On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Sustainable production of India's cereal food grains is impossible without the diversity of pollinating animals. 2. Monoculture of horticultural crops hampers the survival of insects. 3. Pollinators become scarce in cultivated areas devoid of natural vegetation. 4. Diversity in insects induces diversity of plants. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Passage

Approximately 80 percent of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, including birds and mammals, but the main pollinators are insects. Pollination is responsible for providing us with a wide variety of food, as well as many plant-derived medicines. At least one-third of the world's agricultural crops depend upon pollination. Bees are the most dominant taxa when it comes to pollination and they are crucial to more than four hundred crops. Pollination is an essential service that is the result of intricate relationship between plants and animals, and the reduction or less of either affects the survival of both. Effective pollination requires resources, such as refuges of pristine natural vegetation.

QUESTION

CSAT

Easy

Comprehension

Prelims 2021

On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made:

Sustainable production of India's cereal food grains is impossible without the diversity of pollinating animals.
Monoculture of horticultural crops hampers the survival of insects.
Pollinators become scarce in cultivated areas devoid of natural vegetation.
Diversity in insects induces diversity of plants.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Select an option to attempt

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: It is an extreme statement. Though the diversity of pollinating animals is important for the Sustainable production of India's cereal food grains and can be a valid assumption from the passage the word impossible is making this statement incorrect.

Statement 2 is incorrect: It cannot be explicitly assumed from the passage that the Monoculture of horticultural crops hampers the survival of insects. Also, the passage does not talk about hampering agricultural diversity due to monoculture practices leading to a reduction in pollinators.

Statement 3 is correct: From the following lines of the passage " Pollination is an essential service that is the result of an intricate relationship between plants and animals, and the reduction or loss of either affects the survival of both. Effective pollination requires resources, such as refuges of pristine natural vegetation" it can be assumed that the pollinators become scarce in cultivated areas devoid of natural vegetation.

Statement 4 is correct: From the following lines of the passage " Pollination is an essential service that is the result of an intricate relationship between plants and animals, and the reduction or loss of either affects the survival of both", it can be assumed that diversity in insects induces diversity of plants.

Hence Option (D) is correct.

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