Biology (11th Edition)

Published by McGraw-Hill Education
ISBN 10: 1259188132
ISBN 13: 978-1-25918-813-8

Chapter 36 - Plant Form - Review Questions - Synthesize - Page 756: 5

Answer

Crop plants should have high yields, including under stress, and a minimum of parts not needed for that yield. They should also have resistance to stresses which lower yield, such as drought and disease. Corn is a great example of this--it does C4 photosynthesis under drought stress and produces more grain per acre, by far, than other cereal grains in most settings.

Work Step by Step

Think about what a crop is about--yield--and what affects that (stresses, extraneous parts). The question is also dead wrong--we produce far more food now per person than 50 years ago, even with an increased population. The author of the question is pushing a political point of view, not science.
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