ICAR AIEEA PG Entomology 14 July 2023 Shift-1 Paper

Plant population in orchard layouts:

• Hexagonal (equilateral triangle) planting system accommodates $15\%$ more trees than the square system of planting for the same spacing, because the distance between rows is reduced to $\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} \approx 0.866$ times the spacing.
• Quincunx (diagonal) system accommodates almost double the number of plants ($100\%$ additional) by placing a temporary filler plant in the center of each square.

Chemical peeling methods:

• Lye peeling: Fruits or vegetables (like peaches, apricots, carrots, potatoes) are dipped in a hot/boiling solution of sodium hydroxide ($\text{NaOH}$, $1-2\%$ concentration) at $90-95^\circ\text{C}$ for $30\text{ seconds}$ to $2\text{ minutes}$, which dissolves the pectic substances in the epidermal middle lamella. The skin is then washed away with cold pressurized water sprays.
• Peeling with a knife is hand peeling.
• Mechanical peeling uses abrasive rollers or blades.
• Heating in boiling water followed by cold water dipping is thermal blanching/scalding.

Edible botanical parts of fruits:

• Mango (Mangifera indica, drupe): The fleshy, succulent mesocarp is the edible part.
• Banana (Musa spp.): The edible part is the mesocarp and endocarp.
• Coconut (Cocos nucifera, fibrous drupe): The edible part is the cellular and liquid endosperm (the mesocarp is fibrous coir).
• Grape (Vitis vinifera, berry): The edible part is the pericarp (epicarp + mesocarp) and placenta.