Consider the following statements 1. India is the original home of the cotton plant. 2. India is the first country in the world to develop hybrid cotton variety leading to increased production. Which of these statements is/are correct?

Both statements are correct. Historical, archaeological and textbook accounts identify the Indian subcontinent (Indus Valley) as a primary centre for domestication of Old World cotton (Gossypium arboreum), and standard Indian texts state India as the original home of the cotton plant [3]. Separately, India is recognised as the pioneer country to develop and commercialise cotton hybrids: the first widely adopted intra-hirsutum hybrid H-4 was released from Surat in 1970, followed by interspecific hybrids and large-scale hybrid deployment that substantially increased lint yields and commercial production in India [3]. In sum, evidence supports both the origin claim and India’s primacy in developing hybrid cotton for enhanced production.

Sources

1. [1] NCERT. (2022). Contemporary India II: Textbook in Geography for Class X (Revised ed.). NCERT. > Chapter 4: The Age of Industrialisation > TYPES OF FARMING > p. 87
2. [3] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.554970/full