Shivani visited her village with her parents during the winter holidays. When she went to the fields outside the village, she saw a farmer spraying pesticides over the standing crops in the fields. When she looked at the container of pesticide lying on the ground, she knew that it was a pesticide which had been banned from use in most of the countries. The farmer was spraying pesticide taking any precautions. Shivani asked the farmer to cover his nose and mouth properly with a cloth while spraying the pesticide. She also asked him not to spray too much pesticide on the crops because it is harmful to human beings, other animals and aquatic life in the long run. Shivani educated the farmer about the various harmful effects of this pesticide.
(a) What are pesticides ? Why are pesticides sprayed over the crops ? Which pesticide was being sprayed by the farmer on the crops ?
(b) (i) At which trophic level pesticides enter a food chain ?
(ii) At which trophic level of food chain, the concentration of pesticides is the maximum ?
(c ) What name is given to the process of concentration of pesticides in the body of living organisms at each trophic level of a food chain ?
(d) Why do pesticides get accumulated at each trophic level in a food chain ?
(e) Why are the harmful effects of the pesticide being sprayed by this farmer ?
(f) What values are displayed by Shivani in this episode ?