Question

Severe famine of West Bengal of 1942-43 was due to destruction of rice crop by a fungus called
A. Helminthosporium
B. Penicillium
C. Puccinia
D. Rhizopia

Answer 1

Hint: At all stages of growth, excluding roots, pathogens typically invade all areas of the rice plant. On the coleoptile, leaf sheath, leaf blade, and even on the inflorescence, the signs emerge.

Complete Answer:
During World War II, the Bengal famine of 1943 was a major disaster in the province of Bengal in British India. In 1942, the outbreak of the disease in the rice crop in Bengal resulted up to 90% loss of yield and thereby caused famine in Bengal in 1943. It was so extreme that starvation forced around five million people to die.

Now, let us find the solution from the options-
- The 1943 Bengal famine was attributed to the Helminthosporium oryzae rice brown spot disease in India. Rice brown spot disease is sometimes referred to as helminthosporium, spot sesame, leaf blight, and seedling.
- Infection arising from Penicillium spp. Other than P marneffei, it arises nearly entirely in patients deeply immunosuppressed and is highly rare. It is not a rice disease. Therefore, the option B is incorrect.
- In order to promote its own sexual reproduction, Puccinia monoica is a parasitic rust fungus of the genus Puccinia that prevents flowering in its host plant (generally an Arabis species) and dramatically transforms host morphology. It is not a rice disease. Therefore, the option C is incorrect.
- Rhizobia is a category of soil bacteria that, in order to form root nodules, infect the roots of legumes. Rhizobia are contained in the soil that develops nodules in the legume after infection where they fix nitrogen gas from the environment, converting it into a type of nitrogen that is more readily usable. It is not fungus. Therefore, the option D is incorrect.

Thus, the correct answer is option (A) Helminthosporium.

Note: The disease is spread almost internationally, but occurs severely in South-East Asia, Japan, the Philippines, etc. The disease is seed-borne and is transmitted globally as a result of non-selective transfers to other countries. This disease is now widely found in all rice-growing regions, particularly in the heavy monsoon regions of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and U.P.