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The tulu, a popular ornamental plant, does not reproduce naturally, and is only bred and sold by specialized horticultural companies. Unfortunately, the tulu is easily devastated by a contagious fungal rot. The govt ministry plans to reassure worried gardeners by requiring all tulu plants to be tested for fungal rot before being sold. However, infected plants less than 30 weeks old have generally not built enough fungal rot to be detected reliably. And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old.
Which of the following, if performed by the govt ministry, could logically be expected to overcome the problem with their plan to test fungal rot.
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| The tulu, a popular ornamental plant, does not reproduce naturally, and is only bred and sold by specialized horticultural companies. |
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| Unfortunately, the tulu is easily devastated by a contagious fungal rot. |
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| The govt ministry plans to reassure worried gardeners by requiring all tulu plants to be tested for fungal rot before being sold. |
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| However, infected plants less than 30 weeks old have generally not built enough fungal rot to be detected reliably. |
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| And many tulu plants are sold before they are 24 weeks old. |
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The argument starts by explaining what tulu plants are and how they're sold, then presents a serious fungal disease problem. It shows the government's testing solution, but then reveals two facts that make this solution ineffective: tests can't detect the fungus in plants under 30 weeks old, and most plants are sold even younger at 24 weeks.
The government's plan to test tulu plants for fungal rot before sale won't work because most plants are sold too young for the tests to reliably detect infections.
This is a problem-solution-flaw argument. The premises show that plants are sold at 24 weeks, tests only work reliably at 30+ weeks, creating a gap where infected plants will pass testing and still reach customers, making the government's reassurance plan ineffective.
Strengthen - We need to find what the government ministry could do to overcome the problem with their testing plan. The problem is that infected plants under 30 weeks old can't be reliably detected, but many plants are sold at 24 weeks.
The key claims involve specific timing (plants sold before 24 weeks, detection reliable only after 30 weeks), detection capability (fungal rot can't be detected reliably in young plants), and market activity (specialized companies breed and sell tulu plants).
We need to think of actions the government ministry could take that would solve the timing gap problem between when plants are sold (24 weeks) and when testing becomes reliable (30+ weeks). The solution should either: 1) Make testing work earlier than 30 weeks, 2) Delay sales until after 30 weeks, or 3) Find an alternative way to ensure infected plants don't reach consumers.
Releasing a general announcement that tulu plants less than 30 weeks old cannot be effectively tested for fungal rot. This doesn't solve the problem at all - it just informs people about the testing limitation. Since many plants are still sold before 24 weeks old, infected plants would continue to reach consumers untested. This announcement would likely worry gardeners more rather than reassure them, which goes against the government's goal.
Requiring all tulu plants less than 30 weeks old to be labeled as such. While this provides information to consumers, it doesn't prevent infected young plants from being sold. The testing problem remains - infected plants under 30 weeks old still can't be reliably detected, so they'll pass testing and reach consumers even with labels. This doesn't address the core issue of the ineffective testing plan.
Researching possible ways to test tulu plants less than 24 weeks old for fungal rot. This is just research, not an actual solution. Research takes time and may not even be successful. Meanwhile, the current problem continues - infected young plants keep reaching consumers through failed testing. The government needs an immediate solution to make their testing plan work, not a research project.
Ensuring that tulu plants are not sold before they are 30 weeks old. This directly solves the timing gap problem. If plants aren't sold until they're 30+ weeks old, then the testing can reliably detect fungal rot infections before sale. This would make the government's testing requirement effective at catching infected plants and truly reassure gardeners that they're getting healthy plants.
Quarantining all tulu plants from horticultural companies at which any case of fungal rot has been detected until those plants can be tested for fungal rot. This doesn't solve the fundamental testing limitation. Even after quarantine, plants under 30 weeks old still can't be reliably tested for infection. The same timing problem exists - young infected plants would pass testing and be released from quarantine to reach consumers.