Agriculture
The Agriculture domain of MP PAT checks whether you can apply field-level crop production, horticulture, plant protection, animal husbandry, and farm economics/extension ideas to numerical and situational questions. Expect crop-season matching, input calculations, pest-management choices, and basic breed or cost concepts.
Crop production and horticulture
- Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon (rice, maize, soybean, cotton); rabi crops are winter-season (wheat, gram, mustard); zaid is the short summer season (moong, watermelon).
- Know seed rate, spacing, and critical irrigation stages; in horticulture, distinguish sexual (seed) from vegetative propagation (cutting, grafting, layering).
- Fertilizer recommendations are given as kg N, P2O5, and K2O per hectare, not as kg of fertilizer.
Plant protection
- Integrated pest management combines cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical methods; treat only after economic threshold level (ETL).
- Read the label: formulation (EC, WP), dose, waiting period before harvest, and resistance rotation.
Animal husbandry and economics/extension
- A balanced ration supplies energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins; know lactation and breed basics.
- Farm economics uses fixed vs variable cost, gross margin, and MSP; extension links research to farmers through demonstrations, field days, and mass media.
Worked example
A crop needs 120 kg N, 60 kg P2O5, and 40 kg K2O per ha. DAP is 18% N and 46% P2O5; urea is 46% N; MOP is 60% K2O. DAP for 60 kg P2O5 = 60 ÷ 0.46 = 130.4 kg, supplying 130.4 × 0.18 = 23.5 kg N. Balance N = 120 − 23.5 = 96.5 kg, so urea = 96.5 ÷ 0.46 = 209.8 kg. MOP = 40 ÷ 0.60 = 66.7 kg.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating P2O5 as elemental P or urea as 100% N; forgetting the N already supplied by DAP.
- Mixing kharif and rabi examples; ignoring pesticide waiting period; confusing fixed and variable costs.