NMMS-Scholastic Aptitude Test Biology

 

Biology – Agriculture – Main points

• Till 10,000 B C people were nomadic. They were wandering in groups from place to place in search of food and shelter. They ate raw fruits and vegetables for food. Later, they could cultivate land and produce rice, wheat and other food crops. Thus was born ‘Agriculture.‘
• India is an agricultural  country. In order to provide food to our growing population, we need to adopt certain  agricultural practices.
• Kharif, Rabi, Zayed etc are the three categories of crops are grown:

-Kharif crops – The crops which are sown in the rainy season (i.e., from June to September) are called Kharif crops. Eg: Paddy, maize, soyabean, groundnut, cotton etc

-Rabi crops – The crops grown in winter season (i.e., from October to March) are called rabi crops.

-Zayed crops – The crops grown in winter season are called zayed crops. Fruits and vegetables are cultivated from this season.

Cultivation of crops involves several activities that soil preparation, sowing, adding manure and fertilizers, irrigation, protection from weeds etc.

• Soil preparation : The preparation of soil is the first step before growing a crop. This allows the roots to penetrate deep into the soil. The loose soil allows the roots to breathe easily even when they go deep into the soil.
• Sowing : Sowing of seeds at appropriate  depths and distances gives good yield. Good variety of seeds are sown after selection of healthy seeds. Sowing is done by seed drills. Now a days the seed drill is used for sowing with the help of tractors. This too sows the seeds uniformly at proper distances and depths.
• Adding manure and fertilizers : Farmers have to add manure to the fields to replenish the soil with nutrients.
• Rotation of crops : The cultivation of different crops one after the other in the same fields during different seasons of a year is called rotation of crops. In rotation of crops, leguminous crops are grown alternately with non-leguminous cereal crops.
• Mixed cropping : The practice of growing varied crops in a mixed fashion in the same field is term mixed cropping.
• Group farming : Group farming was aimed at increasing production by decreasing the cost of production.
• Besides the natural methods of vegetative propagation, several artificial methods of plant propagation are also used. These methods include grafting, layering, cutting hybridization and tissue culture technique.

   1)   The crop which sown in the rainy season:

1. a) Rabi b) Zayed    c) Kharif   d) None of these            Ans: c) Kharif

   2)   Which among the following is a Kharif crop:

1. a) Corn b) Mustard c)Wheat  d) Apple                          Ans: a) Corn

   3)   The crops grown in winter season is :

1. a) Zayed b) Rabi         c) Kharif   d) None of these       Ans: b) Rabi

   4)   An example for Rabi crop:

1. a) Ground nut b) Cotton   c) Rice       d) Wheat                    Ans: c) Rice

   5)   The tool which sows the seeds uniformly at proper distances and depths:

1. a) Tractor b) Combine harvestor  c) Seed drill
2. d) Winnowing machine                                                 Ans: c) Seed drill