Crop Protection (Pests, Storage) MCQs

Q1. Walking through his wheat field, a farmer notices wild plants like Parthenium and Chenopodium crowding the crop and stealing sunlight and nutrients; under which class of field problem do these intruders fall?

• A.Weeds
• B.Nematodes
• C.Insect pests
• D.Plant diseases

Answer: A. Weeds

Unwanted plants that grow alongside a crop and compete for light, water and nutrients are called weeds. Parthenium and Chenopodium are common weeds.

Q2. A cotton grower finds chewing insects biting holes through leaves, sap-sucking bugs draining the stems, and grubs boring into the bolls; these three feeding styles all belong to which group of crop attackers?

• A.Storage pests only
• B.Fungal pathogens
• C.Weeds
• D.Insect pests

Answer: D. Insect pests

Insect pests attack crops by cutting and chewing roots, stems and leaves, by sucking cell sap, or by boring into stems and fruits. All three actions are done by insect pests.

Q3. A potato crop suddenly shows dark rotting blotches spreading leaf to leaf after a spell of damp weather, and the culprit turns out to be a fungus; what type of crop loss is this?

• A.Insect damage
• B.A storage loss
• C.A plant disease caused by a pathogen
• D.A weed problem

Answer: C. A plant disease caused by a pathogen

Crops are attacked by diseases caused by pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses carried through soil, water and air. A spreading fungal rot is a plant disease.