Agronomy MCQ, with answers.
25 agronomy questions on irrigation, rice and wheat practice, weed control and cropping systems. Pick an answer to see if you are right and why. The full answer key is below the quiz.
Q1. The word 'agronomy' comes from Greek words meaning:
Q2. The most critical stage for irrigation in wheat is:
Q3. Crown root initiation in wheat usually comes about how many days after sowing?
Q4. Puddling is done mainly for which crop?
Q5. SRI in rice stands for:
Q6. The System of Rice Intensification was first developed in:
Q7. Phalaris minor (little seed canary grass) is a major weed of:
Q8. Echinochloa crus-galli (barnyard grass) is a major weed of:
Q9. Cyperus rotundus is commonly called:
Q10. Atrazine is a selective herbicide used mainly in:
Q11. 2,4-D mainly controls:
Q12. Glyphosate is a:
Q13. Growing two or more crops at the same time in a definite row pattern is called:
Q14. Sowing the next crop before the standing crop is harvested is called:
Q15. Cropping intensity is calculated as:
Q16. Which of these is a green manure crop?
Q17. The main purpose of mulching is to:
Q18. Which irrigation method gives the highest water-use efficiency?
Q19. Which of these is a free-living nitrogen-fixing bacterium?
Q20. Wheat is a:
Q21. Harvest index is:
Q22. In intercropping, a land equivalent ratio (LER) above 1 means:
Q23. Which implement is used for primary tillage?
Q24. Sugarcane is commonly planted using:
Q25. The Happy Seeder is used to:
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Agronomy MCQ answers and reasons.
Q1. The word 'agronomy' comes from Greek words meaning:
Answer: A, Field and management. Agros means field and nomos means management, so agronomy is the science of field crop management.
Q2. The most critical stage for irrigation in wheat is:
Answer: B, Crown root initiation (CRI). Missing water at crown root initiation cuts yield the most, which is why the first irrigation is given at CRI.
Q3. Crown root initiation in wheat usually comes about how many days after sowing?
Answer: B, 20 to 25 days. CRI comes about 20 to 25 days after sowing, and the first irrigation is timed to it.
Q4. Puddling is done mainly for which crop?
Answer: A, Transplanted rice. Puddling churns wet soil before rice transplanting to cut water loss through percolation and to ease transplanting.
Q5. SRI in rice stands for:
Answer: B, System of Rice Intensification. SRI uses young single seedlings, wider spacing and alternate wetting and drying.
Q6. The System of Rice Intensification was first developed in:
Answer: C, Madagascar. SRI was developed in Madagascar in the 1980s by Fr Henri de Laulanié.
Q7. Phalaris minor (little seed canary grass) is a major weed of:
Answer: B, Wheat. Phalaris minor is the most serious grass weed of wheat in the rice–wheat system of north-west India.
Q8. Echinochloa crus-galli (barnyard grass) is a major weed of:
Answer: A, Rice. Barnyard grass looks like rice at the seedling stage and is a major weed of paddy.
Q9. Cyperus rotundus is commonly called:
Answer: B, Purple nutsedge (motha). Cyperus rotundus is purple nutsedge (motha), a perennial weed that spreads by tubers.
Q10. Atrazine is a selective herbicide used mainly in:
Answer: A, Maize. Maize tolerates atrazine, so it is widely used pre-emergence in maize.
Q11. 2,4-D mainly controls:
Answer: B, Broadleaf weeds. 2,4-D is a hormone-type herbicide that kills broadleaf weeds and spares grass crops such as wheat.
Q12. Glyphosate is a:
Answer: B, Non-selective systemic herbicide. Glyphosate moves through the plant and kills almost any green plant it is sprayed on.
Q13. Growing two or more crops at the same time in a definite row pattern is called:
Answer: B, Intercropping. Intercropping uses a set row arrangement; mixed cropping grows crops together without one.
Q14. Sowing the next crop before the standing crop is harvested is called:
Answer: A, Relay cropping. In relay cropping the second crop is sown into the first before harvest, for example lathyrus sown into standing rice.
Q15. Cropping intensity is calculated as:
Answer: B, (Gross cropped area / net sown area) × 100. Cropping intensity = gross cropped area divided by net sown area, times 100.
Q16. Which of these is a green manure crop?
Answer: A, Sunhemp. Sunhemp (Crotalaria juncea) and dhaincha are legumes grown and ploughed in green to add organic matter and nitrogen.
Q17. The main purpose of mulching is to:
Answer: B, Conserve soil moisture. A mulch layer cuts evaporation from the soil surface and also suppresses weeds.
Q18. Which irrigation method gives the highest water-use efficiency?
Answer: C, Drip irrigation. Drip delivers water slowly at the root zone, so evaporation and deep percolation losses are lowest.
Q19. Which of these is a free-living nitrogen-fixing bacterium?
Answer: B, Azotobacter. Azotobacter fixes nitrogen without a host plant. Rhizobium needs legume nodules; Nitrobacter oxidises nitrite.
Q20. Wheat is a:
Answer: B, Long-day plant. Wheat flowers under lengthening days, so it is a long-day plant (and a C3 plant).
Q21. Harvest index is:
Answer: A, Economic yield ÷ biological yield. Harvest index is the share of total dry matter that ends up in the harvested product, often shown as a percentage.
Q22. In intercropping, a land equivalent ratio (LER) above 1 means:
Answer: A, Intercropping gave a yield advantage. LER above 1 means more land would be needed under sole crops to match the intercrop's yield.
Q23. Which implement is used for primary tillage?
Answer: A, Mouldboard plough. A mouldboard plough cuts and inverts the soil in primary tillage; harrows and levellers are used afterwards.
Q24. Sugarcane is commonly planted using:
Answer: B, Setts (stem cuttings). Sugarcane is propagated from setts, stem pieces with two or three buds.
Q25. The Happy Seeder is used to:
Answer: B, Sow wheat directly into rice stubble. The Happy Seeder sows wheat into combine-harvested paddy fields without burning the straw.
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