Question:

Which one of the following is NOT an example of mesophytes?

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Crops grown in standing water, such as lowland rice, require structural adaptations like aerenchyma to transport gases.
This distinguishes them from typical mesophytic field crops like wheat or maize.
  • Wheat
  • Maize
  • Cotton
  • Low land rice
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Plants are classified into distinct ecological categories based on their moisture requirements and adaptations:
1. Mesophytes: Terrestrial plants adapted to soils with moderate moisture levels and environments that are neither extremely wet nor dry.
2. Hydrophytes: Plants adapted to grow fully or partially submerged in water or in waterlogged, anaerobic conditions.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

Wheat, maize, and cotton are representative examples of mesophytic crops.
They grow best in well-aerated soils with moderate irrigation and suffer physiological damage under prolonged waterlogging or dry conditions.
Low land rice (paddy) is grown under flooded or submerged soil conditions.
To survive in these flooded environments, low land rice has specialized internal tissues called aerenchyma.
Aerenchyma allows oxygen to travel from the leaves down to the root system, preventing root death from anaerobic conditions.
Consequently, low land rice is classified as a hydrophyte (or semi-aquatic plant) rather than a mesophyte.

Step 3: Final Answer:

Low land rice is not a mesophyte, which corresponds to Option (D).
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