys of Assam to the higher slopes of Darjeeling and southern India demonstrates this climatic adaptability.
Tea requires high rainfall, atmospheric humidity, acidic soil and good drainage because its roots do not tolerate stagnant water.
Therefore, statement 1 is correct.
Statement 2 — Incorrect
Coffee is commonly propagated through seeds, particularly in the case of Arabica.
Coffee can also be propagated vegetatively through cuttings, grafting or tissue culture, especially when the characteristics of an elite clone must be preserved.
Tea is not propagated only through stem cuttings.
The two principal categories of tea-planting material are seed-raised plants and vegetatively propagated clones.
Early tea plantations in India were established using seed-derived plants. Vegetative clones raised from leaf or stem cuttings are now also widely used because of their uniformity and high-yielding characteristics.
Thus, the absolute word “only” makes statement 2 incorrect.