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 maximbasu
  • Posts: 59
  • Joined: May 19, 2016
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#26268
Hi,

I chose D while the correct answer was A.
Where in the passage does the author suggest that the strawberries can contain both mites without damage?

Because it seemed to me that the strawberries were damaged by the CL mites.

Rgs,

Maxim
 maximbasu
  • Posts: 59
  • Joined: May 19, 2016
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#26289
Hi,
Could a Powerscore representative please answer this question,

Rgs,
Maxim
 Nikki Siclunov
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 1362
  • Joined: Aug 02, 2011
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#26294
Hi Maxim,

If strawberry crops couldn't sustain both populations of mites, then the experiments conducted would be impossible. In fact, the whole passage wouldn't make much sense. As early as the first paragraph, the author describes how the predator mites keep cyclamen mites "from reaching dangerously high levels" (lines 13-14). As long as there is a balance between the two populations, the strawberry crops seem to be doing just fine.

Hope this helps, and sorry for the belated response.

Thanks,
 na02
  • Posts: 31
  • Joined: Mar 19, 2019
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#66445
Hi,

I think what got me to pick D was the first paragraph saying "Typhlo ... usually invade ... during the second year"
Is it the lack of certainty caused by "usually" that makes this answer wrong?

Thank you!
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 KelseyWoods
PowerScore Staff
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#66648
Hi N!

The main problem with answer choice (D) is found in lines 9-10: cyclamen mites "do not reach significantly damaging levels until the plants' second year." Pesticides would not be "necessary to prevent significant damage during the first year" (as stated in answer choice (D)) because cyclamen mites don't cause significant damage until the second year. So yes, the Typhlodromus don't show up until the second year, but that's just in time to start preventing damage from those cyclamen mite pests!

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey
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 xclsatprep
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: Nov 15, 2024
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#110608
Hi, but I am wondering why is answer choice E wrong tho? It seems that line 53 - 56 has indicated that real growers have let c mite to grow into damaging levels.
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 Jeff Wren
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#110617
Hi xclsatprep,

Answer E states "Strawberry growers have unintentionally caused cyclamen mites to become a serious crop pest by the indiscriminate use of parathion" (my emphasis).

The lines that you cite are not referring to strawberry growers who unintentionally caused cyclamen mites by their use of parathion.

To understand the lines that you cited in paragraph four, we need to start by understanding the context of the prior paragraph. The third paragraph describes greenhouse experiments (line 38) that tested Typhlodromus mites versus using parathion in controlling cyclamen mites. These experiments show that Typhlodromus mites were much more effective at controlling cyclamen mites than using parathion.

The fourth paragraph states that "the results (of the greenhouse experiments) were similar in field plantings of strawberries" (lines 53-54). While this is not explicitly stated, the context suggests that the experimenters confirmed the results of the greenhouse experiments by running the same experiments in actual fields/farms. In other words, because greenhouses do not provide identical conditions to real world farms, the experimenters wanted to make sure that the results in the greenhouse would also occur in the real world. There is no indication that the field results mentioned in the fourth paragraph were due to farmers unintentionally causing a cyclamen mite pest problem. These were intentionally conducted experiments in which the results were carefully measured and recorded.
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 xclsatprep
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: Nov 15, 2024
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#110630
Thanks so much Jeff!!!

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