Consider the following techniques/phenomena: 1. Budding and grafting in fruit plants 2. Cytoplasmic male sterility 3. Gene silencing. Which of the above is/are used to create transgenic crops?

1. Budding and grafting in fruit plants — These are conventional vegetative propagation/horticultural techniques; they do not insert foreign genes into the genome. Verdict: Not used to create transgenic crops.

2. Cytoplasmic male sterility — CMS is a biotechnology-assisted breeding tool widely used in hybrid seed production, including in transgenic crop development programmes. Verdict: Used.

3. Gene silencing — This is a genetic engineering approach where expression of a gene is suppressed; it is used in creating transgenic plants. Verdict: Used.

Hence, 2 and 3 only are correct.