Toxic to the pest, effective against target pests (ex: glyphosate, carbaryl, propiconazole).

• A. Active ingredients
• B. Inert ingredients
• C. Carriers
• D. Solvents

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the component that actually does the pest-killing work is the active ingredient. Active ingredients are the chemicals in a pesticide that exert the pesticidal effect—they’re the ones that are toxic to the target pests when applied at the proper rate. Glyphosate, carbaryl, and propiconazole are examples of these active ingredients because they are the substances responsible for the herbicidal, insecticidal, or fungicidal action.

Inert ingredients, carriers, and solvents don’t provide that pest-control action. Inert ingredients are additives that don’t have pesticidal activity themselves; carriers help deliver or apply the active ingredient, and solvents dissolve the active ingredient to create the proper formulation. They aid in mixing, stability, or application, but they aren’t the chemicals that kill or control pests.