Question

Explain why the use of monoculture to produce more food for the growing human population often results in the increased use of pesticides

Answer 1

Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop plant. The term monoculture is frequently applied for other uses to describe any group dominated by a single variety.

Answer 2

Answer:

• Monoculture or planting the same crop every year in the same field; to yield more food for the growing human population, often results in increased use of pesticides.
• Monoculture results in increased growth of pests because the pests can get food at a single place and in large quantity at a time.
• When a single plant becomes susceptible to a pest infestation, all the plants in the field becomes affected because they are all of the same variety.
• This leads to the large-scale infestation of pests which might destroy huge areas of crops even leading to epidemics like the potato blight disease.
• Furthermore, monoculture also leads to pesticide-resistant pests that slowly survive and develop their resistance against the pesticides, which in turn leads to production of a new progeny that can survive even the toughest pesticide.
• Hence, the farmers tend to use more pesticides to control and prevent the growth of these pests in a monoculture field.