A fruit farm produces strawberry plants from runners taken from one parent plant. The strawberry plants are genetically identical. A new bacterial pathogen reaches the farm.
Why could replacing some of the cloned plants with genetically different strawberry varieties make the fruit supply more reliable?
Genetic differences may lower the amount of fertiliser and fuel needed to grow the crop
The varieties may differ in resistance, so infection may leave part of the harvest
Resistance alleles may pass between neighbouring plants during growth, increasing resistance across the crop
Genetic differences may reduce respiration, so more of each plant's biomass becomes fruit
87 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Biology 7.5 Food production, covering 7.5.1 Factors affecting food security, 7.5.2 Farming techniques, 7.5.3 Sustainable fisheries, and 7.5.4 Role of biotechnology. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.