Q40. Which crops best suit cultivation under scanty rainfall: horse gram, rice, mustard and wheat?
[WBCS Main (Indian Geography), 2015]
(A) Horse gram and rice
(B) Rice and wheat
(C) Rice and mustard
(D) Horse gram and mustard
Answer: (D) Horse gram and mustard
Explanation: Horse gram is a hardy pulse often cultivated under limited moisture, while mustard can perform well in comparatively dry rabi conditions. Rice is generally more water-demanding, making it less suited to areas experiencing chronically scanty rainfall.
Q39. Which soil-climate advantage explains why parts of South India support more intensive sugarcane production?
[WBCS Main (Indian Geography), 2015]
(A) Higher cane yield and longer crushing season
(B) Lower population alone
(C) Only lower prices of machinery
(D) Absence of irrigation
Answer: (A) Higher cane yield and longer crushing season
Explanation: Peninsular sugarcane-growing areas may benefit from suitable warm conditions, longer milling seasons and relatively high cane productivity. These geographical factors encourage mills near production belts and help explain the distribution of the sugar industry.
2014
Q38. Which intervention was regarded as most effective in boosting agricultural production in Uttar Pradesh?
[UPPSC RO/ARO Preliminary Examination, 2014]
(A) Greater use of high-yielding seeds
(B) Opening agricultural service centres
(C) Expanding agricultural credit
(D) Expanding Kisan Credit Cards
Answer: (A) Greater use of high-yielding seeds
Explanation: Improved seed varieties can substantially raise potential yield when supplied with appropriate water, nutrients and crop protection. Other institutional measures facilitate production, but the archived paper singled out high-yielding seeds as the strongest direct factor.
Q37. Which pulse crop occupied the largest cultivated area in Uttar Pradesh among the options at the time?
[UPPSC Main Examination, 2014]
(A) Moong
(B) Pigeon pea
(C) Pea
(D) Gram
Answer: (D) Gram
Explanation: Chickpea or gram had the largest sown area among these pulses in the reference period. It is commonly cultivated in the rabi season and can use residual soil moisture after monsoon rains.
Q36. In which Uttar Pradesh region is soybean mainly cultivated?
[UPPSC RO/ARO Main Examination, 2014]
(A) Eastern Uttar Pradesh
(B) Central Uttar Pradesh
(C) Vindhya region
(D) Bundelkhand region
Answer: (D) Bundelkhand region
Explanation: Bundelkhand is identified in the examination source with soybean cultivation within Uttar Pradesh. Farming choices there are shaped by rainfall variability, soil types and the need to select crops suitable for relatively water-constrained conditions.
Q35. Which ministry-programme pairings were correct:
(1) Drought-Prone Area Programme–Agriculture,
(2) Desert Development Programme–Environment,
(3) National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas–Rural Development?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2014]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 3 only
(C) 1, 2 and 3
(D) None
Answer: (D) None
Explanation: The first two programmes were linked to the Department of Land Resources under Rural Development, while the cited rainfed-area watershed project belonged to the agriculture establishment. Hence none of the proposed pairings matched.
Q34. Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative:
(1) lowers planting-material cost,
(2) supports efficient drip irrigation,
(3) prohibits all inorganic fertilizer,
(4) improves opportunities for intercropping.
Which apply?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2014]
(A) 1 and 3 only
(B) 1, 2 and 4 only
(C) 2, 3 and 4 only
(D) All four
Answer: (B) 1, 2 and 4 only
Explanation: The technique uses reduced planting material and wider spacing, which can facilitate drip watering and intercrops. Integrated nutrient management remains possible; it does not require a total ban on all inorganic fertilizers.
Q33. For which spice crop is Kashmir particularly renowned?
[WBCS Main (Indian Geography), 2014]
(A) Cinnamon
(B) Cloves
(C) Saffron
(D) Black pepper
Answer: (C) Saffron
Explanation: Saffron cultivation is especially linked to Kashmir, notably its karewa uplands. The regional combination of climate and well-drained soils supports the crop, while its high market value makes saffron a distinctive geographical speciality.
Q32. In Whittlesey’s classification, agricultural systems were differentiated chiefly using which approach?
[WBCS Main (Indian Geography), 2014]
(A) Empirical method
(B) Only statistical modelling
(C) Purely normative method
(D) Only combined qualitative and quantitative modelling
Answer: (A) Empirical method
Explanation: Whittlesey classified types of agriculture through observed differences in crops, livestock, land use, technology and economic characteristics. Such classifications are important in agricultural geography because they compare how cultivation systems vary from one region to another.
2013
Q31. Approximately what was the cropping intensity of Uttar Pradesh in the period tested?
[UPPSC Main Examination, 2013]
(A) 110%
(B) 135%
(C) 160%
(D) 185%
Answer: (C) 160%
Explanation: The archived source reports about 156% cropping intensity for 2012–13, making 160% the nearest option. Cropping intensity compares gross cropped area with net sown area and rises when fields carry more than one crop annually.
