SAMPLE QUESTION

TASK

 Write a report
 Make a choice
 Compare the 2 methods
 Give reasons for choice of one over
the other
 Add any relevant information
 Methods Advantages Disadvantages

Insecticides • Save great quantities of • Kills useful insects.

food from pests and
diseases before harvest or • Adverse effects on wildlife
during storage. for many years to come.

• Increase crop yield.

Biological • Using natural predators to • Expensive to find biological

control control pests. control agents.

• Host resistance is not a • Can never eradicate a pest

problem. completely.

Advantage :
Save great quantities of
food from pests and
diseases before harvest
or during storage.
• harvest and storage - the critical period
that determines a farmer’s income
• reliability of insecticides ensures that
the quantities of food that is harvested
and stored is maintained at the most
maximum.

Choice Made :
INSECTICIDES

Advantage : • a variety of insecticides to choose from

Increase crop yield. on the market, such as DDT, malation
and furadan able to make a choice as
to the most effective at the most
affordable
• also increase their profit margin.
• useful insects that help pollination and
pest control, such as butterflies, bees
and ladybugs.
• can be resolved by spraying the
insecticides after pollination has Disadvantage :
occurred and when plants are in bud. Kills useful insects.

Choice Made :
INSECTICIDES

• can easily be reduced by using the Disadvantage :

insecticides which are lowest in the
Adverse effects on
toxicity range
wildlife for many
years to come.
Advantage :
Save great quantities of
food from pests and
diseases before harvest Disadvantage :
or during storage. Kills useful insects.

Choice Made :
INSECTICIDES

Advantage : Disadvantage :
Increase crop yield. Adverse effects on
wildlife for many
years to come.
 Methods Advantages Disadvantages

Insecticides • Save great quantities of • Kills useful insects.

food from pests and
diseases before harvest • Adverse effects on
or during storage. wildlife for many years to
come.
• Increase crop yield.

Biological • Using natural predators • Expensive to find

control to control pests. biological control agents.

• Host resistance is not a • Can never eradicate a

problem. pest completely.
 • ladybugs will be used to control aphids
• short-term resolve to the problem because
Advantage : artificial introduction of natural predators to an
Using natural area will cause an imbalance in the food chain
predators to control
• in the end the predators themselves will end up
pests.
being the pests, due to the lack of food.

Compare & give

reasons over other:
Biological Control

• pests will never become resistant to

Advantage : their predator
Host resistance is not a • pests become resistant to insecticide
problem. after a period of time.
• easily resolved if the insecticides used
are changed before pests become
resistant to them.
• Research needs to be done on
whether the weather conditions and
surrounding environment are suitable
for the control agents to thrive
Disadvantage :
• Research costs money Expensive to find
control agents

Compare & give

reasons over other:

Biological Control

• in the long run, the pests and Disadvantage :

predators will achieve a balance in
Can never eradicate
numbers
a pest completely
• the cycle of destruction begins
 A

SAM PLE
of an excellent answer
 A

SAM PLE
of an almost excellent
answer
 A

SAM PLE
of a poor answer
 Another

SAM PLE
of a poor answer