UPSC Daily Quiz | 14 May 2024

Explanation: 

• Statement 1 is correct but statement 2 is incorrect: The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has developed biocontrol agent Trichoderma asperellum (2% WP), and registered it with the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC). The biocontrol agent will help Punjab farmers manage the deadly ‘foot rot’ or ‘bakanae’ disease that plagues the crops of Basmati rice, varieties of fragrant rice that are popular world over.
•  Statement 3 is correct: Rice is cultivated in two stages. Seeds are first sown in a nursery bed, where they sprout and grow into seedlings, which are then transplanted into a well-puddled and prepared field. Foot rot is a fungal disease that affects Basmati rice crops particularly at the seedling stage, though it might also cause infection after transplantation in case infected seedlings are transplanted. 
•  To prevent the disease from occurring and spreading, farmers resort to early seedling treatment, try and use disease-free seeds, and destroy infected seedlings. Timely seed nursery management is crucial — experts recommend seed sowing in the first fortnight of June, and transplantation in July. Sowing in May often leads to problems as the month’s high temperatures are favourable to the disease. Fields where the nursery is being set up must also be well-drained, with proper irrigation, to avoid the spread of foot rot.
•  Currently, seedlings are treated with Trichoderma harzianum before sowing and transplantation. Seeds are also treated with fungicides such as Sprint 75 WS (carbendazim + mancozeb) before sowing. But these are the chemical treatments which are harmful for the soil, and can be toxic for consumers of the rice. The fungicide carbendazim is already banned in Punjab because it leaves behind high residues.

Explanation: 

• The ICAR-Central maritime Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) discovered that coral reefs in the Lakshadweep Sea had experienced severe bleaching as a result of persistent maritime heatwaves from October 2023.
•  Corals are sessile organisms, which means they remain permanently attached to the ocean floor.
•  According to the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Hard corals have stony skeletons made out of limestone that are produced by coral polyps. When polyps die, their skeletons are left behind and used as foundations for new polyps.”
•  Almost all of Lakshadweep’s islands are coral atolls, with their soil largely derived from corals, and extant coral reefs around them.
• Coral bleaching occurs when the water gets too warm. In such conditions, corals eject the microscopic algae that dwell in their tissues, essentially producing nourishment for themselves.
•  Most of the islands in Lakshadweep are experiencing coral bleaching, including Bitra, Kiltan, Amini, Andrott, Kalpeni, and Kavaratti.

Explanation: 

•  The Treaty of Sugauli at the end of the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 resulted in Nepal losing a chunk of territory to the East India Company. 
• Article 5 of the treaty took away the jurisdiction of Nepal’s rulers over the land to the east of the Kali River.

 Explanation: 

• The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) announced the commencement of an operation in Rafah, a city on the Gaza Strip’s southern border with Egypt, purportedly targeting Hamas.
•  Rafah border is the only point not controlled by Israel where civilians can enter and leave Gaza by land. The border connects Gaza strip and Egypt.
•  The demand to open it has grown as Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion of Gaza and living conditions in the Gaza Strip have worsened dramatically in the face of heavy Israeli bombings, some of which have also damaged the border.

Explanation: 

•  To repopulate Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR), the only tiger reserve in Maharashtra’s western area, the state’s forest department will shortly translocate tigers from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur.
•  The project’s goal can only be met if the Sahyadri-Konkan wildlife corridor—which includes forests in STR, Goa, and Karnataka—is secure and free of human disturbances.
•  The STR, located in the northern Western Ghats, was built in January 2010 and connects Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, and Ratnagiri districts in western Maharashtra. It includes Chandoli National Park and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary.
•  The tiger population in the region has historically been low due to poaching, a limited prey base, and changing environment.
•  These hills, which form a shared boundary between Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa, are home to dense evergreen, semi-evergreen, and moist deciduous forests.