Soru

For decades, the farmers of the fertile valley relied on traditional crop rotation to keep pests at bay. However, the sudden outbreak of a highly resilient agricultural blight threatened to devastate their entire autumn harvest. Prompted by this crisis, local scientists intervened immediately. By introducing a specialized, non-invasive predator to control the insect population feeding on the leaves, they hoped to arrest the spread of the destructive disease before it reached the neighboring agricultural districts. Fortunately, their biological intervention proved highly successful within a month, preserving the region's food supply and local economy.

As it is used in the passage, the word *arrest* most nearly means which of the following?