Which one of the following groups of plants was domesticated in the 'New World' and introduced into the 'Old World'?
- (a) Tobacco, cocoa and rubber ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) Tobacco, cotton and rubber
- (c) Cotton, coffee and sugarcane
- (d) Rubber, coffee and wheat
Why the answer is (a)
• The 'Columbian Exchange' after 1492 carried New World (Americas) domesticates to the Old World: tobacco, cocoa, rubber, maize, potato, tomato, chilli, groundnut and cassava.
• Tobacco, cocoa and rubber (option a) are all American in origin; cotton was domesticated independently in both hemispheres, so option (b) is also defensible, and the official key accepted both (a) and (b).
• Coffee (Ethiopia/Arabia), sugarcane (New Guinea/India) and wheat (Fertile Crescent) are Old World crops, ruling out (c) and (d).
• Hence option (a) — with (b) also credited by UPSC.
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) Tobacco, cotton and rubber
- Also accepted by the official key, since cotton was domesticated in the Americas too; recorded answer is (a).
- (c) Cotton, coffee and sugarcane
- Coffee and sugarcane are Old World crops.
- (d) Rubber, coffee and wheat
- Coffee and wheat are Old World crops.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2019, held on 2 June 2019. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.