Haryana BSEH Secondary NSQF Agriculture flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Soil texture

The relative proportion of sand, silt, and clay particles in a soil; it determines water holding, drainage, and workability, and is read from the soil texture triangle.

Field capacity

The water content remaining in soil after excess water has drained away by gravity, usually a day or two after irrigation or rain; it is the upper limit of readily available water.

Cation exchange capacity

The soil's capacity to hold exchangeable positively charged nutrient ions on clay and organic matter surfaces; higher values mean better nutrient retention and less leaching.

Economic threshold level

The pest population density at which control measures are justified to prevent the population from reaching the economic injury level and causing unacceptable loss.

Integrated pest management

A decision framework combining resistant varieties, cultural, mechanical, and biological control with monitoring, using chemical pesticides only when thresholds are crossed.

Disease triangle

The concept that disease occurs only when a susceptible host, a virulent pathogen, and a favourable environment occur together; breaking any one factor prevents the disease.

Pre-harvest interval

The minimum number of days that must pass between the last pesticide application and harvest of the crop, so residues at harvest stay within permitted limits.

Kharif season

The monsoon crop season, sown with the onset of rains around June-July and harvested in autumn; typical crops are paddy, maize, cotton, and pulses.

Rabi season

The winter crop season, sown around October-November and harvested in spring; typical crops are wheat, mustard, gram, and barley, which need cool growing weather.

Intercropping

Growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same field in a definite row pattern, chosen so their root depths, durations, and nutrient needs differ and competition is reduced.

Cropping intensity

The ratio of gross cropped area to net sown area, expressed as a percentage; a value above 100 shows that land is cropped more than once a year.

Seed treatment

Applying a fungicide, insecticide, or bioagent to seed before sowing to protect germinating seed and seedlings from seed-borne and soil-borne problems.

Grafting

Joining a scion, the fruiting cultivar, onto a rootstock that provides root vigour or soil adaptation, so the joined parts grow as one plant.

Protected cultivation

Growing crops under polyhouse, shade net, or other structures that modify temperature, light, and humidity, enabling off-season production and reducing pest entry.

Hardening of seedlings

Gradually exposing nursery seedlings to less water and more direct sunlight before transplanting, so they withstand field conditions and suffer less transplant shock.

Ethylene in post-harvest

A ripening gas released by mature fruits; it speeds ripening and decay, so producers are kept separate from ethylene-sensitive vegetables during storage and transport.

Primary tillage

The first, deeper cultivation that breaks and inverts soil, done with a mouldboard or disc plough to open the field before seedbed preparation.

PTO

Power take-off: the tractor shaft that transmits engine power to implements such as threshers, sprayers, and pumps; its shield must always be kept in place.

Sprayer calibration

Measuring and adjusting nozzle flow, boom width, and walking speed so the sprayer delivers the intended volume of spray per hectare uniformly.

Winnowing

Separating grain from chaff and light impurities by allowing air, natural or forced, to blow away the lighter material after threshing.

Drip irrigation

A micro-irrigation method delivering water slowly and directly to the root zone through emitters, reducing evaporation, runoff, and weed growth between rows.

Evapotranspiration

The combined water loss from soil evaporation and plant transpiration; crop water requirement is estimated from it and used to schedule irrigation depth and interval.

Waterlogging

A soil condition where excess water fills pore spaces and excludes air, causing root asphyxiation; corrected by drainage, raised beds, and controlled water table.

Furrow irrigation

A surface method in which water runs along small channels between crop rows and infiltrates sideways to the roots; suited to row crops and moderate slopes.

Rumen fermentation

Microbial breakdown of fibrous feed in the rumen into usable energy and protein; abrupt feed changes disturb these microbes and cause digestive problems.

Mastitis

Inflammation of the udder, often caused by bacterial infection, detected by clots or flakes in foremilk; prevented by clean milking and teat hygiene.

Balanced ration

A feed mixture supplying the required energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins in correct proportion for an animal's production level, including roughage and concentrate.

Gross income

Total revenue from a farm enterprise, calculated as yield multiplied by price; net income is gross income minus total cost of production.

Price spread

The difference between the price the consumer pays and the price the producer receives, made up of margins and costs of intermediaries in the marketing channel.

Benefit-cost ratio

Gross returns divided by total cost of an enterprise; a ratio greater than one indicates profitability at the assumed yields, prices, and costs.

Agro-ecosystem

The managed ecosystem of a farm, comprising crops, soil, water, air, and biodiversity, where inputs not used by the crop become environmental loads.

Value addition

Processing or presenting a farm product, such as grading, packing, milling, or making pickles and dairy products, to raise its market price and the producer's income.