Which pest management method uses plant genetics to reduce pest damage?

• A. Host resistance
• B. Habitat modification
• C. Chemical control
• D. Exclusion

Answer: (A)

Plant genetics used to reduce pest damage means breeding or engineering crops to carry traits that make them less attractive to pests, less suitable for pests to feed on, or better able to tolerate damage. This approach, called host resistance, works by mechanisms such as antibiosis (the pest gains less nutrition or dies after feeding), antixenosis (pests are deterred from feeding or laying eggs), or tolerance (the plant keeps yielding despite damage). By introducing these traits into varieties, growers can lower pest injury without relying on external interventions. Other strategies modify the environment to discourage pests, use chemical pesticides, or rely on physical barriers, none of which depend on the plant’s own genetics to deter or withstand pest attacks. So the method described is host resistance.