It is crucially important to farmers that the herbicides they use to control weeds not damage their crops. One very effective herbicide is safe for corn, but soybeans are damaged even by the herbicide's residue, which remains in the soil more than a year after the herbicide is applied. Soybeans and corn are not sown together in the same field; nevertheless, most farmers are reluctant to use the herbicide on their corn.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest justification for the farmers' reluctance?

• AThe residue of the herbicide in the soil a year after application is not enough to control most weeds effectively.  
• BTo maint ain the nutrients in the soil, corn and soybeans are often planted in A field in alternate years.  
• CThe demand for soybeans is growing faster than is the demand for corn.  
• DFor maximum yield, soybean plants are grown closer together to each other than are corn plants.  
• EThe application of herbicides is less critical for soybean than for corn crops.