UPSC CSE Prelims
Question 8
Which one of the following groups of plants was domesticated in the 'New World' and introduced into the 'Old World'?
View correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Correct Option: A
Explanation:
Tobacco, cacao and the Pará rubber tree are native to the Americas and spread to Afro-Eurasia after transatlantic contact-the Columbian exchange.
Option-wise Analysis:
A (Correct): All three originated in the American “New World”.
B (Incorrect): Cotton was domesticated in both Old and New Worlds; the entire trio is not uniquely New World.
C (Incorrect): Coffee originated in Africa and sugarcane in the Indo-Pacific, not the New World.
D (Incorrect): Coffee and wheat are Old World crops, even though rubber is American.