PrepTest 36, Section 3, Question 11
Peter: Because the leaves of mildly drought-stressed plants are tougher in texture than the leaves of abundantly watered plants, insects prefer to feed on the leaves of abundantly watered plants. Therefore, to minimize crop damage, farmers should water crops only just enough to ensure that there is no substantial threat, from a lack of water, to either the growth or the yield of the crops.
Peter: Because the leaves of mildly drought-stressed plants are tougher in texture than the leaves of abundantly watered plants, insects prefer to feed on the leaves of abundantly watered plants. Therefore, to minimize crop damage, farmers should water crops only just enough to ensure that there is no substantial threat, from a lack of water, to either the growth or the yield of the crops.
Jennifer: Indeed. In fact, a mildly drought-stressed plant will divert a small amount of its resources from normal growth to the development of pesticidal toxins, but abundantly watered plants will not.
Peter: Because the leaves of mildly drought-stressed plants are tougher in texture than the leaves of abundantly watered plants, insects prefer to feed on the leaves of abundantly watered plants. Therefore, to minimize crop damage, farmers should water crops only just enough to ensure that there is no substantial threat, from a lack of water, to either the growth or the yield of the crops.
Jennifer: Indeed. In fact, a mildly drought-stressed plant will divert a small amount of its resources from normal growth to the development of pesticidal toxins, but abundantly watered plants will not.
Peter: Because the leaves of mildly drought-stressed plants are tougher in texture than the leaves of abundantly watered plants, insects prefer to feed on the leaves of abundantly watered plants. Therefore, to minimize crop damage, farmers should water crops only just enough to ensure that there is no substantial threat, from a lack of water, to either the growth or the yield of the crops.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens Peter's argument?
The leaves of some crop plants are much larger, and therefore absorb more water, than the leaves of some other crop plants.
In industrialized nations there are more crops that are abundantly watered than there are crops grown under mild drought stress.
Insect damage presents a greater threat to crop plants than does mild drought stress.
Farmers are not always able to control the amount of water that their crops receive when, for instance, there are rainstorms in the areas where their crops are growing.
Mexican bean beetles are more likely to feed on the leaves of slightly drought-stressed soybeans than oak lace bugs are to feed on the leaves of abundantly watered soybeans.
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