UPSC Geography of India – Chapter 15: Types of Farming, Crop Seasons and Cropping Patterns (23 MCQs)

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UPSC Geography of India – Chapter 15: Types of Farming, Crop Seasons and Cropping Patterns (23 MCQs) – 23 questions, subject: Geography. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

"Jhum" is the local name of shifting cultivation in:

Correct Answer: A [the north-eastern States]

Explanation:

NCERT gives jhum (jhumming) as the name of slash-and-burn shifting cultivation in the hills of the north-eastern States.

2.  

In Madhya Pradesh, shifting cultivation is known as:

Correct Answer: D [bewar or dahiya]

Explanation:

NCERT lists bewar or dahiya as the local names of shifting cultivation in Madhya Pradesh.

3.  

Farming in which a single crop is grown on a large estate with heavy capital and processing is called:

Correct Answer: B [plantation agriculture]

Explanation:

Plantation agriculture grows one crop, such as tea or rubber, on a large estate linking capital, labour and processing.

4.  

Dryland farming is generally practised in areas with annual rainfall of less than about:

Correct Answer: D [75 cm]

Explanation:

NCERT defines dryland farming as rain-fed cultivation in areas receiving less than about 75 cm of rain a year.

5.  

Which one of the following is a rabi crop?

Correct Answer: C [Mustard]

Explanation:

Mustard is sown after the monsoon, in October–December, and harvested in spring, which makes it a rabi crop.

6.  

Watermelon, muskmelon and cucumber are typical crops of the:

Correct Answer: B [zaid season]

Explanation:

Melons, cucumber, vegetables and fodder grow in the short summer zaid season between the rabi harvest and kharif sowing.

7.  

"Aus, aman and boro" are:

Correct Answer: A [three rice crops grown in Assam, West Bengal and Odisha]

Explanation:

Assam, West Bengal and Odisha grow three rice crops a year, named aus, aman and boro after their seasons.

8.  

Cropping intensity is calculated as:

Correct Answer: B [gross cropped area ÷ net sown area × 100]

Explanation:

Cropping intensity divides gross cropped area by net sown area, so land sown twice in a year lifts it above 100.

9.  

Land left uncultivated for one year or less is classified as:

Correct Answer: A [current fallow]

Explanation:

Land-use records classify land left uncultivated for one year or less as current fallow.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. In intercropping, two crops are grown in definite rows at the same time.
2. In relay cropping, the second crop is sown before the first is harvested.
3. Mixed cropping means growing the same crop every year.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2 correctly define intercropping and relay cropping; the same crop every year is monocropping, not mixed cropping.

11.  

Assertion (A): The rice–wheat system of north-west India is considered unsustainable.

Reason (R): It depends heavily on groundwater, which is being pumped faster than it is recharged.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

Groundwater pumped faster than it is recharged is the core reason the rice–wheat system is unsustainable, so R explains A.

12.  

The Planning Commission divided India into how many agro-climatic regions?

Correct Answer: C [15]

Explanation:

The Planning Commission's agro-climatic regional planning divided India into 15 regions for region-wise agricultural planning.

13.  

According to the Agriculture Census 2015–16, the average size of an operational holding in India was about:

Correct Answer: A [1.08 hectares]

Explanation:

The Agriculture Census 2015–16 put India's average operational holding at 1.08 hectares, down from 1.15 hectares in 2010–11.

14.  

Small and marginal holdings in India are holdings of less than:

Correct Answer: B [2 hectares]

Explanation:

Marginal holdings are below 1 hectare and small holdings 1–2 hectares, so together they are holdings under 2 hectares.

15.  

Which of the following is grown with the onset of the monsoon?

Correct Answer: D [Tur (arhar)]

Explanation:

kharif.

16.  

Among kharif crops in recent years, the largest area has been under:

Correct Answer: C [rice]

Explanation:

Rice, the main monsoon cereal, covers the largest area of all kharif crops, well ahead of cotton and soybean.

17.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Planning Commission's 15 agro-climatic regions
2. High-yielding varieties introduced in India
3. International Year of Millets
4. First Agriculture Census

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [2-4-1-3]

Explanation:

1965–66, 1970–71, 1989, 2023.

18.  

Growing a legume after a cereal on the same land to restore nitrogen is an example of:

Correct Answer: D [crop rotation]

Explanation:

Crop rotation grows different crops in sequence on the same land; a legume after a cereal restores soil nitrogen.

19.  

The main cropping system of Punjab and Haryana is:

Correct Answer: D [rice–wheat]

Explanation:

Assured irrigation and procurement since the Green Revolution made rice followed by wheat the dominant system of Punjab and Haryana.

20.  

India's net sown area is roughly what share of its reporting area?

Correct Answer: A [About 45 per cent]

Explanation:

about 140 million ha of about 307 million ha.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2023

Consider the following statements :

1. India has more arable area than China.
2. The proportion of irrigated area is more in India as compared to China.
3. The average productivity per hectare in Indian agriculture is higher than that in China.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Correct Answer: A [Only one]

Explanation:

only statement 1.

22.  
UPSC Prelims 2019

With reference to the cultivation of Kharif crops in India in the last five years, consider the following statements:

1. Area under rice cultivation is the highest.
2. Area under cultivation of jowar is more than that of oilseeds.
3. Area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugarcane.
4. Area under sugarcane cultivation has steadily decreased.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: A [1 and 3 only]

Explanation:

Rice leads kharif area and cotton exceeds sugarcane; oilseeds exceed jowar and sugarcane area has not steadily fallen.

23.  
UPSC Prelims 2013

Consider the following crops:

1. Cotton
2. Groundnut
3. Rice
4. Wheat

Which of these are Kharif crops?

Correct Answer: C [1, 2 and 3]

Explanation:

wheat is a rabi crop.

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