Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) breeding programs focus on developing varieties with high yield, disease resistance, and post-harvest shelf life suitable for transport.
Breeding methods include selection, hybridization, and mutation breeding.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us analyze both statements:
Statement I Analysis: 'Pusa Gaurav' is a tomato variety developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.
It is characterized by firm, thick-walled, oblong fruits with a high pulp content and fewer seeds.
These physical traits give it high resistance to mechanical bruising during post-harvest handling, making it highly suitable for long-distance transportation. Thus, Statement I is correct.
Statement II Analysis: 'Pusa Lal Meeruti' is indeed a mutant variety developed from the parent cultivar 'Meeruti'.
However, this mutation was induced using gamma rays (a physical mutagen), rather than a chemical mutagen.
It is noted for its high yield, uniform ripening, and resistance to environmental stresses.
Therefore, the claim that it was induced by a chemical mutagen is incorrect. Thus, Statement II is incorrect.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect, which corresponds to option (C).