Environmental Studies ยท Biology

Pesticides and Pest Control

1,236 Questions

Pesticides and Pest Control focuses on the management of invasive species through chemical, biological, and cultural methods. It includes topics like integrated pest management, herbicide targets, and the ecological impacts of toxic chemicals. This subject is frequently tested in environmental science and agriculture exams.

Integrated Pest ManagementBiological Control AgentsHerbicide MechanismsChemical Pesticide ToxicityGenetic Pest ResistanceInvasive Species Management

Pesticides and Pest Control Questions

Multiple choice

What is atrazine?

  1. It is a pest.

  2. It is a herbicide.

  3. It is a fertiliser.

  4. It is an insect.

  5. It is a crop.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Atrazine is a herbicide of the triazine class. Atrazine is used to prevent pre- and postemergence broadleaf weeds in crops such as maize (corn) and sugarcane and on turf, such as golf courses and residential lawns.

Multiple choice

Which pesticide is extensionsively used in India?

  1. BHC

  2. DDT

  3. Thioden

  4. Metasystox
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

BHC (Benzene hexachloride) was indeed one of the most extensively used pesticides in India during the mid-to-late 20th century, particularly in agriculture. DDT was also widely used but BHC (also known as HCH or Lindane) had significant usage due to its effectiveness against a broad spectrum of pests. However, both have been banned or severely restricted due to environmental persistence and health hazards.

Multiple choice

What is the increase in concentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another called?

  1. Biodiversity

  2. Biohazard

  3. Bioassay

  4. Biomagnification

  5. Biopesticides
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Biomagnification is the increase in concentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another.Biomagnification is the bioaccumulation of a substance up the food chain by transfer of residues of the substance in smaller organisms that are food for larger organisms in the chain. It generally refers to the sequence of processes that results in higher concentrations in organisms at higher levels in the food chain (at higher trophic levels).

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the following information and answer the question that follows.

Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, a pesticide being used in Andhra Pradesh since last ten years to destroy weeds without harming the rice crop, should be banned immediately lest they cause more harm to humans. Tests at Andhra Agricultural University have shown that the end product of acid used in to destroy weeds have been found in large quantities in the rice crop sold by hundred of thousands of Andhra farmers who used the pesticide over the past years.

Which of the following most conclusively strengthens the argument above?

  1. Scientists have observed an unusually high rate of blood cancer among consumers of Andhra rice over the past five years.

  2. Traces of dichlorophenoxyacetic acid have been found in the ground water of area where the given pesticide is used.

  3. Weeds have been found increasingly resistant to the pesticide.

  4. Industrial scientists, who contributed to the research and development of dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, conducted extensive tests to ascertain the safety of the chemical.

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid should be banned from use in controlling weeds on rice farms in Andhra Pradesh because they pose a threat to humans. To make the connection between dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and human health problems, there must be a connection between rice and humans who suffer health problems. If, for instance, (1) consumers of Andhra rice have recently been found to have a high rate of blood cancer, it is likely that the traces of pesticide in the rice crop was also ingested by humans and caused the cancer.

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

  1. Stockholm Convention aims to eliminate the use of persistent organic pollutants. 2. Endosulfan, although classified as a red label pesticide by the Central Insecticides Board, is highly produced and consumed.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
  1. Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty, signed in 2001 and effective from May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
    1. Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased out globally and is acutely neurotoxic to both insects and mammals, including humans.
    2. Endosulfan, although classified as a yellow label pesticide by the Central Insecticides Board, is highly produced and consumed.
Multiple choice

Which of the following sprays helps to kill adult mosquitoes?

  1. BCG

  2. DDT

  3. ATS

  4. DPT

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

DDT (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane) is a synthetic insecticide widely used to control adult mosquitoes. BCG and DPT are vaccines for tuberculosis and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus respectively, while ATS is an antitoxin used for tetanus treatment - none kill mosquitoes.