Key area 5- Food Production Flashcards
What is a food yield?
The amount of food grown from crops
What is a fertiliser?
Mixture of chemicals which are used to increase crop yield
What is nitrates?
A type of chemical important for amino acid and protein formation
What are pesticides?
Chemicals that kill animals or weeds that harm crops
What are amino acids?
They are the building blocks of proteins
What is leaching?
The process of fertilisers being washed from fields into water supplies
What is algal bloom?
The sudden increase in algal populations
What does genetically modified (GM) mean?
A living thing that has had a new genes added to it artificially
Definition of biological control
Using living things to help control pests (e.g. using ladybugs to control to greenfly population because they eat them)
What does toxicity mean?
A measure of harmfulness of a chemical to a living thing
Why does more food need to be produced?
Because the human population is increasing
Two ways to increase crop yield
Use fertilisers, Use GM crops
Two ways to prevent pest damage to crops
Use pesticide, Use biological control, Use GM crops
One advantage and one disadvantage of fertilisers
Advantage=increase crop yield
Disadvantage=can leach into fresh water
One advantage and one disadvantage of pesticides
Advantage=Prevents crop damage Disadvantage= bioaccumulation in food chains
One advantage and one disadvantage of GM crops
Advantage=increase crop yield and protect crops from pests
Disadvantage=expensive
One advantage and one disadvantage of biological control
Advantage=no chemicals required
Disadvantage=difficult to manage
What chemical does fertiliser provide to increase crop yield
Nitrates
What is bioaccumulation?
Pesticides on crops can accumulate in bodies of organism that consume over time, as they are passed along the food chain toxicity increase and can reach lethal levels
What happens when fertilisers leach into fresh water?
Algal bloom occurs
Effects of algal bloom on fresh water
Algal bloom covers water and reduces light levels which kills aquatic plants, dead plants become food for bacteria, bacteria uses up great amount of oxygen- reduces oxygen for other organisms such as fish causing them to die
What does the new genes in GM crops do?
New genes introduced to their DNA to give them improved characteristics(e.g. golden rice has vitamin a gene added)
What do nitrates do?
Nitrates dissolve into soil which is absorbed into the plants, nitrates are used to produce amino acids which synthesis into plant proteins
