Agriculture: CUET Mock Test - 5 - CUET Humanities MCQ

Organic farming enhances profit as the cost of inputs is reduced due to the most efficient use of resources. And as the cost of production is reduced, it is a means of women empowerment and poverty alleviation. However, the major reason that is hampering the large scale adoption of organic farming is that it reduces crop yields in short term.

Evapotranspiration is the collective evaporation from soil surfaces, water surfaces and transpiration from plants.
It is influenced by atmospheric, soil, plant and various other factors.
Atmospheric factors:
(1) Precipitation
(2) Sunshine
(3) Wind velocity
(4) Temperature
(5) Relative humidity

• Water is present in the atmosphere in the form of invisible water vapour, normally known as humidity.
• Relative humidity is ratio of the amount of moisture present in the air to the saturation capacity of the air at a particular temperature.
• If relative humidity is 100%, it means that the entire space is filled with water and there is no soil evaporation and plant transpiration.
• Germination index is the value used to determine the number of healthy seeds. Germination index is the ratio of the number of healthy seedlings to the total number of seeds.
• Osmotic potential is the potential of water molecules to move from a hypotonic solution to a hypertonic solution through a semi-permeable membrane.
• Rational water pressure is the measure of the rate of flow of a fluid. It is calculated by multiplying density, acceleration of gravity and height.

The preservative sodium benzoate is added to the sauce so that it can be stored for a longer period of time. Store the sauce in a sterilised canning jar.
Tocopherol is vitamin E and retinoic acid is vitamin A.

Cell wall is the outermost covering of all plant cells. It is present above the plasma membrane. It is composed of cellulose (green plant), hemicellulose pectin, etc. Fungal cell wall is made up of chitin. It provides rigidity to plant cell.
Cell walls are absent in animal cells. Instead, they have a outermost covering called cell membrane (plasma membrane) which is selectively permeable and lipoproteinacious in nature.

Floriculture is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and attractive plants for use in gardens and floristry.

Amino acids are natural compounds composed of amine (–NH₂) and carboxylic acid (–COOH) functional groups, linked to the same carbon atom.

• Biofertilisers have living microorganisms that enhance soil nutrients, e.g. blue green algae like Anabaena and Nostoc.
• Green manure is made from parts of plants to increase soil nutrients. Leguminosea family crops are often used for this particular purpose.
• Indian Coimbatore method is a compost production method used to produce compost from organic resources. Many more methods like Indian Indore method are also widely known.
• Castor, neem and cotton seed plants are used to make oil cakes which are rich in nitrification inhibitor chemicals. These oil cakes help in arresting nitrification process.

Biological weed management is any strategy that involves the use of living agents that are natural suppressors of weed growth. Grazing animals, insects, fungi, and bacteria are being employed to not only remove weeds, but also to restrict the germination of their seeds. Insects are frequently used in biological weed control.

Unhealthy condition of the body or the mind is referred to as the 'sick' state. Loss of appetite is one of the common symptoms of a sick animal.

The causative agent for malaria is a parasitic protozoan Plasmodium. The mosquitoes serve as their definitive host. The humans are the intermediate host. These organisms require the mosquitoes as a vector for transmission and a host to complete their life cycle.

• All the given statements are true about the disadvantages of food processing. Some additives can lead to the growth of cells, harming the cells in many ways. Food additives that are water soluble can have adverse effects on the excretory system of the body.
• Sugar is used as an additive in processing techniques. It can lead to increase in net calories.
• Food processing involves dehydration and blanching at high temperatures which can destroy vitamin C.

A nucleoside is a compound that contains a nitrogenous-base bound to a deoxyribose or a ribose sugar. It does not contain a phosphate group. It occurs when nucleic acids are hydrolyzed or broken down.

Osmotic potential makes sucrose a good food additive as it causes intake of water within cells leaving no water available for microbial growth and plasmolysis of microorganisms.

Hydrogen bonds are responsible for specific base-pair formation in the DNA double helix. Cytosine and Guanine are held together by three hydrogen bonds.

Red Sindhi is an indigenous breed of cow. Indigenous breed means Indian breed. For example: Red Sindhi and Sahiwal.
Brown Swiss and Jersey are foreign or exotic breeds of cows. Brown Swiss is from Switzerland and Jersey is from the island of Jersey, USA. Rohu is a fish commonly found in rivers and freshwater lakes.

Parthenogenesis is the development of an embryo from an unfertilised egg. It is found in many plants (dandelions, banana and hawk weeds) and animals (aphids and honey bees).

Explant culture is a technique used for the isolation of cells from a piece or pieces of tissue. Tissue harvested in this manner is called an explant.

• Short range forecast (SRF):- It is based on situation prevailing at the time of forecasting and is valid up to 3 days or 72 hours and is issued twice a day. It is broadcasted from local weather centre.
• Medium range forecast (MRF):- Forecasting of meteorological elements over different agro climatic zones for periods ranging from 3-10 days is known as medium range forecast. It is broadcasted from Weather Forecasting Centre, Noida, UP.
• Long range forecast (LRF):- The forecast is valid for more than 10 days and is broadcasted from Indian Metrology Department (IMD), Pune, Maharashtra.

Layering is an asexual propagation technique that involves causing a stem to produce roots while still attached to the parent plant. The parts of branches that are buried in soil grow their own roots by the layering method.

Blanching is scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time. It is typically followed by quick, thorough cooling in very cold or ice water. Blanching stops enzyme actions which otherwise cause loss of flavour, colour and texture.

• Fission is a process in which a unicellular organism splits to form two or more new organisms. Fission is commonly seen in bacteria.
• Budding is a process in which a small part of the body of the parent organism grows out, which detaches and becomes a new organism. Hydra reproduces asexually by the process of budding.
• Spore formation is a process in which the parent plant produces hundreds of microscopic reproductive units. Members of fungi reproduce by spores.

The correct order is as follows:

The optimum temperature is the temperature in which the growth of plant is maximum.

• Rural people used various methods for water harvesting. Some of the methods were: digging of small pits and lakes, building of small earthen dams and construction of dykes.
• Digging of small pits and lakes was done to store water and stop it from going down the rivers.
• Building of small earthen dams or embankments was the method used by the rural people of India for water harvesting.
• Construction of dykes was the method used by the rural people of India for water harvesting. Dykes were the long walls of earth used to trap water.

• Water is a bad conductor of heat, i.e. it takes longer time to heat and longer time to cool. Due to this moderating effect of the sea, places near the coast have low range of temperature and high humidity. Land radiates and absorbs heat faster than the sea; thus, temperatures in areas far away from the sea are extreme.
• The places in the interior of the continent do not experience moderating effect of the sea. These places have extreme temperatures. As these lands are far away, the effect of the sea is not prominent.
• The places far from the sea have higher range of diurnal (daily) and annual temperatures.

Water harvesting means capturing rain water where it falls and capturing the runoff from catchment and streams, etc. Water harvesting does not increase the salinity of water.

Cytokinins are a class of plant growth substance that promote cell division or cytokinesis in plant roots and shoots. They are involved primarily in cell growth and differentiation, but also affect apical dominance, axillary bud growth and leaf senescence. Pruning of plants promote branching because the axillary buds get sensitised to cytokinin.

Jasmine is propagated by layering, which involves bending a branch into the soil and covering it with mud in such a way that the growing portion remains above the soil.

The mountain chains act as natural barrier for the wind. The on-shore moisture laden winds strike against the mountain and give heavy rainfall.

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose.