With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the following statements: [2020]

With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the following statements:

A substantial saving in seed material is made when ‘bud chip settlings are raised in a nursery and transplanted in the main field.
When direct planting of setts is done, the germination percentage is better with single-budded setts as compared to sets with many buds.
If bad weather conditions prevail when setts are directly planted, single-budded setts have better survival as compared to large setts.
Sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture.

Chip bud technology is a highly promising approach for sugarcane production. This method involves excising sugarcane buds with a small portion of the root band, growing them in plant media, and transplanting the seedlings into the main field with precise row spacing. Using single-eyed seedlings significantly reduces seed requirements by 70%, needing only 1 ton per hectare, and allows leftover cane to be used for milling. This approach has been shown to increase cane yield by 11% compared to traditional methods and is considered a viable and economical alternative for reducing sugarcane production costs.

The germination percentage is generally better with setts containing multiple buds rather than single-budded setts. Single-budded setts are more vulnerable to poor environmental conditions, which can reduce the overall germination rate compared to setts with multiple buds that offer better resilience.

In adverse weather conditions, setts with multiple buds tend to survive better than single-budded setts.
The presence of multiple buds increases the chances of at least one bud successfully germinating, providing more resilience compared to single-budded setts.

Tissue culture is a method where plant fragments are cultured and grown in a laboratory setting. This technique enables the rapid production and supply of disease-free seed cane from existing commercial varieties. It involves cloning the mother plant using meristem tissue, which helps maintain the plant’s genetic identity. However, due to its complex process and physical constraints, tissue culture is proving to be economically unviable.

Statement 2 can be eliminated first — logically, setts with many buds have better chances of germination than single-budded setts, making Statement 2 unlikely. Statement 3 is also incorrect because, under adverse weather conditions, larger setts with more buds and reserves generally have better survival than single-budded setts. After eliminating Statements 2 and 3, 1 and 4 remain correct — Answer: (c) 1 and 4 only.