Question

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R:
Assertion A: Sir Ronald Ross in 1897 made the discovery of Plasmodium in the dissected Anopheles mosquito.
Reason R: The American entomologist E.F. Knipling in 1937, developed male sterile technique against fruit flies.
In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true

Hint:

Remember that Knipling's historic Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) was originally designed to combat the devastating livestock pest, the Screwworm fly, in North America, not fruit flies.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Familiarity with landmark discoveries in vector biology and genetic insect control methods is highly useful in entomology.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- Assertion A: In August 1897, in Secunderabad, India, Sir Ronald Ross dissected the stomach tissue of a female Anopheles mosquito that had fed on a malaria-infected patient and discovered the pigmented oocysts of the Plasmodium parasite.
Thus, Assertion A is true.
- Reason R: Edward F. Knipling (along with Raymond C. Bushland) conceptualized and developed the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT).
However, this technique was developed and successfully deployed in the late 1940s and 1950s specifically to eradicate the Screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax), not fruit flies.
Its application to fruit flies occurred years later.
Thus, Reason R is false.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Since A is true but R is false, the correct choice is option (C).