Jackjokes

Plantings of cotton bioengineered to produce its own insecticide against bollworms, a major cause of crop failure, sustained little bollworm damage until this year. This year the plantings are being seriously damaged by bollworms (Background facts).
Bollworms, however, are not necessarily developing resistance to the cotton’s insecticide (opinion).
Bollworms breed on corn, and last year more corn than usual was planted throughout cotton-growing regions.
So
it is likely that the cotton is simply being overwhelmed by corn-bred bollworms.

Inevaluating the argument, which of the following would be most useful to establish?

So the
conclusion
is: It is likely that the cotton is damaged by bollworms breeding on corn. The
premises: 1) boll worms breed on corn; and 2) more corn than usual was planted in the cotton-growing regions.

If you look at the argument, it hinges on the assumption that the bollworms eating cotton come from the corn field.


To find the correct answer for an evaluation question, you simply answer Yes or No to the evaluation question, and then see the effects on the conclusion.

B) Whether plantings of cotton that does not produce the insecticide are suffering unusually extensive damage from bollworms this year.

If Yes, then cotton crops are heavily damaged by bollworms. It agrees with the conclusion that bollworms from corn field eat cotton. The conclusion holds.
If No, then we have a problem with the conclusion. If cotton without bio-inseticide does not suffer from unusual damages from bollworm, there might not be HUGE amount of bollworm coming from the corn field. Then the heavy damage to bio-engineered cotton is caused by the bollworm breeding within these bio-engineered cotton. Thus, the conclusion falls apart.