Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production Test - 16

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is a shrub. It is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the order Caryophyllales. It is grown commercially for its oil, a liquid wax ester extracted from the seed.

Organophosphate (OP) compounds are the most widely used group of insecticides in the world. Their acute toxicity causes a hazard both to professional and amateur users. OPs were first recognised in 1854, but their general toxicity was not established until the 1930s. Tetraethyl pyrophosphate (TEPP) was the first OP insecticide, which was developed in Germany during World War Two as a by-product of nerve gas development. OPs are all derived from phosphoric acid. They are generally among the most acutely toxic of all pesticides to vertebrate animals. They are also unstable and therefore break down relatively quickly in the environment. So, organo phosphates are more toxic to vertebrates compared to organo chlorine, carbamates and parathion. Thus, option A is correct and other options are wrong.

Triticale is an intergeneric hybrid of wheat and rye. The first one was bred in laboratories during the late 19th century in Scotland and Germany.

Most of organochlorine pesticides are highly soluble in fat of animals. Further, these chemicals are resistant to be metabolized, so they start accumulating in the bodies of animals. 

In India due to prolonged use of DDT, 13-31 ppm of DDT can be detected in the body fat of people, which is highest in the world. Thus, the correct answer is option C.

Genetic erosion is a process whereby an already limited gene pool of an endangered species of plant or animal diminishes even more when individuals from the surviving population die off without getting a chance to meet and breed with others in their endangered low population. Low genetic diversity in a population of wild animals and plants leads to a further diminishing gene pool, inbreeding and a weakening immune system and fast tracks that species towards eventual extinction.