Environmental Studies · Geography

Agricultural Practices and Land Use

3,672 Questions

Access a comprehensive collection of questions on agricultural practices and land use planning. The topics span organic farming, sustainable agriculture, soil conservation, and crop rotation. These concepts are essential for general awareness preparation across banking, railway, and civil services examinations.

Organic farming methodsSustainable agricultureSoil conservation techniquesCrop rotation benefits

Agricultural Practices and Land Use Questions

Multiple choice

Which among the following is not a benefit of organic farming?

  1. It reduces the level of pollution.

  2. It improves soil health.

  3. It ensures the optimum use of natural resources.

  4. It increases the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

  5. It reduces the cost of agricultural production.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Organic farming excludes or minimizes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Multiple choice

Which of the following factor(s), is/are a yield reducing factor?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question.

AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE SCHEME
More than half a dozen farm insurance schemes have been tried out in the past two and a half decades, hut no one has worked. Successive insurance models proved unsustainable because they were neither economically viable, nor suited to cover the varied risks that beset crop farming. The implementing insurance companies have invariably ended up paying compensation several times the premium collected. The existing National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), which is now sought to be replaced with its fresh avatar, has had to cope with claims of over Rs. 5,730 crore, more than three times the premium income of Rs. 1,700 crore. The parallel farm “income insurance” scheme, aimed at covering risks ranging from a drop in yield to poor prices, tried out on a pilot basis in the last few crop seasons, has also not worked.
What needs to be realised is that agricultural insurance is an inherently complicated business because of the many risks involved in farming. The formidable functional and practical problems that ensue relate to the extent of area that should constitute the unit for assessing damage, and the bench-mark for assessing the loss incurred, on the basis of the income that might have accrued to the farmer in the absence of yield-reducing factors like adverse weather, pest, disease, or natural disasters.

 

  1. Adverse weather

  2. Natural disaster

  3. Pest and disease

  4. All of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The passage mentions 'yield-reducing factors like adverse weather, pest, disease, or natural disasters.' It explicitly lists all four factors together. Therefore all the options (A, B, C) are yield-reducing factors, making 'All of these' the correct answer. Agricultural insurance covers these multiple risks.

Multiple choice

Which of the following activities should not be done to preserve natural resources?

  1. Recycling materials such as paper and metals.

  2. Using organic manure to maintain the fertility of soil.

  3. Using fertilizers and pesticides excessively in farms.

  4. We should conserve natural resources like water and plants.

  5. Use public transport instead of using cars.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

No, we should avoid using fertilizers and pesticides. Over use of fertilizers and pesticides causes pollution and food safety problems. It also has harmful effects on the soil organisms too.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is not the correct statement?

  1. Ploughing makes the soil loose.

  2. Poor soil will give poor crops.

  3. Animals and plants cannot live without soil.

  4. Allowing the soil from being washed away is called soil erosion.

  5. Formation of soil takes lot of time.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

No, protecting the soil from being washed away is called soil erosion.This is the incorrect statement.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is not an advantage of silviculture?

  1. Silviculture produces a large quantity of raw materials for industry.

  2. It maintains a perfect water cycle in nature.

  3. It prevents soil erosion.

  4. It increases the area of the earth under agriculture.

  5. Silviculture prevents floods.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct option as this is not an advantage of silviculture. Silviculture increases the area of earth under forests, and not agriculture. Increase in the area under forests is good for the conservation of wildlife.

 
 

Multiple choice

'Refuge' crops are non-Bt crops planted alongside Bt-crops by farmers to

  1. make soil more fertile

  2. discourage development of resistance in insects/pests against Bt-crops

  3. serve the purpose of subsistence for the farmers and their families

  4. cater to a wider market with both Bt and non-Bt varieties
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Refuge crops are non-genetically modified crops planted alongside Bt variety crops so as to prevent or slow down the development of resistance in crop-harming insects/pests by encouraging mating of species across both crops.

Multiple choice

Which of the following are the man-made causes of soil erosion?

  1. Use of improper ploughing methods
  2. Practice of leaving roots of crop in the field after harvest
  3. Practicing trash farming
  4. Use of heavy machines

  1. 1, 2 and 3 only

  2. 1 and 4 only

  3. 1, 3 and 4 only

  4. 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Leaving the stubble or crop residue essentially in place on the land as a surface cover during a fallow period prevents soil erosion. Similarly, trash farming is a method of cultivation in which the soil is loosened by subsurface tillage or other methods that leave stubble and other vegetation residues in the field and it prevents soil erosion. However, use of heavy machines leads to soil compaction and reduction in infiltration of rainwater. The rainwater then flows heavily as runoff and washes away the soil.

Multiple choice

Which of the following are the biological measures of soil conservation?

  1. Agronomic practices
  2. Agrostological methods
  3. Dry farming practices
  4. Basin leaching
  5. Contour terracing

  1. 1, 2 and 3 only

  2. 4 and 5 only

  3. 3, 4 and 5 only

  4. 1, 2 and 4 only
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Practical methods of soil conservation are broadly grouped as follows: (A) Biological measures which are helpful in checking the soil erosion are:

  1. Agronomic practices;
  2. Agrostological methods;
  3. Dry farming practices(B) Mechanical or Engineering methods which are helpful in checking the soil erosion are:Basin leaching, Pan breaking, Sub soiling, Contour terracing, Contour trenching,

Terrace outlets, Gully control, Digging of ponds and reservoirs, and Stream bank protection.

Multiple choice

The leguminous plants are important in agriculture because

  1. they need very little water to grow

  2. they are disease resistant

  3. they help in nitrogen fixation of the plants

  4. six crops of leguminous plants are harvested in a year
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The leguminous plants are important in agriculture because they help in nitrogen fixation of the plants.

Multiple choice

Which of the following options is not a benefit of intercropping?

  1. Minimum utilization of the nutrients supplied

  2. Preventing pests and diseases from spreading to all the plants in a field

  3. Better returns from both the crops

  4. Reducing the risk of damaging both crops
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Options (2), (3) and (4) are benefits of intercropping as in this technique, we grow two crops. Out of the two, one is resistant to the pest and diseases and the crop is laid in a fixed pattern. It stops pests and diseases from spreading. Therefore, (2) is a benefit of intercropping system. Also, returns from both the crops will be better as both of these have different nutrient requirements and do not have to compete for survival. Therefore, (3) is also an advantage. Restriction in spread of disease will also reduce the risk of damaging both the crops. Minimum utilization of the nutrients supplied is not an advantage as it would lead to accumulation of mineral ions in the soil. Intercropping ensures maximum utilization of nutrients because both the crops have different nutrient requirements. If the nutrients do not get completely utilized, they get accumulated in the soil and result in pollution of water resources, destruction of microorganisms and friendly insects, crop susceptibility to disease attack and acidification or alkalization of the soil.

Multiple choice

Four farmers A → D adopt different farming practices. Which of the following farmers will get the most benefits?

  1. Farmer 'A' uses high quality seeds but no irrigation practices or fertilizers.

  2. Farmer 'B' uses ordinary seeds, adopts irrigation and uses fertilizers only.

  3. Farmer 'C' uses high quality seeds, adopts irrigation, uses fertilizers and uses crop protection measures.

  4. Farmer 'D' uses high quality seeds, adopts irrigation, uses fertilizers but no crop protection measures.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Farmer 'C' uses high quality seeds, adopts irrigation, uses fertilizers and uses crop protection measures. So, he will get the most benefits. Option 1 is not considered as the farmer did not supply irrigation or fertilizers (for growth of plants). In option 2, seed quality is not good, so it is not considered. In option 4, no crop protection measure was taken, so this farmer will not get the most benefits.

Multiple choice

Silo is used for

  1. large scale storage of food

  2. improvement of crops

  3. sowing of seeds

  4. enhancing water holding capacity

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

This is the correct option. It a structure, typically cylindrical, in which fodder or forage is kept.