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Maharashtra HSC Horticulture (Vocational) study materials
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Maharashtra HSC Horticulture (Vocational) practice questions

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Question 1Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which type of soil structure is generally considered most favourable for the growth of horticultural crops?

  1. Massive structure
  2. Columnar structure
  3. Platy structure
  4. Granular structure Correct answer.

Explanation

Granular structure consists of small, rounded aggregates that provide a good balance of pore spaces for air, water and root penetration. This crumb-like arrangement supports drainage as well as moisture retention, which is ideal for most fruit and vegetable crops. Massive, platy and columnar structures restrict root growth and water movement.

Question 2Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

In horticulture, the term 'scarification' applied to seeds refers to which treatment?

  1. Treating seeds with fungicide before sowing
  2. Breaking a hard seed coat mechanically or chemically to allow water uptake Correct answer.
  3. Chilling seeds at low temperature to break dormancy
  4. Soaking seeds in water before sowing

Explanation

Scarification is the deliberate weakening or rupturing of a hard, impermeable seed coat so that water and oxygen can enter and germination can begin. It may be done mechanically, chemically or by hot water. Chilling is stratification, soaking is imbibition and fungicidal treatment is seed dressing.

Question 3Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which plant propagation method produces clonal plants that are genetically identical to the parent?

  1. Vegetative propagation through cuttings Correct answer.
  2. Hybrid seed production
  3. Open-pollinated seed sowing
  4. Cross-pollination followed by selection

Explanation

Vegetative propagation uses somatic tissue of the parent, so the offspring are genetically identical clones. Seed-based methods involve meiosis and recombination, producing variable progeny. Cuttings therefore preserve the desired cultivar characters exactly.

Question 4Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which essential plant nutrient is a central atom of the chlorophyll molecule?

  1. Sulphur
  2. Magnesium Correct answer.
  3. Calcium
  4. Iron

Explanation

Magnesium occupies the central position of the porphyrin ring of the chlorophyll molecule, so its deficiency causes interveinal chlorosis. Iron is needed for chlorophyll synthesis but is not part of the molecule itself. Calcium and sulphur have structural and metabolic roles unrelated to chlorophyll structure.

Question 5Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

A horticulturist wants to remove the apical dominance of a young mango graft to encourage lateral branching. Which practice achieves this?

  1. Ringing or girdling the trunk
  2. Defoliation of mature leaves
  3. Root pruning
  4. Pinching or heading back the terminal shoot Correct answer.

Explanation

Apical dominance is caused by auxin produced in the terminal bud, which suppresses the growth of lateral buds. Removing or pinching the terminal shoot reduces this auxin source and stimulates lateral branching. Root pruning, girdling and defoliation affect other physiological processes.

Question 6Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which type of inflorescence is characteristic of the mango?

  1. Panicle Correct answer.
  2. Spadix
  3. Umbel
  4. Cyme

Explanation

The mango bears a branched, pyramidal panicle in which many small flowers are arranged on a central axis with lateral branches. A cyme is a determinate cluster, an umbel has stalks arising from one point and a spadix is a fleshy spike with a spathe.

Question 7Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which of the following is the most appropriate definition of a horticultural 'cultivar'?

  1. A wild species occurring naturally in a forest
  2. A group of plants selected for distinct, heritable characters that are maintained under cultivation Correct answer.
  3. Any plant grown for its edible fruit
  4. A plant produced by grafting onto a rootstock

Explanation

A cultivar is a cultivated variety: a group of plants with distinct, uniform and stable heritable characters that are maintained through propagation under cultivation. It is a cultivated entity, not a wild population, and it is not defined merely by grafting or by edible fruit.

Question 8Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

In a tomato field, a grower observes that flowers form but fruit set is poor despite adequate irrigation. Which factor most directly limits fruit set in this situation?

  1. Excess soil potassium
  2. Excess soil organic matter
  3. Poor pollination and high temperature at flowering Correct answer.
  4. Over-application of nitrogen at the seedling stage

Explanation

Tomato fruit set depends on successful pollination and pollen viability, both of which decline when temperatures are too high. Poor pollination therefore directly limits fruit set even when water is adequate. Nutrient imbalances may affect growth but do not most directly explain failure of fruit set.

Question 9Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which propagation method is most suitable for producing a large number of true-to-type banana plants free from soil-borne pathogens?

  1. Air layering
  2. Tissue culture of shoot tips Correct answer.
  3. Sword sucker planting
  4. Seed sowing

Explanation

Tissue culture of shoot tips produces many clonal, disease-free plantlets because the meristematic tissue is largely free of pathogens and the progeny are genetically identical. Suckers are clonal but may carry soil-borne pathogens, while banana seed is scarce and variable. Air layering is not a practical method for banana.

Question 10Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

A soil sample shows a pH of 5.2. Which lime material is generally recommended to raise pH in such acidic horticultural soil?

  1. Gypsum
  2. Muriate of potash
  3. Agricultural lime (calcium carbonate) Correct answer.
  4. Ammonium sulphate

Explanation

Agricultural lime, mainly calcium carbonate, neutralises soil acidity and raises pH. Gypsum supplies calcium and sulphur but does not raise pH, while ammonium sulphate and muriate of potash are acidifying fertilisers. Lime is therefore the correct choice for correcting acidity.

Question 11Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which of the following best describes the role of the rootstock in a grafted fruit tree?

  1. It produces the flowers and fruit of the tree
  2. It determines only the shape of the leaves
  3. It determines the fruit colour of the scion
  4. It provides the root system and influences vigour, soil adaptation and disease resistance Correct answer.

Explanation

The rootstock supplies the root system and controls tree vigour, size, soil adaptation and resistance to soil-borne problems. The scion, not the rootstock, produces the canopy, flowers and fruit. Fruit colour and leaf shape are scion characters.

Question 12Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which type of pruning is mainly carried out to remove weak, diseased and criss-crossing branches and to open up the centre of a fruit tree canopy?

  1. De-blossoming
  2. Thinning out Correct answer.
  3. Heading back
  4. Root pruning

Explanation

Thinning out removes entire branches at their point of origin, eliminating weak, diseased and crossing wood and allowing light into the canopy centre. Heading back shortens shoots and encourages branching, while root pruning and de-blossoming serve different purposes.

Question 13Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

A vegetable grower wants to grow a crop in a greenhouse during the rainy season to avoid excessive moisture and disease. Which structure is most appropriate?

  1. Shade net house with 50 per cent shade
  2. Open field with raised beds
  3. Low plastic mulch without any cover
  4. Naturally ventilated polyhouse with a rain cover Correct answer.

Explanation

A naturally ventilated polyhouse with a rain cover excludes rain while allowing air exchange, so it protects the crop from excessive moisture and rain-splash diseases. A shade net reduces light but does not exclude rain, and open-field or mulch-only systems offer no overhead protection.

Question 14Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which physiological disorder of tomato is caused by calcium deficiency and appears as a dark, sunken lesion at the blossom end of the fruit?

  1. Blossom-end rot Correct answer.
  2. Puffiness
  3. Fruit cracking
  4. Sunscald

Explanation

Blossom-end rot appears as a dark, sunken, leathery lesion at the blossom end and is associated with localised calcium deficiency, often aggravated by irregular moisture. Sunscald is caused by direct sunlight, fruit cracking by moisture fluctuations and puffiness by poor seed development.

Question 15Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which plant growth regulator is commonly used to induce rooting in stem cuttings?

  1. Indole-3-butyric acid Correct answer.
  2. Ethephon
  3. Gibberellic acid
  4. Maleic hydrazide

Explanation

Indole-3-butyric acid is an auxin used as a rooting hormone because it promotes adventitious root initiation in cuttings. Gibberellic acid promotes elongation, ethephon releases ethylene and maleic hydrazide is a growth retardant.

Question 16Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which of the following is an example of a monocotyledonous horticultural crop?

  1. Brinjal
  2. Chilli
  3. Tomato
  4. Onion Correct answer.

Explanation

Onion belongs to the monocotyledons, with a single cotyledon, parallel leaf venation and a fibrous root system. Tomato, brinjal and chilli are dicotyledonous crops with two cotyledons and net-veined leaves.

Question 17Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Why is crop rotation with a legume recommended in a horticultural field before planting a heavy feeder crop?

  1. Legumes increase soil compaction
  2. Legumes lower the soil pH permanently
  3. Legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen through root nodules and improve soil nitrogen Correct answer.
  4. Legumes remove all soil pathogens from the field

Explanation

Legumes form symbiotic root nodules with Rhizobium bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen, adding available nitrogen to the soil for the following crop. Rotation also helps break some disease cycles, but removal of all pathogens and permanent pH change are not claimed.

Question 18Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

A mango orchard shows profuse flowering but very heavy fruit drop at the marble stage. Which management practice is most directly aimed at reducing this drop?

  1. Increasing irrigation to flooding level
  2. Removing all leaves from the canopy
  3. Applying more nitrogenous fertiliser during flowering
  4. Spraying a suitable auxin such as NAA at the pea or marble stage Correct answer.

Explanation

Fruit drop at the marble stage is linked to auxin deficiency in the developing fruit, so a spray of a synthetic auxin such as NAA helps retain fruit. Excess nitrogen promotes vegetative growth, flooding damages roots and defoliation reduces photosynthesis, all of which would worsen the situation.

Question 19Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Which of the following pairs correctly matches a plant with its commercially important part?

  1. Turmeric with its leaf
  2. Ginger with its underground rhizome Correct answer.
  3. Sugarcane with its fruit
  4. Potato with its fibrous root

Explanation

Ginger is grown for its underground rhizome, which is the commercially used part. Potato is grown for a tuber, sugarcane for its stem and turmeric for its rhizome, so the other pairings are incorrect.

Question 20Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

In a nursery, seedlings are showing pale yellow leaves with green veins, and the symptom first appears on the younger leaves. Which nutrient deficiency is most likely?

  1. Nitrogen
  2. Phosphorus
  3. Iron Correct answer.
  4. Potassium

Explanation

Young leaves are the first to show deficiency of an immobile nutrient, and interveinal chlorosis on young leaves is characteristic of iron deficiency. Nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies are mobile and appear first on older leaves, while potassium deficiency shows marginal scorching.

Question 21Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

A grower wants to produce a new mango cultivar that combines high yield from one parent with disease resistance from another. Which breeding approach is most appropriate?

  1. Hybridisation followed by selection in the segregating progeny Correct answer.
  2. Clonal selection within a single cultivar
  3. Tissue culture of the best existing cultivar
  4. Air layering of the high-yielding parent

Explanation

Combining desirable traits from two different parents requires hybridisation, which brings their genes together in the progeny, followed by selection among the variable offspring. Clonal methods, tissue culture and air layering reproduce existing genotypes without creating new gene combinations.

Question 22Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

Two fields have the same soil type but one is on a gentle slope and the other is level. Which statement best explains the difference in irrigation requirement?

  1. The sloped field loses more water by runoff, so it needs more frequent but lighter irrigation Correct answer.
  2. The level field has higher evaporation because of its flat surface
  3. The sloped field retains more water because gravity holds it in place
  4. Irrigation requirement is identical because soil type is the same

Explanation

On a slope, applied water tends to run off before it infiltrates, so less water enters the root zone and lighter, more frequent irrigation is needed. Soil type alone does not fix irrigation requirement because slope, runoff and infiltration also matter. The level field does not evaporate more merely because it is flat.

Question 23Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

A horticulturist grafts a scion onto a rootstock but the graft union fails and the scion dies. Which condition is the most likely cause of graft incompatibility?

  1. The union was wrapped tightly to prevent desiccation
  2. The graft was done during active growth with well-matched cambium
  3. The scion and rootstock belong to distantly related species with poor cambial union Correct answer.
  4. The scion was taken from a healthy, vigorous mother plant

Explanation

Successful grafting requires close botanical relationship and matching of cambial tissues so that a functional union can form. Distantly related species often show incompatibility, causing the union to fail. Healthy scion wood, active growth and tight wrapping all favour success rather than failure.

Question 24Fundamentals of Horticulture and Plant Science

In a polyhouse, a tomato crop shows excessive vegetative growth, poor fruit set and soft, dark green leaves. Which management interpretation is most reasonable?

  1. The crop should be flood-irrigated to leach all nutrients
  2. The crop is receiving excessive nitrogen and should be shifted to a balanced or higher potassium feed Correct answer.
  3. The crop needs more shading to reduce photosynthesis
  4. The crop is deficient in nitrogen and needs immediate urea spray

Explanation

Luxuriant vegetative growth with dark green leaves and poor fruit set is typical of excess nitrogen, which favours vegetative over reproductive growth. Correcting the balance by reducing nitrogen and supplying potassium supports fruit development. Additional nitrogen, shading or flooding would worsen the problem.

Question 25Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which soil particle size fraction is the smallest and chiefly responsible for the plasticity and swelling of a black cotton soil?

  1. Clay Correct answer.
  2. Coarse gravel
  3. Fine sand
  4. Silt

Explanation

Clay is defined as the fraction below 0.002 mm and has the largest specific surface area among soil separates. Its plate-like minerals adsorb water and cations, which produces cohesion, plasticity and the swelling-shrinking behaviour seen in vertisols. Silt and sand are coarser and contribute little to swelling.

Question 26Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A soil sample contains 30% clay, 55% silt and 15% sand. Using the textural triangle, this soil belongs to which textural class?

  1. Silt loam
  2. Loam
  3. Silty clay loam Correct answer.
  4. Sandy loam

Explanation

A soil with clay between 27 and 40% and silt above 40% while sand stays low falls in the silty clay loam class of the standard textural triangle. The very high silt content rules out loam and silt loam because clay is above 27%. Sandy loam needs much more sand.

Question 27Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which soil structure type is most desirable for root growth and aeration in a horticultural field?

  1. Massive
  2. Granular Correct answer.
  3. Platy
  4. Single grain

Explanation

Granular structure consists of small, rounded, porous aggregates that create continuous pore space for air, water and roots. Single grain and massive soils lack aggregation, while platy structure restricts vertical drainage. Granular aggregates are typical of well-managed surface horizons.

Question 28Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

In a soil profile, which horizon is the zone of maximum organic matter accumulation in an undisturbed forest soil?

  1. A horizon
  2. C horizon
  3. B horizon
  4. O horizon Correct answer.

Explanation

The O horizon is the surface layer of fresh and partly decomposed litter, so it holds the greatest concentration of organic matter. The A horizon is the mineral topsoil where humus is mixed with mineral particles. B and C horizons lie below and contain progressively less organic matter.

Question 29Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A grower's field shows standing water for hours after irrigation because a compacted layer lies 25 cm below the surface. Which practice most directly corrects this problem?

  1. Increasing the nitrogen dose
  2. Subsoiling to break the compacted layer Correct answer.
  3. Raising the soil pH with lime
  4. Applying a foliar micronutrient spray

Explanation

Waterlogging caused by a subsurface compacted pan is a physical restriction, so it needs a mechanical remedy. Subsoiling shatters the pan and reconnects pores to deeper layers, restoring downward drainage. Fertiliser or pH amendments do not remove a physical barrier.

Question 30Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which statement correctly describes field capacity?

  1. The water held by soil after excess gravitational water has drained away Correct answer.
  2. The water that drains freely under gravity within one hour
  3. The maximum water the soil can hold when completely saturated
  4. The water content remaining after plants permanently wilt

Explanation

Field capacity is the moisture level reached two to three days after a saturated soil has drained freely under gravity. At this point macropores are air-filled and micropores retain plant-available water. Permanent wilting point and saturation are different reference states.

Question 31Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A soil has a pH of 5.2 and the crop is sensitive to acidity. Which amendment is the standard choice to raise pH?

  1. Elemental sulphur
  2. Ammonium sulphate
  3. Gypsum
  4. Agricultural lime (calcium carbonate) Correct answer.

Explanation

Calcium carbonate neutralises soil acidity by reacting with hydrogen ions and raising base saturation. Its effect is gradual but lasting and it also supplies calcium. Gypsum supplies calcium without raising pH much, while sulphur and ammonium sulphate acidify soil.

Question 32Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which cation is held most strongly on the soil exchange complex because of its higher charge?

  1. Sodium (Na+)
  2. Calcium (Ca2+)
  3. Potassium (K+)
  4. Aluminium (Al3+) Correct answer.

Explanation

In the lyotropic series, trivalent cations are adsorbed more strongly than divalent and monovalent cations of similar hydration. Al3+ therefore displaces Ca2+, K+ and Na+ from exchange sites. This is why aluminium dominates exchange sites in strongly acid soils.

Question 33Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A laboratory reports a cation exchange capacity of 8 cmol(+) per kg for a sandy soil. What does this value indicate?

  1. The soil has a low nutrient-holding capacity Correct answer.
  2. The soil is strongly alkaline
  3. The soil contains excess soluble salts
  4. The soil has very high organic matter

Explanation

Cation exchange capacity measures the number of negatively charged sites able to retain exchangeable cations. A value of 8 cmol(+) per kg is low and typical of sandy, low-humus soils, meaning nutrients leach easily and frequent small fertiliser doses are needed. It says nothing directly about pH or salinity.

Question 34Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which essential element is a structural component of chlorophyll and is therefore central to photosynthesis?

  1. Iron
  2. Manganese
  3. Boron
  4. Magnesium Correct answer.

Explanation

Magnesium occupies the centre of the chlorophyll molecule, so a deficiency quickly causes interveinal chlorosis in older leaves. Iron and manganese are enzyme cofactors and are not part of chlorophyll. Boron has structural and reproductive roles but is not a chlorophyll constituent.

Question 35Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Interveinal chlorosis appears first on the older leaves of a tomato crop while veins stay green. Which nutrient deficiency does this pattern most suggest?

  1. Iron
  2. Calcium
  3. Boron
  4. Magnesium Correct answer.

Explanation

Magnesium is mobile in the phloem, so the plant moves it from older leaves to growing points when supply is short, producing interveinal chlorosis on lower leaves first. Iron, calcium and boron are immobile and show symptoms on young leaves. This mobility pattern is the key diagnostic clue.

Question 36Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Why is urea applied to horticultural soil usually incorporated rather than left on the surface?

  1. Surface urea cannot dissolve in irrigation water
  2. Surface urea volatilises as ammonia and loses nitrogen Correct answer.
  3. Surface urea is destroyed by sunlight within minutes
  4. Surface urea is fixed by clay into unavailable forms

Explanation

Urea hydrolyses to ammonium carbonate at the surface, and on neutral to alkaline soils this releases ammonia gas that escapes to the atmosphere. Incorporating urea or irrigating it in moves it below the surface and greatly reduces volatilisation losses. Urea is not destroyed by light or fixed by clay in this way.

Question 37Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

In the nitrogen cycle, which process converts ammonium to nitrate in well-aerated soil?

  1. Nitrogen fixation
  2. Nitrification Correct answer.
  3. Denitrification
  4. Ammonification

Explanation

Nitrification is the microbial oxidation of ammonium to nitrite and then nitrate, carried out by Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter under aerobic conditions. It makes nitrogen mobile and readily leached. Denitrification, ammonification and fixation are different steps of the cycle.

Question 38Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A grower applies 150 kg of diammonium phosphate (18-46-0) per hectare. Approximately how much P2O5 is supplied?

  1. 69 kg Correct answer.
  2. 150 kg
  3. 46 kg
  4. 27 kg

Explanation

The middle figure of a fertiliser grade is the percentage of P2O5. Forty-six per cent of 150 kg is 69 kg of P2O5. The 18% nitrogen figure gives 27 kg N, which is a distractor here.

Question 39Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which practice best reduces nitrogen loss through leaching in a sandy vegetable field?

  1. Splitting nitrogen into several small doses timed to crop demand Correct answer.
  2. Applying the whole nitrogen dose as a single basal application
  3. Flood irrigating immediately after each fertiliser dose
  4. Using only nitrate-containing fertilisers

Explanation

Sandy soils have low cation exchange capacity and high permeability, so nitrate moves readily below the root zone. Split applications match supply to crop uptake and keep unused nitrate in the soil for shorter periods. Large single doses, heavy irrigation and purely nitrate sources all increase leaching risk.

Question 40Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A soil test shows a high sodium adsorption ratio and poor infiltration. Which amendment is specifically recommended for such a sodic soil?

  1. Superphosphate
  2. Urea
  3. Gypsum Correct answer.
  4. Muriate of potash

Explanation

In sodic soils excess exchangeable sodium disperses clay and destroys structure. Gypsum supplies calcium, which replaces sodium on exchange sites, and the sodium is then leached away with good-quality water. The other materials supply nutrients but do not displace sodium.

Question 41Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which soil organism group is chiefly responsible for decomposing organic residues and releasing nutrients in a horticultural compost heap?

  1. Nematodes
  2. Bacteria and fungi Correct answer.
  3. Actinomycetes alone
  4. Earthworms alone

Explanation

Bacteria and fungi are the primary decomposers that break down organic residues and mineralise nutrients. Earthworms and actinomycetes assist in later stages but cannot carry out the bulk of decomposition alone. Nematodes are mostly consumers of roots, microbes or other animals.

Question 42Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A grower wants to increase soil organic carbon in a sandy loam over several seasons. Which combination is most effective?

  1. Repeated application of ammonium sulphate alone
  2. Regular addition of compost or green manure with reduced tillage Correct answer.
  3. Burning crop residues and deep ploughing
  4. Continuous clean cultivation with no residue return

Explanation

Soil organic carbon builds when carbon inputs exceed losses. Adding compost or green manure raises inputs, while reduced tillage slows the oxidation of existing organic matter. Burning, clean cultivation and bare fallow all accelerate carbon loss.

Question 43Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which form of soil water is unavailable to plants because it is held too tightly by soil particles?

  1. Hygroscopic water Correct answer.
  2. Capillary water
  3. Field capacity water
  4. Gravitational water

Explanation

Hygroscopic water forms thin films tightly adsorbed on particle surfaces and is held at tensions far above the wilting point, so roots cannot extract it. Capillary water is the main plant-available fraction. Gravitational water drains away and field capacity water is largely available.

Question 44Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

Which nutrient is taken up by plants mainly as the molybdate anion and is essential for nitrogen fixation and nitrate reduction?

  1. Zinc
  2. Copper
  3. Chlorine
  4. Molybdenum Correct answer.

Explanation

Molybdenum is absorbed as molybdate and is a cofactor of nitrogenase and nitrate reductase, so it is critical for nitrogen fixation and nitrate assimilation. Its requirement is very small but deficiency can occur in acid sandy soils. Copper, zinc and chlorine have different uptake forms and roles.

Question 45Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

In horticultural nursery practice, which plant part is used as the propagating material in the technique called layering?

  1. A piece of root cut free from the mother plant
  2. A detached leaf placed on moist sand
  3. A stem still attached to the parent plant Correct answer.
  4. A seed treated with fungicide before sowing

Explanation

Layering is the rooting of a stem while it remains attached to the parent plant, so the new plant is supplied with water and nutrients until roots form. Only after rooting is the layer separated from the mother plant. Detached leaves, root cuttings and seeds are used in other propagation methods.

Question 46Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

Which of the following is the standard rooting medium used in a mist propagation chamber for softwood cuttings?

  1. Fresh farmyard manure
  2. Rock salt spread over gravel
  3. Coarse sand or a sand-cocopeat mixture Correct answer.
  4. Field soil with heavy clay

Explanation

Softwood cuttings need a medium that holds moisture yet drains freely and stays aerated, so coarse sand or sand mixed with cocopeat or perlite is standard. Heavy clay, manure and salt all damage cuttings by reducing aeration or raising salinity.

Question 47Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

A nursery worker wants to raise true-to-type plants of a mango variety that is difficult to root from cuttings. Which propagation method is most appropriate?

  1. Raising plants from leaf petiole cuttings
  2. Seed sowing of open-pollinated fruit
  3. Veneer grafting on a suitable rootstock Correct answer.
  4. Splitting the taproot into two halves

Explanation

Mango is commercially propagated by grafting because seedling progeny are heterozygous and do not reproduce the variety. Veneer grafting is a recognised method and also gives the benefit of a chosen rootstock. Mango does not propagate from leaf cuttings, and seeds give variable offspring.

Question 48Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

In a grafting operation, what is the main function of the rootstock?

  1. To determine the fruit colour of the scion
  2. To shorten the juvenile phase of the scion only
  3. To provide the desired variety's fruit characters
  4. To supply water and mineral nutrients and anchor the plant Correct answer.

Explanation

The rootstock forms the root system and is responsible for anchorage, water and nutrient uptake, and often for vigour control and soil-borne disease tolerance. Fruit characters such as colour and quality come from the scion.

Question 49Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

Which piece of nursery equipment is most suitable for irrigating a raised bed of cuttings with a fine, gentle spray that does not dislodge the leaves?

  1. A flood irrigation channel
  2. A watering can fitted with a fine rose Correct answer.
  3. A high-pressure jet sprayer
  4. A drip line buried 15 cm deep

Explanation

A fine rose on a watering can delivers water gently and evenly over a small bed without washing away the medium or damaging tender cuttings. Flood channels, buried drip lines and high-pressure jets either displace the medium or give uneven, harsh delivery.

Question 50Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

Which of the following is the correct sequence of operations when raising vegetable seedlings in nursery trays?

  1. Sowing, hardening, transplanting, germination
  2. Germination, sowing, transplanting, hardening
  3. Hardening, sowing, germination, transplanting
  4. Sowing, germination, hardening, transplanting Correct answer.

Explanation

Seeds are first sown in the tray, then germinate and grow, then the seedlings are hardened off, and only after hardening are they transplanted into the field. Hardening must come immediately before transplanting to reduce transplant shock.