What is pesticide resistance?

• A. Genetic adaptation of pests
• B. Chemical breakdown of pesticide
• C. Pesticide resistance occurs due to environmental factors
• D. Pest population declines due to exposure

Answer: (A)

Pesticide resistance is genetic adaptation of pests. When a pesticide is applied, most susceptible individuals die, but a few naturally carry traits that let them survive. Those survivors reproduce, passing the resistant genes to their offspring, so the population gradually becomes more resistant to the pesticide. This evolutionary process is driven by the selection pressure of repeated pesticide use and depends on heritable genetic changes, not just the environment. The other statements don’t capture that hereditary mechanism: one describes the pesticide breaking down chemically (not resistance), another blames environmental factors alone (which doesn’t explain heritable resistance), and another describes a population decline due to exposure (that’s the effect on susceptible pests, not the rise of resistance).