Natural Pesticide in India Reading Answers

Dec 9, 2022

Natural Pesticide in India Reading Answers tests the candidate's understanding ability through a passage. The IELTS academic reading section has 40 questions with each question carrying 1 point, and no negative marking for wrong answers. The IELTS reading sample is an Academic reading topic. It has 3 types of questions:

True/False/Not Given
Fill in the blanks
Answer in 2-3 words

This IELTS passage Natural Pesticide in India Reading Answers discusses the harmful effects of pesticides on people and the environment. The sad thing is that these days agriculture is very dependent on harmful pesticides. The passages consist of a story that shows how we can stop its use without losing crops to insects. Candidates can practice similar topics in IELTS reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Natural Pesticide in India IELTS Academic Reading Sample

A dramatic story about cotton farmers in India shows how destructive pesticides can be for people and the environment; and why today’s agriculture is so dependent on pesticides. This story also shows that it’s possible to stop using chemical pesticides without losing a crop to ravaging insects, and it explains how to do it.

The story began about 30 years ago, a handful of families migrated from the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, southeast India, into Punukula, a community of around 900 people farming plots of between two and 10 acres. The outsiders from Guntur brought cotton culture with them. Cotton wooed farmers by promising to bring in more hard cash than the mixed crops they were already growing to eat and sell: millet, sorghum, groundnuts, pigeon peas, mung beans, chili, and rice. But raising cotton meant using pesticides and fertilizers – until then a mystery to the mostly illiterate farmers of the community. When cotton production started spreading through Andhra Pradesh state. The high value of cotton made it an exceptionally attractive crop, but growing cotton required chemical fertilizers and pesticides. As most of the farmers were poor, illiterate, and without previous experience using agricultural chemicals, they were forced to rely on local, small-scale agricultural dealers for advice. The dealers sold them seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides on credit and also guaranteed the purchase of their crop. The dealers themselves had little technical knowledge about pesticides. They merely passed on promotional information from multinational chemical companies that supplied their products.

At first, cotton yields were high, and expenses for pesticides were low because cotton pests had not yet moved in. The farmers had never earned so much! But within a few years, cotton pests like bollworms and aphids plagued the fields, and the farmers saw how rapid insect evolution can be. Repeated spraying killed off the weaker pests, but left the ones most resistant to pesticides to multiply. As pesticide resistance mounted, the farmers had to apply more and more of the pesticides to get the same results. At the same time, the pesticides killed off birds, wasps, beetles, spiders, and other predators that had once provided natural control of pest insects. Without these predators, the pests could destroy the entire crop if pesticides were not used. Eventually, farmers were mixing sometimes having to spray their cotton as frequently as two times a week. They were really hooked!

The villagers were hesitant, but one of Punukula’s village elders decided to risk trying the natural methods instead of pesticides. His son had collapsed with acute pesticide poisoning and survived but the hospital bill was staggering. SECURE’s staff coached this villager on how to protect his cotton crop by using a toolkit of natural methods chat India’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture put together in collaboration with scientists at Andhra Pradesh’s state university. They called the toolkit “Non-Pesticide Management” – or “NPM.”

The most important resource in the NPM toolkit was the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) which is common throughout much of India. Neem tree is a broad-leaved evergreen tree related to mahogany. It protects itself against insects by producing a multitude of natural pesticides that work in a variety of ways: with an arsenal of chemical defenses that repel egg-laying, interfere with insect growth, and most important, disrupt the ability of crop-eating insects to sense their food.

In fact, neem has been used traditionally in India to protect stored grains from insects and to produce soaps, skin lotions, and other health products. To protect crops from insects, neem seeds are simply ground into a powder that is soaked overnight in water. The solution is then sprayed onto the crop. Another preparation, neem cake, can be mixed into the soil to kill pests and diseases in the soil, and it doubles as an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen. Neem trees grow locally, so the only “cost” is the labor to prepare neem for application to fields.

The first farmer’s trial with NPM was a complete success! His harvest was as good as the harvests of farmers that were using pesticides, and he earned much more because he did not spend a single rupee on pesticides. Inspired by this success, 20 farmers tried NPM the next year. SECURE posted two well-trained staff in Punukula to teach and help everyone in the village, and the village women put pressure on their husbands to stop using toxic chemicals. Families that were no longer exposing themselves to pesticides began to feel much better, and the rapid improvement in income, health, and general wellbeing quickly sold everyone on the value of NPM. By 2000, all the farmers in Punukula were using NPM, not only for cotton but for their other crops as well.

The suicide epidemic came to an end. And with the cash, health, and energy that returned when they stopped poisoning themselves with pesticides, the villagers were inspired to start more community and business projects. The women of Punukula created a new source of income by collecting, grinding, and selling neem seeds for NPM in other villages. The villagers rescued their indentured children and gave them special six-month “catch-up,” courses to return to school.

Fighting against pesticides, and winning, increased village solidarity, self-confidence, and optimism about the future. When dealers tried to punish NPM users by paying less for NPM cotton, the farmers united to form a marketing cooperative that found fairer prices elsewhere. The leadership and collaboration skills that the citizens of Punukula developed in the NPM struggle have helped them to take on other challenges, like water purification, building a cotton gin to add value to the cotton before they sell it, and convincing the state government to support NPM over the objection of multi-national pesticide corporations.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1 to 4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

[Guide: Candidates are required to study the statements and mark True or False or Not Given]

Question 1. Cotton in Andhra Pradesh state could really bring more income to the local farmers than traditional farming.

Answer: The above statement is true.
Supporting Sentence: ‘Cotton wooed farmers by promising to bring in more hard cash than the mixed crops they were already growing to eat and sell: millet, sorghum, groundnuts, pigeon peas, mung beans, chili and rice.’
Keywords: Farmers and Cotton Production.
Keyword Location: Section B, Line 3.
Explanation: Yes, the production of cotton in Andhra Pradesh proved to be more profitable than other traditional farming crops. It was spread by outsiders in India. The innocent farmers were not aware of the demerits of cotton production and by the emergence of cotton production in the area, they were very delighted. One more reason for producing cotton was that it was more profitable and beneficial than producing other mixed crops. That is why the farmers start producing cotton to make more money and profit.

Question 2. The majority of farmers had used agricultural pesticides 30 years ago.

Answer: The above statement is true.
Supporting Sentence: As most of the farmers were poor, illiterate, and without previous experience using agricultural chemicals.’
Keywords: Pesticides, Chemicals, and Farmers.
Keyword Location: Section B, Line 10
Explanation: The farmers started using agricultural pesticides and chemicals to produce cotton in the fields. They do not realize the risk and demerits of growing cotton, as the production of cotton needs a high amount of chemicals and pesticides. The pesticide dealers force the farmers to buy agricultural pesticides and chemicals in the field to increase production, without practical knowledge of its merits and demerits.

Question 3. The yield of cotton is relatively lower than that of other agricultural crops.

Answer: The above statement is false.
Supporting Sentence: ‘At first, cotton yields were high, and expenses for pesticides were low because cotton pests had not yet moved in. The farmers had never earned so much!’ (Line 1-2)
Keywords: High, Expenses, and Pesticides.
Keyword Location: Section C, Line 1.
Explanation: The statement is not true. Initially, the production of cotton was very fruitful and successful. It gave less profit and success to the farmers. The production was very high and the expense of the agricultural chemicals and pesticides was relatively low than its production. Hence, the statement is False.

Question 4. The farmers didn’t realize the spread of the pests was so fast.

Answer: The above statement is true.
Supporting Sentence: ‘Repeated spraying killed off the weaker pests, but left the ones most resistant to pesticides to multiply.’
Keywords: Pesticides, Multiply, and Spray.
Keyword Location: Section C, Line 4.
Explanation: The spreading of pesticides in the field on a repeat has multiplied its growth. It is clearly mentioned in the paragraph that rapid and continuous spraying of pesticides and chemicals on the cotton crop has killed the natural insects present on the soil like spiders, worms, wasps, birds, and beetles. The farmers did not realize that the continuous use of pesticides in the crops would make the pests more pesticide friendly and the number of pests would multiply so fast. As a result, to kill the pests the farmers need to use more and more pesticides.

Questions 5-11
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
The Making of pesticides protecting crops against insects.

The broad-leaved neem tree was chosen. It is a fast-growing and 5……………………….. tree and produces an amount of 6……………………… for itself that can be effective like insect repellent. Firstly, neem seeds need to be crushed into 7…………………….. form, which is left behind 8…………………….. in water. Then we need to spray the solution onto the crop. A special 9……………………… is used when mixing with soil in order to eliminate bugs and bacteria, and its effect 10……………………… when it adds the level of 11……………………… in this organic fertilizer meanwhile.

[Guide: Candidates need to read the passage completely and select up ONE or TWO word to fill the blanks]

Question 5

Answer: Mahogany
Supporting Answer: The neem tree is a broad-leaved evergreen tree related to mahogany.
Keyword: broad-leaved, evergreen tree
Keyword Location: In paragraph 5, line 2
Explanation: The author states that the neem tree is the most common throughout India. It is a broad-leaved tree and is related to mahogany. By producing a multitude of natural pesticides it protects itself against insects. Hence, the correct answer is Mahogany.

Question 6

Answer: Natural pesticides
Supporting Answer: It protects itself against insects by producing a multitude of natural pesticides that work in a variety of ways
Keyword: Multitude, protect
Keyword Location: In paragraph 5, line 3
Explanation: The author in Paragraph E focuses on the benefits of neem trees and their properties. The passage states that the tree produces natural pesticides which protect itself against insects. This works in various ways such as with an arsenal of chemical defenses that repel egg-laying, interfere with insect growth, and most importantly, much more. Hence, Natural pesticides is the correct answer.

Question 7

Answer: Powder
Supporting Answer: To protect crops from insects, neem seeds are simply ground into a powder that is soaked overnight in water.
Keyword: Crops, Seeds
Keyword Location: In paragraph 6, line 3
Explanation: The passage states the medicinal purposes of the neem tree. There are several examples stated in the passage. For instance, it is used to make soaps, skin lotions, and other products. The need seeds are soaked in water overnight and then ground into powder. This powder protects crops from insects. Hence, the powder is the correct answer.

Question 8

Answer: Overnight
Supporting Answer: To protect crops from insects, neem seeds are simply ground into a powder that is soaked overnight in water.
Keyword: Powder
Keyword Location: In paragraph 6, line 3
Explanation: The useful properties of neem trees and how they can benefit us in various ways are stated in the passage. Neem is ground into a powdered form that is soaked overnight in water. This solution then is sprayed on crops to protect them against insects.

Question 9

Answer: Neem cake
Supporting Answer: Another preparation, neem cake, can be mixed into the soil to kill pests and diseases in the soil, and it doubles as an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen.
Keyword: Soil, pests, diseases
Keyword Location: In paragraph 6, lines 4-5
Explanation: The author in paragraph F gives a classic example of the use of the neem tree. It is used to make neem cake. Neem cake is mixed in the soil to kill the pests and diseases in the soil. This cake in soil doubles as an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen. This makes Neem cake the correct answer.

Question 10

Answer: Doubles
Supporting Answer: Another preparation, neem cake, can be mixed into the soil to kill pests and diseases in the soil, and it doubles as an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen.
Keyword: Neem cake, organic fertilizer
Keyword Location: In paragraph 6, lines 4-5
Explanation: In paragraph F, it is expressed that neem has been proven very beneficial due to its medicinal properties. Neem is used as solutions, cake, etc. it helps a lot in farming. It protects the crops against insects. Neem cake is used in soil to kill pests and it doubles as organic fertilizer high in nitrogen.

Question 11

Answer: Nitrogen
Supporting Answer: Another preparation, neem cake, can be mixed into the soil to kill pests and diseases in the soil, and it doubles as an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen.
Keyword: doubles, diseases
Keyword Location: In paragraph 6, line 5
Explanation: The author in Paragraph F states that mixing neem cake on the soil as an organic fertilizer kills pests and diseases. It also mentions that it doubles as an organic fertilizer which is high in nitrogen. This makes nitrogen the correct answer.

Questions 12-14
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet.

Question 12. In which year did all the farmers use NPM for their crops in Punukala?

Answer:2000

Supporting Sentence: All the farmers in Punukala started using NPM for their crops by the year 2000.
Keywords: NPM, Farmers, and Improvement.
Keyword Location: Section G, Line 8.
Explanation: As per the passage, the first trial of the NPM was successful. After that more farmers started using NPM for better results. Thus, by the year 2000, all the farmers had started using the NPM toolkit, to avoid the use of pesticides in cotton production as well as on other crops too. Hence, 2000 is the correct answer.

Question 13. What gave the women of Punukula a business opportunity to NPMs?

Answer: neem seeds

Supporting Sentence: The women of Punukala generated a new income by collecting, grinding, and selling neem seeds for NPM to other nearby villages.
Keywords: Women, Income, and NPM.
Keyword Location: Section H, Line 4.
Explanation: The passage directly states that the women of Punukala made income by collecting, grinding, and selling neem seeds for NPM. They used to sell them in other villages. Since neem seeds gae them new business opportunities, it is the correct answer.

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