Which practice reduces overwintering pests by cleaning crop residues?

Which practice reduces overwintering pests by cleaning crop residues?

• A. Crop rotation
• B. Sanitation or residue management
• C. Irrigation scheduling
• D. Trap cropping

Answer: (B)

Removing crop residues and cleaning fields directly targets the places overwintering pests survive. Many pests spend winter sheltered in leftover plant debris, which provides both protection from cold and a ready food source when they become active again. By sanitation and residue management—removing, burying, or destroying crop leftovers, or tilling to incorporate residues—you reduce available habitat and shelter, so fewer pests survive to emerge in the spring. This lowers the initial pest pressure for the next growing season. Other practices don’t specifically remove winter habitat in fields: crop rotation changes host availability over time, irrigation scheduling governs water use rather than pest wintering sites, and trap cropping lures pests to a different plant rather than eliminating their winter shelter.

Removing crop residues and cleaning fields directly targets the places overwintering pests survive. Many pests spend winter sheltered in leftover plant debris, which provides both protection from cold and a ready food source when they become active again. By sanitation and residue management—removing, burying, or destroying crop leftovers, or tilling to incorporate residues—you reduce available habitat and shelter, so fewer pests survive to emerge in the spring. This lowers the initial pest pressure for the next growing season.

Other practices don’t specifically remove winter habitat in fields: crop rotation changes host availability over time, irrigation scheduling governs water use rather than pest wintering sites, and trap cropping lures pests to a different plant rather than eliminating their winter shelter.