Nematode Physiology & Cytology

• Agricultural Sericulture in Karnataka:
• 'Milk and Silk Grow Together': In rural Karnataka, dairy farming and sericulture are historically integrated complementary livelihoods. Farmers feed mulberry shoots and residue to dairy cattle while utilizing cow dung manure for mulberry garden nutrition.
• Production Leadership: Karnataka is India's leading producer of both raw silk (producing $\gt 40\%$ of national mulberry silk) and milk (via the Karnataka Milk Federation / Nandini).
• Conclusion: The state is Karnataka (Option 4).

Correct option: (4) Karnataka

• Tukra Disease of Mulberry:
• Statement (I) is correct: Infestation causes malformation, apical flattening, curling, and dark-green rosetting of apical leaves, a classic symptom complex known locally in sericulture as Tukra disease.
• Statement (II) is incorrect: Tukra disease is caused by toxic saliva injected during feeding by the pink mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus, NOT by whiteflies.
• Conclusion: Statement (I) is correct but Statement (II) is incorrect (Option 3).

• Host-Nematode Associations:
• Pair-by-Pair Matching:
• Coconut $\rightarrow$ (II) Bursaphelenchus cocophilus: Red ring nematode, transmitted by palm weevils (Rhynchophorus palmarum), causing fatal red ring disease of coconut and oil palms.
• Barley $\rightarrow$ (I) Anguina radicicola: Root-gall nematode of grasses and barley, inducing distinct terminal root galls.
• Taro $\rightarrow$ (III) Hirschmanniella miticauda: Causes severe corm rot and black spongy rot of wetland taro (Colocasia esculenta).
• Walnut $\rightarrow$ (IV) Cacopaurus pestis: Sessile ectoparasite attacking Persian walnut trees, causing root decay and tree dieback.
• Correct Choice: Option 1 matches (A)-(II), (B)-(I), (C)-(III), (D)-(IV).

Correct option: (1) (A)- (H), (B)- (0), (C) = (il), (D) = (V)