Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): The organic farmer holds the view that the eradication of the creatures often described as pests is undesirable.
Reason (R): Without pests, the beneficial predatory and parasitic insects which depend upon them as food or hosts would not be able to survive.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Assertion (A): The organic farmer holds the view that the eradication of the creatures often described as pests is undesirable. — True. A is about the organic farmer’s view of pests. Organic farming takes a holistic approach and does not try to wipe pests out completely.
Reason (R): Without pests, the beneficial predatory and parasitic insects which depend upon them as food or hosts would not be able to survive. — True. R is about what the beneficial insects need. Predatory and parasitic insects use the pests as their food or hosts.
Why R explains A? If all pests were killed, the useful predators and parasites that live on them would also die out. These beneficial insects are what keep pests under control in a biocontrol system. So removing the pests completely would harm the farmer, and this is why the farmer finds it undesirable. R gives the cause of the view in A, so R is the correct explanation of A.
NCERT Extract:
Microbes as Biocontrol Agents – “… Contrary to the ‘conventional’ farming practices which often use chemical methods to kill both useful and harmful life forms indiscriminately, this is a holistic approach that seeks to develop an understanding of the webs of interaction between the myriad of organisms that constitute the field fauna and flora. The organic farmer holds the view that the eradication of the creatures that are often described as pests is not only possible, but also undesirable, for without them the beneficial predatory and parasitic insects which depend upon them as food or hosts would not be able to survive.”