Which of the following pest management strategies helps in disrupting the survival of pests?

The choice of cultural controls is essential in managing pests effectively because it focuses on altering farming practices and environmental conditions to make the ecosystem less conducive to pest survival and reproduction. This approach includes practices such as crop rotation, maintaining healthy soil, adjusting planting dates, and implementing proper irrigation techniques. By modifying these aspects, cultural controls disrupt pest life cycles, reduce food sources, and minimize suitable habitat, ultimately leading to a decrease in pest populations.

In contrast, pesticide application timing is primarily reactive, aiming to eliminate pests rather than prevent their establishment. Mechanical pest removal is also a direct method of addressing pests but may not provide long-term solutions for pest populations. Genetic modification of crops can indeed create resistant traits, but that approach is not as flexible or widely applicable as cultural controls, which can be adapted to various crops and growing conditions.