Agriculture in India: Miscellaneous Topics – Old Year Questions

• Seeds are classified as follows :
  • Breeder seeds are created at research labs and universities that specialize in agriculture. They are the primary source of seed production and a golden label is attached to the bag.
  • Foundation seeds are created by breeding seeds while being watched by an official organization. They have a white label.
  • Certified seeds are made from special seeds that have been approved by an official certifying body.A blue tag is placed on the bag to show that it has passed the standards.

• The amount of land used for growing the crops listed has not gone down from 1980-81 to 2011-12, according to data from agricultural statistics.

Crop Area under cultivation (million hectares)            1980-81                              2019-20

• •        Wheat                                                                                      22.28                                      31.4
  •       Rice                                                                                           40.15                                      43.78
  •       Pulses                                                                                       22.46                                      28.00
  •       Coarse Cereals                                                                        41.78                                       24.00
• The amount of coarse grains grown has gone down from 1980-81 to 2019-20, but there have been ups and downs in the meantime.
• So, option (e) is the right answer.

• When the question was asked option (c) was correct answer state mentioned in the question and their Important crops are as follows:
  • Kerala (2017-18) – Tapioca (Second Producer)
  • Maharashtra (2020-21) – Cotton (First Producer)
  • West Bengal (2020-21) – Jute and Mesta (First Producer)
  • Gujarat (2020-21) – Groundnut (First Producer)

• Uttar Pradesh is currently the biggest producer of potatoes (2019-20 3rd Adv. Est.), and this was the same when the question was asked.
• Kerala is currently the biggest producer of coconuts (2019-20 3rd Adv. Est.), and this was the same when the question was asked.
• Andhra Pradesh was the biggest producer of tobacco when the question was asked in 2018-19.
• The three biggest producers of banana in 2017-18 were Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

• Uttar Pradesh is currently (2019-20 3rd Adv. Est.) the biggest producer of potatoes, and this was the same when the question was asked.
• Kerala is now (2019-20 3rd Adv. Est.) the top producer of coconuts, and this was true when the question was asked.
• Andhra Pradesh was the number one producer of tobacco when the question was asked back in 2018-19.
• The three main states that produce bananas (2017-18) are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

• The National Research Centre for Banana was set up on August 21, 1993 in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.
• Its goal is to raise the yield and productivity of bananas and other plantations through mission-focused and strategic research efforts.

• As per the final estimates data for 2020-21 (4th A.E.), production data of the given food grains is as follows –
  • Rice – 122.3 million tones
  • Wheat – 109.5 million tones
  • Coarse grain – 51.1 million tones
  • Pulses – 25.7 million tones
• Thus, the correct answer is option (d).

• The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is an ancient document written by an unknown person between the first and third centuries.
• It explains how to travel and do business between ports in Egypt and Rome.

• The latest figures show that Uttar Pradesh is the biggest producer of food grain in India, with 18.89% of all food grain production.
• Madhya Pradesh is in second with 10.36%, and Punjab is in third with 9.65%.

• When this question was asked, Gujarat in India was the top maker of cotton, groundnut, salt and milk.

• When the question was asked, answer (a) was the right one.
• The matching information is:
  

  List- I  (Agricultural products)	List- II  (Foremost producer)
  Cotton	Gujarat
  Gram	Madhya Pradesh
  Black pepper	West Bengal
  Pineapple	Kerala

• When the question was asked answer (b) is correct. Presently, the correct match of agricultural produce with their States is as follows :

Agricultural Produce                                            State

• • The largest producer of coffee (2020-21)                         Karnataka
  • The largest producer of potato (2019-20)                        Uttar Pradesh
  • The largest producer of cotton (2020-21)                        Maharashtra
  • The largest producer of wheat (2020-21)                        Uttar Pradesh

• In India, Uttar Pradesh produces the most Mentha oil, which is also known as Mint, making up 85% of the total production.
• Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh also produce Mentha oil.
• The oil is created by steaming and filtering dried leaves.
• The result is a golden yellow volatile oil.
• The most oil is obtained from the leaves and flowering tips of the Mint plant once it starts to flower.
• Mentha oil is used to make menthol.

• Currently, in 2020-21, Maharashtra produces the most soybean in India.
• Soybean is a crop grown during the Kharif season.
• Option (b) is the right answer.

• None of the choices are correct, except (a).
• Wilt isn’t a disease that only affects paddy plants.
• It can affect other plants too by damaging their vascular system.

• The correctly matched list of crops and diseases is as follows :
  

  (Name of Crop)	(Name of Disease)
  Sugarcane	Red rot
  Paddy	Khaira
  Arhar	Wilt
  Potato	Late Blight

• Green hair disease affects millet plants.
• The other plants are correctly identified.

• Rice can be infected by a disease called False smut, which can lead to a reduction of up to 44% of the grain’s yield.

• When they asked the question, the correct answer was option (c).
• According to the 2020-21 data, Maharashtra was the biggest producer of cotton, and Gujarat was the second biggest.
• West Bengal was the main producer of rice, Uttar Pradesh of wheat, and Rajasthan of mustard.

• Sultana, Gulabi, and Kali Champa are types of grapes.

• Sugarcane, Beatroot, Sweet Pea, Gram, Arhar, and Frasbean are all part of three different plant families.

• India does not produce the most of any of these crops.
• It is ranked second in sugarcane production, 13th in oilseed production, 8th in coffee production, and second in tobacco production.
• Therefore, none of the options are correct according to the FAO (2020).

• In 2011-12, India’s estimated food grain production was 259.29 million tonnes.
• None of the given answers were correct, so the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission removed this question from their answer sheet and didn’t count it.
• India’s estimated food grain production in 2020-21 is 308.6 million tonnes.

• The answer to the question was option (b).
• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO 2020), India produces more fresh fruit than any other country in the world.
• India is the number one producer of fruit freshness and Vietnam is in second place.
• India is also the fifth biggest exporter of unprocessed tobacco in the world.

• In the 2020-21 fiscal year, West Bengal was the largest producer of Jute in India, followed by Bihar and Assam.

• Jute grows best in soil that is rich in oxygen.
• The biggest producer of jute in India is West Bengal.
• Other Indian states that produce jute are Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, and Assam.
• In India, jute is referred to as the “Golden Fiber”.

• The humid climate with hot temperatures in the Lower Gangetic plain is beneficial for growing paddy and jute crops.

• According to the data Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, 2020 in 2019-20 (4th A.E.), the area under jute cultivation in the give States is as follows –
  • West Bengal – 0.52 million hectare (76.67%)
  • Bihar – 0.06 million hectare (9.20%)
  • Assam – 0.07 million hectare (10.22%)
• West Bengal has the biggest jute farm area.

• Jute is a crop that is grown during the rainy season.
• It prefers warm temperatures (between 24ºC and 35ºC), a lot of rain (125-200 cm), and flat land.
• The states of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh are the main producers of Jute.

• Maize, commonly known as Corn, is an extremely versatile crop that can be grown all year round in many different climates.
• It is widely known as the ‘Queen of Cereals’ around the world.

• Maize, also known as ‘Corn’, is a very useful crop that can be grown in many different climates and at any time of the year.
• It is called the Queen of Cereals around the world.

• Maize is used to make starch powder and things like dextrin and cortex.
• It can also be used to produce biodiesel.
• It is also used to make different types of alcoholic drinks, such as corn whisky and chow mein.

• Maize is the third most widely grown and eaten crop in India.
• It is cultivated in all regions of the country and takes anywhere from 90 to 150 days to mature, depending on the climate.
• Varieties grown in winter take longer to reach maturity compared to those grown in summer and spring.
• The Indian Agriculture Research Council has stated that the exact time for maize to mature is different depending on the climate.
  • Full seasonal Maturity – more than 100 days
  • Medium Maturity – 85 to 95 days
  • Early Maturity – 80 to 85 days
  • Very Early Maturity – less than 80 days
• Maize takes 90 to 105 days to be ready to be harvested in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
• Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

• Assam is the biggest tea maker.
• Jammu and Kashmir is the most significant producer of saffron.
• Himachal Pradesh is known as the Apple State of India.
• Kerala produces black pepper and cardamom.

• C-4 plants are important in terms of economics because they include crops like Maize and Sugarcane.
• Rice, Wheat, Cotton, and Tobacco are all C-3 plants.

• When the question was asked, the order of the states with the highest production of maize was Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Bihar.
• As of 2020-21, the three largest maize producers were Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

• Shaktiman I and Shaktiman II are types of maize that have been genetically modified.

• Saffron, also called Zaffran, is produced commercially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (which is now a Union Territory).

• India grows the most saffron in the Kashmir valley.
• Other countries that grow saffron are Spain, Iran, Greece, and Italy.
• Together, Spain and Iran make up over 80% of the world’s saffron production.

• The most saffron in India comes from the Kashmir Valley.
• Other countries that produce saffron are Spain, Iran, Greece, and Italy.
• Spain and Iran together make up around 80% of the world’s total saffron production.

• Crops asked in the question and their respective geographical conditions are given below –
  

  Barley	Cool climate with poorer soil
  Rice	Hot and moist climate with rich soil
  Millets	Hot and dry climate with poor soil
  Tea	Warm and moist climate with high altitude

• The correct match of List-I with List-II is as follows –
  

  List-I	List-II
  Cotton	Rainfall 500-1000 mm ; Temperature 18o-22oC
  Flax	Rainfall 600-800 mm ; Temperature 5o-18oC
  Sugarbeet	Rainfall 500-600 mm ; Temperature 18o-22oC
  Jute	Rainfall 1500-2000 mm ; Temperature 25o-35oC

• First, onion seeds are planted in the ground.
• Then, the small plants that grow from the seeds are moved to a new spot.

• Paddy, Maize and Wheat are seen as the ideal crops to grow in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

• Fredrick Wilson is credited with beginning the farming of Rajma and Potato in Bhagirathi Valley.
• He was the first white person to make Bhagirathi Valley his permanent home in the 1900s.
• He was given the name ‘Pahari’ and the title of “Raja of Harsil”.

• Correct match of Board and its Headquarters is as follows–
  

  List-I  (Board)	List-II  (Headquarters)
  Coffee Board	Bengaluru
  Rubber Board	Kottayam
  Tea Board	Kolkata
  Tobacco Board	Guntur

• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, India is the second biggest producer of fresh vegetables in the world, behind China.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization states that India produces the second largest amount of fresh vegetables in the world, following China.

• Indian scientists have created a type of mango called “Sindhu”, which is the only seedless kind of mango in the world.

• In 1971, the Indian Agriculture Research Institute in Pusa, Delhi created Amrapali as a combination of Dasheri and Neelam.

• Lalit is a special kind of Guava that was invented by the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research in Lucknow for the northern plains.
• It is being suggested to be made available for purchase.

• The choices given are not typical crop varieties.
• Dasheri-51 is a type of Mango which is a normal crop, and some other Mango varieties which are normal crops include Bengaluru (Totapuri), Neelam, Amrapali, and so on.

• Kanchan, Krishna, and Banarasi are better types of the Indian gooseberry, also known as Amla.
• Amla is full of Vitamin C.

• Kashi Ganga is a type of bottle gourd, Kashi Madhu is a kind of Muskmelon, and Banarasi is a type of gooseberry and guava which is grown in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
• There is no known variety of any of these plants known as Ganga Varanasi.

• The correct matched crops with their varieties are as follows:
  

  (Crop)	(Variety)
  Paddy	Govind
  Rice	Shusk Samrat
  Arhar	Paras
  Pea	Prakash

• Therefore, option (b) is not correct because Shusk Samrat is a type of rice, not wheat.

• Four leading producers (Banana) as per 2017-18 (thousand MT) are as follows :
  

  Andhra Pradesh	5003.07
  Gujarat	4472.32
  Maharashtra	4209.27
  Tamil Nadu	3205.04

• The top five states with the highest Bajra production in 2019-20 were
  • Rajasthan
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Haryana
  • Gujarat
  • Madhya Pradesh

• The correct match of the given crops and their main producing states is given as follows –
  

  List – I (Crop)	List – II (States)
  Groundnut	Andhra Pradesh (Now Gujarat)
  Mustard	Rajasthan
  Soybean	Madhya Pradesh (now Maharashtra)
  Coconut	Kerala

• The correct match is as follows :
  

  Jute	West Bengal
  Tea	Assam
  Rubber	Kerala
  Sugarcane	Uttar Pradesh

• The correct match of Crop and State is :
  

  Crop	State
  Maize	Uttar Pradesh
  Jute	West Bengal
  Cotton	Maharashtra
  Soybean	Madhya Pradesh

• Option (d) is not matched, the correct answer is option (d).

• Bihar is a top producer of sugar.
• Most of the sugar production is concentrated in the North of Bihar.
• Areas like Saran, Champaran, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga are well known for the sugar industry.
• The other choices are not right.

• The Borlaug Award was created in 1972 in honor of Nobel Prize winner Norman E. Borlaug and is given to people who do great work in the field of Agricultural Science.

• The best type of Potato for processing is Kufri Chipsona-2.
• Kufri Chipsona-3 was developed in 2005, and Kufri Himsona is the best for both flat and hilly regions.

• The goal of the National Food Security Mission is to increase the amount of rice, wheat, and pulses grown in certain areas of the country.
• This is to be done in a way that is sustainable and that promotes soil health and productivity at the individual farm level.
• It also aims to create jobs and increase the income of farmers in order to restore their confidence.

• Grains and rice are mostly grown by farmers for their own use.

• Ginger that grows in the ground and stores nutrients is called a Rhizome.

• Oatmeal is a type of cereal grain that is eaten by people and given to animals as food.

• Mandua (Koda) grain, found in Uttarakhand, is mainly sent to Japan.
• Food products made from Mandua are very popular overseas.

• In dry areas, farmers grow groundnut, millet, and sesame, but these crops only get water from rainfall, not from irrigation.

• Cowpea, Green Gram, and Pigeon Pea can be used to provide fertilizer, fodder, and meals.
• If you plant Arhar on one hectare of land, you can get 40 kilograms of nitrogen.
• The Union Public Service Commission has chosen this as the correct answer.

• Arunachal Pradesh is becoming a popular tourist spot in the North-East of India.
• It has a lot of different plant and animal species, plus lush forests, lots of animals, deep valleys and beautiful highlands.
• This area is also known for its many kinds of orchids.
• Due to its climate, Arunachal Pradesh can be used for growing and exporting a lot of different types of orchids.

• On January 18, 2016, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, announced that Sikkim is the first Organic State in India.
• He praised Sikkim for its efforts to become an environmentally friendly farming state.

• The Ministry of Commerce began the National Program for Organic Production in 2001, so statement 1 is wrong.
• The Government of India created the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority to put the program into action, which is stated in the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in 1985, so statement 2 is correct.
• Sikkim became India’s first 100% organic state in 2016, so statement 3 is true.

• In 2016, Sikkim became the first state to go completely organic, aiming to keep the environment safe, its natural ecosystem intact, and its varied wildlife safe.
• It also intended to promote healthier living for its citizens.

• The northern part of Gujarat is dry and not very wet, and in the middle there is a lot of cotton farming.
• In Gujarat, cash crops like cotton are grown more than food crops.

• The Guar bean is a type of legume that is grown yearly.
• It is used to make guar gum, which has many uses for people and animals.
• Recently, the demand for guar gum has increased because it is used in the oil and gas industry.
• Most of the world’s production of this bean comes from India and Pakistan.

• West Bengal used to be the biggest producer of fish in India.
• It was the leader in freshwater fish production.
• Most of the fish in West Bengal was from inland water sources.
• Fish production in the seashore wasn’t developed as much as inland.
• So, statement A is correct, but statement R is wrong.
• According to data from 2019-20, Andhra Pradesh is now the leading producer of freshwater fish, and Gujarat is the leading producer of seawater fish.
• Andhra Pradesh has the highest overall fish production (fresh and seawater combined).

• When they asked the question, the correct answer was option (c).
• According to the 2019-20 data from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, the top fish producing states in India are –
  • Andhra Pradesh (41.74 Lakh tonnes)
  • West Bengal (17.82 Lakh tonnes)
  • Gujarat (8.59 Lakh tonnes)
  • Odisha (8.18 Lakh tonnes)
  • Tamil Nadu (7.57 Lakh tonnes)

• Cotton is great because of its long fibers.
• The highest quality cotton has fibers that are over 5 cm long and it comes from the southeastern US and West Indies.
• Medium quality cotton fibers are between 3.75 and 5 cm long.
• It is grown in the Nile River Valley, Central Asian Republics, and the US.
• Low-quality cotton fibers are shorter than 2.5 cm and mainly comes from Brazil and India.
• The edible part of an apple is called the mesocarp, and the commission chose option D as the correct answer for this question.

• Rabi crops like Wheat, Barley, Linseed, Rapeseed, Mustard and Gram are planted between October and December and harvested between April and May.

• Option (a) was the correct answer when Jharkhand was part of Bihar.
• However, today Jharkhand is the leading producer of Lac in India with a share of 50.83 percent, followed by Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• 92 percent of the country’s Lac production comes from these four states.
• West Bengal is the biggest producer of Rice in India, which means that U.P.P.S.C. needs to delete this question from its evaluation.
• U.P.P.S.C. originally chose option (d) as the correct answer.

• Aman rice is planted in June-July and harvested from November to December.
• India is the second biggest producer of rice after China.
• Soybean has 20% oil and 40% protein in it.
• Dr. B.P. Pal was the very first director of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

• Based on the facts and information available, neither option (a) nor (d) is correct.
• Therefore, it is not possible to choose one option as the answer.
• Rajma is a type of pulse crop, native to China, grown in Nepal.
• It is an annual legume crop which is usually grown as a crop or alongside other plants.
• It is capable of fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. Phaseoli, however, it is not as efficient at nitrogen fixing as other pulses.
• UPAS-120 is a variety of Arhar, not Gram as stated in option (d).
• The Ministry of Agriculture’s website confirms this.

• Kaushal is a type of groundnut, not rice.
• The most pulses are produced in Madhya Pradesh, not Rajasthan.
• Therefore, option (a) and (d) are incorrect, but the Commission chose (d) as the right choice.

• The National Horticulture Board’s report says that the main areas of arecanut production in India are Kerala, Assam, Karnataka, and Tripura.
• District Kinnaur is in Himachal Pradesh, so that pair (1) doesn’t match.
• Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha and Maharashtra are the major mango producers in India.
• Mewat district is in Haryana, so pair (2) doesn’t match either.
• The main soybean producers in India are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but Coromandel doesn’t produce soybean.
• So none of the pairs are correct.

• In 2014, India was the second largest producer of fruit in the world, second only to China.
• India had 13.6 percent of the total fruit production, while China had 20.9 percent.
• Currently, India has 10.5 percent of the total fruit production (excluding melons).

• A canyon is created by the erosion from a river.
• It’s shaped like a V, with its depth being bigger than its width.
• Moraines are made up of stones and soil that dropped into the glacier as it moved.
• After a glacier moves away, the moraines can still be seen.
• Inselbergs and Zeugen are created by the wind.
• Inselbergs are hills or mountains that stand alone in the plain.
• Zeugen are flat masses of rocks, with softer rocks beneath the harder rocks at the surface, which were made by the wind.
• This means that option (c) does not match.

• Bathua is also known as Chenopodium Album.
• It usually appears as a weed among grains such as wheat, peas, and mustard.
• It is only eaten as a vegetable. It doesn’t grow in paddy fields.
• The other choices are correct.

• Radhey is a type of chickpea that farmers in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh should grow.

• The correct match is as follows :
  

  (Crop)	(Season)
  Sunflower	All the season
  Muskmelon	Zaid (summer)
  Cotton	Kharif (rainy)
  Linseed	Rabi (winter)

• The first herbicide ever produced was 2, 4-D.

• NABI MG is a type of wheat that comes in three different colors: black, blue, and purple.
• This colored wheat was created by NABI.

• Maize, potatoes, and sugarcane (ratoon) and moong are planted in a cycle every three years, which is an example of crop rotation.