Agricultural Practices in India

 Mixed cropping - It simply means growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. For example, growing leguminous crop with non-leguminous crop. So, if non-leguminous crop cannot take nitrogen from the soil, the other leguminous crop supplies it as it can take nitrogen available in the soil. For example, wheat (non-leguminous crop) + gram (leguminous crop) or wheat (non-leguminous crop) + mustard (leguminous crop). Intercropping - Growing of two or more crops simultaneously in a fixed pattern is known as intercropping. A few rows of one crop and then few rows of other crop. Single cropping - It is a technique of growing a single crop over a wide area. Also known as monoculture. Crop rotation - It is a practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid build up of pathogen or pests that often occurs when one type of species is continuously cropped. Therefore, simultaneously growing of wheat (a cereal) + gram (leguminous crop) on the same piece of land in no fixed pattern is known as mixed cropping.

After harvesting, wheat or paddy stalks are dried in the sun and grains can be separated from the stalks by threshing. 

Paddy is a kharif crop. 

Tea cultivation requires high rainfall (150-250 cm annually), abundant sunshine, gently sloping hills (for drainage), and well-drained acidic soil. Rice requires standing water, jute needs high humidity in alluvial soil, and sugarcane grows in tropical plains with different requirements. These conditions specifically match tea estates in regions like Darjeeling and Assam.

Cash crops are grown primarily for sale rather than subsistence. Cotton, groundnut, and jute are important cash crops. Jowar is a food crop (cereal) primarily grown for human consumption, making it the correct answer.

Wheat, rice and corns are obtained from the grassy grains. The grains are starchy and are used to cook food and thus, collectively known as cereals.

Kalyansona and Sonalika are high-yielding semi-dwarf wheat varieties developed during India's Green Revolution in the 1960s. They played a crucial role in making India self-sufficient in wheat production. These varieties were developed from Mexican dwarf wheat varieties brought by Norman Borlaug and adapted to Indian conditions. They are not rice, jowar, or any other crop varieties.

Correct Answer: Rice

Aphids can live in wheat, sucking the sap from the plant.

Rubber, coffee and tea are plantation crops because they are grown to gain foreign exchange or used economically. Gram is a food crop, not a plantation crop.

Ladang (Southeast Asia), Milpa (Central America), Rocca (Africa), and Masole are regional names for simple subsistence farming - shifting cultivation where farmers clear land, grow crops for a few years, then move to new plots. This practice is also known as slash-and-burn agriculture.

It is correct. The method of separating the grain from the stalk is called threshing. It is basically the beating of dry stalks to shake off the dried grains. It can be done by hand, by cattle or by machines. Traditionally, threshing was done by hand, but cattle help do the job quickly. Nowadays, threshing machines are also used to separate large quantities of grain quickly.

Correct. The method of separating the grain from the stalk is called threshing. It is basically the beating of dry stalks to shake off the dried grains. Even though the large stalks can be separated from the grains by threshing, the grains still have dried husk and chaff, which have to be separated and thrown away before the wheat can be used. This method is called winnowing. The husk is blown away as it is much lighter than the grain. So, when the grains are gently dropped to the ground, only the wheat grains collect there, while the husk blows away.

Tea has historically been one of India's largest foreign exchange earners through exports. While jute and cotton also contribute significantly, tea exports consistently bring in substantial foreign currency due to high global demand and premium pricing for Indian varieties like Darjeeling and Assam tea.

Citrus fruits require a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The Mediterranean region provides ideal conditions - sufficient winter rain for the trees and abundant summer sunshine for fruit ripening. Equatorial regions are too wet, while polar and tundra regions are too cold.