Beat the Fungus! Chickpea Care Quiz Quiz

Sharpen your knowledge of chickpea disease management with these medium-difficulty questions on detection, prevention, and treatment strategies. Improve your crop's health by understanding key threats and control measures for healthy harvests.

1. Identifying Ascochyta Blight Symptoms

   A farmer notices dark lesions with concentric rings on chickpea leaves after several days of rainy weather. Which disease is most likely responsible for these symptoms?

   1. Powdery mildew
   2. Ascochyta blight
   3. White rust
   4. Fusarium wilt

   Explanation: Ascochyta blight typically causes dark, round lesions with concentric rings, especially during wet weather. Fusarium wilt mainly causes yellowing and wilting without distinct spots. Powdery mildew produces white powdery growth, not dark rings. White rust appears as white blister-like spots, unlike the described lesions.

2. Importance of Crop Rotation

   Why is rotating chickpea with non-leguminous crops an effective disease management practice?

   1. It increases immediate nutrient uptake
   2. It prevents all insect pests
   3. It reduces the buildup of soilborne pathogens
   4. It raises soil acidity for disease control

   Explanation: Crop rotation interrupts the life cycles of many chickpea-specific pathogens, reducing their presence in the soil. It does not necessarily increase nutrient uptake immediately, fully prevent insect pests, or raise soil acidity, which is often irrelevant or even detrimental to chickpea health.

3. Choosing Resistant Varieties

   Selecting chickpea varieties labeled as resistant to Fusarium wilt helps farmers because:

   1. They increase seed size every season
   2. They guarantee total immunity to all diseases
   3. They eliminate the need for field monitoring
   4. They limit disease outbreaks even under favorable conditions

   Explanation: Resistant varieties help minimize disease incidence, though not perfect immunity. They do not guarantee total protection against all diseases. Field monitoring remains necessary, and resistance does not affect seed size directly.

4. Fungicide Application Timing

   When is the best time to apply fungicides to control early chickpea foliar diseases in high-risk areas?

   1. Before sowing seeds
   2. Two weeks after pod formation
   3. Only at harvest time
   4. At the first sign of disease symptoms

   Explanation: Applying fungicides at the first sign of disease helps prevent spread. Applying after pod formation or only at harvest is too late, and using fungicides before sowing is ineffective against foliar diseases that appear later.

5. Seed Treatment Benefits

   What is a primary benefit of treating chickpea seeds with fungicides before planting?

   1. It protects emerging seedlings from soilborne pathogens
   2. It reduces water requirements
   3. It prevents weed growth entirely
   4. It doubles yield automatically

   Explanation: Seed treatment helps protect young seedlings from pathogens present in the soil. It does not affect water needs, guarantee yield increases, or prevent weeds, as those require separate management strategies.