Geography · Economics

Agricultural Practices in India

2,453 Questions

Agricultural practices in India form a core segment of geography and economics syllabi. This hub covers crop distribution, farming techniques, and land measurement terms. These concepts regularly appear in SSC, state PSC, and civil services examinations.

Plantation and food cropsCrop cultivation regionsLand measurement unitsAgricultural storage techniquesIntercropping systemsWater resource management

Agricultural Practices in India Questions

Multiple choice

________ and ________ are desirable characters for fodder crops.

  1. Tallness, little branching

  2. Dwarfness, profuse branching

  3. Tallness, profuse branching

  4. Dwarfness, little branching
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

As more branching increases the bulk of the crop, it ensures good vegetative growth. (2) and (4) cannot be the answer as dwarfness is not preferred for fodder crops. Dwarf (small) varieties do not have long roots and therefore, receive fewer nutrients as compared to varieties with long roots, which can fetch nutrients from long distances. (3) is incorrect as little branching will not increase the bulk of the crop.

Multiple choice

Which of these fits gap 19?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
The ancients ____(17)_____ the cotton plant the ‘Daughter of the Sun’.
This was _____(18)_______ it was only under the powerful rays of the sun that the plant would grow and flourish.
The hotter the sun, the whiter and stronger _____(19)______ the fibres produced.
Due to these reasons, cotton is _____(20)______ grown in hot and tropical places all over the world.

  1. may be

  2. would have been

  3. would be

  4. will be
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Gap 19 is in "the hotter the sun, the whiter and stronger _____ the fibres produced". This is a hypothetical construction talking about what would happen. "Would be" is correct for this hypothetical result. "Will be" is too definite, "would have been" is past conditional, and "may be" is too uncertain for this context.

Multiple choice

Which of these fits gap 20?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
The ancients ____(17)_____ the cotton plant the ‘Daughter of the Sun’.
This was _____(18)_______ it was only under the powerful rays of the sun that the plant would grow and flourish.
The hotter the sun, the whiter and stronger _____(19)______ the fibres produced.
Due to these reasons, cotton is _____(20)______ grown in hot and tropical places all over the world.

  1. separately

  2. temporarily

  3. mostly

  4. surely
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The sentence 'cotton is ___ grown in hot and tropical places' needs an adverb describing frequency or predominance. 'Mostly' correctly indicates that cotton is PRIMARILY or PREDOMINANTLY grown in hot regions. 'Separately' and 'temporarily' don't make sense contextually. 'Surely' expresses certainty rather than frequency.

Multiple choice

The main objective of mixed cropping is to minimise the risk and insure against crop failure. Which of the following is not a combination of crops used by farmers in mixed cropping in India?

  1. Maize and urad bean

  2. Wheat and chickpea

  3. Maize and mustard

  4. Barley and chickpea

  5. Cotton and moong bean
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct option. Maize and mustard is not a combination of crops used by farmers in mixed cropping in India.

Multiple choice

Which of the following are Kharif crops?

  1. Rice, Cotton, Linseed, Mustard

  2. Wheat, Cotton, Barley, Oats

  3. Rice, Cotton, Groundnut, Soyabean

  4. Wheat, Chickpea, Linseed, Mustard

  5. Rice, Wheat, Mustard, Cotton
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Kharif season is from July to June. Rice, Bajra, Soyabean, Groundnut and Cotton are kharif crops.

Multiple choice

Fill in the blank (iv) with the help of the given alternatives.

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.

  1. supplied

  2. converted

  3. replaced

  4. reduced

  5. damaged
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The blank (iv) refers to native seeds being displaced by hybrid seeds. 'Replaced' accurately captures this substitution - native seeds are being replaced with new hybrids. 'Supplied' doesn't capture the displacement. 'Converted' would mean changing form, which isn't the case. 'Reduced' doesn't make sense in context, and 'damaged' would be an outcome, not the action itself.

Multiple choice

Fill in the blank (vi) with the help of the given alternatives.

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.

  1. purchased

  2. bribed

  3. adopted

  4. buy

  5. sprinkled
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Blank (vi) refers to acquiring pesticides from the seed company. 'Purchased' is the standard commercial verb for this transaction. 'Bribed' implies illegal coercion, not a transaction. 'Adopted' doesn't fit with buying supplies. 'Buy' is grammatically incorrect after 'have to be' (requires passive construction). 'Sprinkled' describes application, not acquisition.

Multiple choice

Fill in the blank (i) with the help of the given alternatives.

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.

  1. developed

  2. cultivated

  3. germinated

  4. made

  5. yielded
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Blank (i) refers to farmers growing crops traditionally. 'Cultivated' is the precise agricultural term for growing crops. 'Developed' implies improvement or creation, not growing. 'Germinated' refers only to seed sprouting, not full cultivation. 'Made' doesn't work with crops. 'Yielded' means producing, but the context is the ongoing practice of farming.

Multiple choice

Fill in the blank (ii) with the help of the given alternatives.

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.

  1. probably

  2. specified

  3. designated

  4. supposed

  5. thought
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Blank (ii) describes how GM crops were represented to farmers - they were 'supposed' to make lives easier. 'Supposed' indicates intended purpose or expectation. 'Probably' is speculative, not about intention. 'Specified' and 'designated' are too formal/technical for this context. 'Thought' would require a different grammatical structure ('were thought to').

Multiple choice

Fill in the blank (viii) with the help of the given alternatives .

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.

  1. thing

  2. food

  3. progression

  4. tendency

  5. alternative
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The passage discusses how genetic engineering is promoted as the only solution for feeding the world's hungry population. The word 'alternative' fits correctly in the context of being presented as an option or choice available for addressing global food security. Other options like 'thing', 'food', 'progression', or 'tendency' don't grammatically or semantically fit the phrase 'the only [blank] available'.

Multiple choice

Fill in the blank (vii) with the help of the given alternatives.

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.

  1. reiterated

  2. repeatedly

  3. continuous

  4. numerously

  5. much
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The adverb 'repeatedly' correctly modifies the verb 'told', indicating that people are constantly being informed about the supposed necessity of genetic engineering. 'Reiterated' is incorrect as it's a past participle, not an adverb. 'Continuous' is an adjective, not an adverb. 'Numerously' and 'much' don't fit the context of how the message is being conveyed.

Multiple choice

Fill in the blank (iii) with the help of the given alternatives.

Directions: In the given question, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and try to understand what it is about.

Many farmers who traditionally (…i…) pulses, millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds and other GM crops, which were (…ii…) to make their lives easier and wealthier. Instead they (…iii…) bankruptcy and ruin. Their native seeds have been (…iv…) with new hybrids which cannot be saved and need to be purchased every year at a high cost. Hybrids are also very (…v…) to pest attacks. All pesticides have to be (…vi…) from the company that sold them the seeds; there have been reports of blatant profiteering from these companies.

We are (…vii…) told that without genetic engineering and globalization of agriculture the world will starve, it is constantly promoted as the only (…viii…) available for feeding the hungry.

Everywhere, food production is becoming a negative economy, with farmers (…ix…) more on buying costly inputs for industrial production than the price they receive for their produce. The consequence is rising debts in both rich and poor countries. In some African countries it is cheaper to buy foreign sugar and coffee than it is to buy locally produced goods. This is because of over production and subsidies in the West which means that they then dump these goods on Africa (…x…) local markets.

  1. undergo

  2. disclosed

  3. approached

  4. tackling

  5. faced
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

'Faced' is the correct past tense verb indicating that farmers experienced bankruptcy and ruin. 'Undergo' would need to be 'underwent' (past tense). 'Disclosed' means revealed, which doesn't fit the context. 'Approached' doesn't make sense - you don't approach bankruptcy in this context. 'Tackling' is a present participle that creates a grammatical error in the past tense narrative.