Warrior against weeds

GLOSSARY

1.Beset by ------- Troubled by

2. Damage ------- harm

3. Weed ------- wild plant

4. Penetrate ------ pierce

5. Thickets ------ bushes growing together

6. Recalled ------ remembered

7. Menacing ------ dangerous

8. Parasite ------- one who lives on others

9. Curb ------- to check

10. Lantana ------ a weed

11. Beneficial ------ useful

12. Magnifying glass ----- a glass through which a small thing looks bigger

13. Teleonemia scrupulous -- small insects

14. Habitat -------- dwelling place

15. Painstaking ------ laborious

16. Surveyed ------- watched

17. Scattering ------- spreading

18. Confirmed -------- proved

 

OBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS

 

1. Where from was Lantana Camara imported?

Ans- It was imported from Latin America.

 

2. When was Lantana Camara imported?

Ans- A century ago.

 

3. Why is Lantana Camara difficult to penetrate?

Ans- It is difficult to penetrate because it is thick and wild.

 

4. Who was Chander Shekhar Lohumi?

Ans- He was a Headmaster.

 

5. Where was Lohumi a headmaster?

Ans- At Naukuchiatal

 

6. What was harmful to farmers?

Ans- Lantana Camara

 

7. How old was Lohumi?

Ans- Sixty-three

 

8. Where was the spread of Lantana weed checked?

Ans- In Australia

 

9. Who was told by the villagers that the weed looked pale and sickly?

Ans- Lohumi was told by the villagers.

 

10. What was the size of the insects falling oi from Lantana weed?

Ans- It was the size of pin-head.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

 

 ‘Lowly’ means humble. Why has the weed been described as ‘lowly’?

ANS- The weed has been described as ‘lowly’ because it is a useless, inferior type of plant which has no commercial or economic importance.

 

 Why did Lohumi walk to the sickly patch stealthily (secretively)?

ANS- He walked to the sickly patch stealthily because the villagers thought that night walking was a sign of eccentricity and even madness.

 

 Although Lohumi had not studied science as a discipline, his contribution to science was substantial. What were the two important qualities of a scientist which he possessed?

ANS- The two important qualities which Lohumi possessed were those of minute observation and verification of discovery.

 

 What did Lohumi do before using the beneficial bug on a large scale?

ANS- Lohumi wanted to find if the insect would attack other plants. In order to study its habits and life cycle, he distributed bug infested twigs and leaves in a test area. He wanted proof in support of his findings.

 

 Why was it credible for Lohumi to find a bug? Give three reasons.

ANS- It was creditable for Lohumi for the three reasons. These were:

1. He examined the growth of the wicked weed and made passage easy for the villagers.

2. He saved the farmers from the damage caused by Lantana weeds.

3. He proved that the parasites did not harm other plants and grew only on Lantana weed.

What was the discovery made by Lohumi?

ANS- He found that the parasites ignored fruits, vegetables, trees and flowers except the Lantana weed. The parasites thrived on the sap of Lantana Camara only. After three years, the weed died.

 

 How did Lohumi happen to find the beneficial parasites?

ANS- Lohumi observed that lantana had caused much damage to farmers and wounded his pupils’ hands. HE remembered that an insect had been used in Australia to check the spread of Lantana weed.. SO he inspected the spot minutely. He was surprised to find several small pin- head sized insects falling of the shrub and flying about. Lohumi undertook a small research. He discovered that the parasites did ignored crops, fruits, vegetables, forests, trees and flowers and these grew in plenty on the sap of Lantana only. And after three years, the weed died. In this way, he was able to find the beneficial parasites.

SUMMARY

 

India is beset by so many problems. Lantana Camara, an ornamental plant, was imported from Latin America a century ago. In some regions it grows so thick and wild that it is difficult to penetrate it. Ten years ago, in a village of Uttar Pradesh named Naukuchiatal, the school Headmaster Chander Shekhar Lohumi decided to find a way to destroy the troublesome plants because he noticed the damage it caused to farmers and wounded his pupil’s hands. Lohumi was sixty-three years old. He had no scientific training. But he recalled that an insect had been used in Australia to check the menacing spread of cactus. So he reasoned that a parasite might be employed to curb the Lantana weed. One day the villagers told him of a place where the weed looked pale and sickly. Lohumi inspected the spot for days and nights, hunting with magnifying glass and flashlight for insect activity. One day he began striking the plant with his walking stick. He noticed several tiny insects falling oi the shrubs and flying about. They were of the sized of a pin- head. Later these were identified as TELEONEMIA, SCRUPULOSA, a bug whose native habitat is Central and South America. Lohumi wanted to find if the insect would attack other plants. Some entomologists warned him that the insect might cause trouble for crops and teak, a relative of the weed. Lohumi enlisted the help of his students, who distributed bug-infested twigs and leaves throughout a test area, he himself walked more than one thousand miles scattering the insects on fruits, vegetables, shrubs, flowers and forest trees and studied their habits and life cycle. After three years of painstaking study, Lohumi surveyed his evidence. He found that the parasites ignored all other plants, fruits and vegetables and grew in plenty on Lantana sap only. The weed died after three years. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research confirmed Lohumi’s discovery to be one of the contributions to science.