Ques. 1AIPMT 2008
Main objective of production/use of herbicide resistant GM crops is to:
- eliminate weeds from the field without the use of manual labour
- eliminate weeds from the field without the use of herbicides
- encourage eco-friendly herbicides
- reduce herbicide accumulation in food articles for health safety
Answer
(1) eliminate weeds from the field without the use of manual labour
Solution
Herbicide resistant GM crops (e.g. glyphosate-tolerant soybean, cotton) are not harmed by a broad-spectrum herbicide.
Such a herbicide can therefore be sprayed over the whole standing crop, where it kills all the weeds while the crop remains unaffected.
Weeds need not be removed by hand weeding, so the main objective is to eliminate weeds without the use of manual labour. The herbicide is still used (not avoided), so options (2), (3) and (4) do not state the objective.
Answer: (1)