Safeguard Your Chickpeas Quiz Quiz

Explore essential strategies and best practices to protect Bengal Gram crops from pests, diseases, and environmental stresses. This quiz covers pest management, disease identification, crop handling, and sustainable protection methods for healthier yields.

1. Major Pest Identification

   Which pest is most commonly responsible for severe yield loss in Bengal Gram (chickpea) fields, especially during the flowering and podding stages?

   1. Stem borer
   2. Rice weevil
   3. Aphids
   4. Helicoverpa armigera (pod borer)

   Explanation: Helicoverpa armigera, or pod borer, is the principal pest causing significant damage to chickpeas, particularly at flowering and podding. Aphids can occur but are less destructive. Rice weevil mainly affects stored grains, not field crops. Stem borer is a key pest for cereals such as maize and sugarcane, not chickpea.

2. Cultural Disease Management

   How can crop rotation benefit Bengal Gram farmers in managing soil-borne diseases like Fusarium wilt?

   1. By postponing irrigation
   2. By increasing nitrogen fixation
   3. By attracting beneficial insects only
   4. By breaking the lifecycle of soil-borne pathogens

   Explanation: Rotating crops disrupts the lifecycle of pathogens like Fusarium, reducing their buildup in the soil. Attracting beneficial insects helps with pests, not soil-borne diseases. Postponing irrigation does not target the root cause. Nitrogen fixation relates to soil fertility, not directly disease prevention.

3. Safe Pesticide Use

   What is an important safety step when applying chemical pesticides to Bengal Gram crops?

   1. Harvest immediately after spraying
   2. Mix random pesticides together
   3. Always wear protective clothing
   4. Apply during windy afternoons

   Explanation: Wearing protective clothing helps prevent exposure to harmful chemicals. Mixing random pesticides can create hazardous reactions. Applying in windy conditions increases drift and environmental risks. Immediate harvesting after spraying poses health hazards from residues.

4. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

   Which of the following is a component of integrated pest management (IPM) for Bengal Gram crops?

   1. Relying solely on chemical pesticides
   2. Using pest-resistant seed varieties
   3. Burning the entire field after harvest
   4. Increasing plant density excessively

   Explanation: Selecting resistant varieties is a key IPM strategy to reduce susceptibility to pests. Burning the field damages soil health and is unsustainable. Sole reliance on chemicals ignores other IPM aspects. Overcrowding plants can raise disease and pest risks.

5. Post-Harvest Protection

   To protect harvested Bengal Gram seeds from storage pests, what is a recommended practice?

   1. Leaving seeds in moist heaps
   2. Drying seeds to safe moisture content before storage
   3. Packing seeds in open containers
   4. Mixing seeds with raw compost

   Explanation: Thorough drying prevents mold growth and reduces pest attraction during storage. Moist heaps promote spoilage. Open containers invite pest entry. Mixing with raw compost introduces further risks of contamination and pests.