I85PREP
⌘ K
PSEB SS Agriculture study materials
PSEB SS Agriculture study resources

PSEB SS Agriculture practice questions

One question at a time. Build your PSEB SS Agriculture understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which soil particle size fraction is primarily responsible for a soil's cation exchange capacity and nutrient retention?

  1. Silt
  2. Sand
  3. Gravel
  4. Clay Correct answer.

Explanation

Clay particles carry net negative surface charges and have very large specific surface area, which allows them to adsorb and exchange cations such as calcium, magnesium and potassium. Sand and gravel are coarse and chemically inert with negligible exchange capacity. Silt has some surface area but far less than clay, so clay dominates nutrient retention.

Question 2Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

In crop rotation, growing a cereal after a legume mainly benefits the following crop through which mechanism?

  1. Residual fixed nitrogen and improved soil structure Correct answer.
  2. Increased soil pH from legume root exudates
  3. Elimination of all soil-borne pathogens
  4. Direct transfer of atmospheric nitrogen to the cereal roots

Explanation

Legumes form symbioses with rhizobia and fix atmospheric nitrogen, leaving nitrogen-rich residues that decompose and supply the subsequent cereal. Their root systems also improve aggregation and porosity. Nitrogen is not transferred directly to the cereal during its growth, and rotation reduces but does not eliminate pathogens.

Question 3Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A farmer applies 120 kg of urea (46% N) per hectare. Approximately how much actual nitrogen is applied?

  1. 120.0 kg N
  2. 55.2 kg N Correct answer.
  3. 46.0 kg N
  4. 260.9 kg N

Explanation

The nitrogen content of the fertiliser is found by multiplying the product mass by its N percentage: 120 kg × 0.46 = 55.2 kg N. The remaining mass is mainly carbon, oxygen and hydrogen in the urea molecule. Dividing instead of multiplying gives the incorrect larger value.

Question 4Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which irrigation method is generally most efficient in terms of water application efficiency on a level field with widely spaced row crops?

  1. Drip irrigation Correct answer.
  2. Flood irrigation
  3. Furrow irrigation
  4. Basin irrigation

Explanation

Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the root zone through emitters, minimising evaporation, deep percolation and runoff, so application efficiency is typically highest. Flood, basin and furrow systems rely on surface spreading and lose more water. Drip is especially suited to widely spaced rows where only the root zone needs wetting.

Question 5Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

The critical period for irrigation in most cereal crops occurs at which stage?

  1. Germination and seedling establishment
  2. Flowering and grain filling Correct answer.
  3. Post-harvest drying
  4. Physiological maturity

Explanation

Water stress during flowering and grain filling causes floret abortion, poor pollination and reduced grain weight, so this is the stage where moisture deficit most reduces yield. Seedling stage is sensitive but plants can recover, and maturity and post-harvest stages have little effect on yield formation.

Question 6Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which practice is the most direct cultural method for reducing soil erosion on a steep cultivated slope?

  1. Removing crop residues after harvest
  2. Monocropping the same row crop every year
  3. Increasing tillage depth
  4. Contour cultivation with vegetative strips Correct answer.

Explanation

Contour cultivation aligns furrows across the slope to slow runoff, and vegetative strips trap sediment and reduce slope length. Together they cut both sheet and rill erosion. Deeper tillage, residue removal and continuous monocropping all increase erosion risk rather than reduce it.

Question 7Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

In seed technology, the term 'germination percentage' of a seed lot refers to which quantity?

  1. The weight of seedlings produced per unit seed weight
  2. The proportion of seeds that produce normal seedlings under specified test conditions Correct answer.
  3. The speed at which the first radicle emerges
  4. The proportion of seeds that float in water

Explanation

Germination percentage is defined as the number of seeds producing normal, healthy seedlings expressed as a percentage of the seeds tested under prescribed conditions. It is a standard laboratory measure of lot quality used to calculate sowing rates. Vigour and seedling weight are separate attributes.

Question 8Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A seed lot has 90% germination and 95% purity. What is its approximate pure live seed (PLS) percentage?

  1. 85.5% Correct answer.
  2. 95.0%
  3. 92.5%
  4. 90.0%

Explanation

Pure live seed percentage is the product of purity and germination: 0.95 × 0.90 = 0.855, or about 85.5%. It represents the fraction of the lot that is both the desired species and capable of germinating. Adding or averaging the two values does not give PLS.

Question 9Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which pest category is best managed primarily by rotating crops with non-host species to break its life cycle?

  1. Migratory locusts
  2. Soil-borne root-knot nematodes Correct answer.
  3. Stored-grain weevils
  4. Aphids carried by wind

Explanation

Root-knot nematodes survive in soil and have narrow host ranges, so rotating to a non-host crop starves the population and breaks the cycle. Highly mobile pests such as locusts, wind-borne aphids and storage insects are not controlled by field crop rotation.

Question 10Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) places greatest emphasis on which principle?

  1. Eliminating every insect from the field
  2. Using only organic-certified products
  3. Calendar spraying of the most potent insecticide
  4. Combining monitoring, cultural, biological and chemical tactics with chemicals as a last resort Correct answer.

Explanation

IPM integrates scouting and economic thresholds with cultural, mechanical and biological controls, applying pesticides only when pest numbers justify them. This protects natural enemies and reduces resistance and residue problems. Blanket spraying or total eradication is contrary to the approach.

Question 11Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which fungal disease of wheat is characterised by orange-brown pustules on leaves that rub off on the fingers?

  1. Powdery mildew
  2. Take-all
  3. Loose smut
  4. Leaf rust Correct answer.

Explanation

Leaf rust produces orange-brown uredinia on leaf surfaces that release powdery spores when rubbed. Loose smut replaces the ear with a black spore mass, powdery mildew gives white superficial mycelium, and take-all causes blackened roots and whiteheads. The coloured pustules are diagnostic of rust.

Question 12Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A bacterial disease of solanaceous crops causing wilting with vascular browning is most reliably managed by which strategy?

  1. Increasing nitrogen application
  2. Use of resistant varieties and clean seed or transplants Correct answer.
  3. Deep ploughing after infection
  4. Foliar fungicide sprays

Explanation

Bacterial wilt pathogens survive in soil and plant debris and cannot be controlled by fungicides, which act on fungi. The most reliable measures are resistant cultivars and pathogen-free planting material, combined with rotation and sanitation. Fertiliser and deep ploughing do not eliminate the bacterium.

Question 13Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which of the following is a macronutrient required by plants in relatively large amounts?

  1. Boron
  2. Molybdenum
  3. Magnesium Correct answer.
  4. Zinc

Explanation

Magnesium is a macronutrient, needed in comparatively large amounts as the central atom of chlorophyll and in enzyme reactions. Boron, molybdenum and zinc are micronutrients required only in trace quantities. Confusing the two groups leads to toxicity from over-application of micronutrients.

Question 14Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A soil test reports a pH of 5.2 for a field intended for a pH-sensitive crop. Which amendment is most appropriate?

  1. Ammonium sulphate
  2. Elemental sulphur
  3. Gypsum
  4. Agricultural lime Correct answer.

Explanation

A pH of 5.2 is strongly acidic, and agricultural lime (calcium carbonate) neutralises acidity and raises pH toward the target range for sensitive crops. Elemental sulphur and ammonium sulphate acidify soil further, while gypsum adds calcium without raising pH appreciably.

Question 15Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which livestock digestive system allows the animal to utilise roughage through microbial fermentation before the stomach?

  1. Simple stomach with caecum only
  2. Monogastric stomach
  3. Ruminant stomach Correct answer.
  4. Avian gizzard

Explanation

Ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats have a multi-chambered stomach with a large rumen where microbes ferment fibrous roughage before digestion. Monogastric animals cannot digest large amounts of fibre efficiently. The avian gizzard grinds food mechanically but does not perform pregastric fermentation.

Question 16Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

In poultry, which nutrient is most commonly deficient when birds are fed only cereal grain and show leg weakness and poor eggshell quality?

  1. Calcium Correct answer.
  2. Crude fibre
  3. Starch
  4. Water

Explanation

Cereal grains are low in calcium, which laying hens need for eggshell formation and which supports bone strength. Deficiency causes weak legs and thin or soft shells. Fibre, water and starch are not the limiting nutrients in this scenario; starch is abundant in grain.

Question 17Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which method of preserving green fodder involves controlled anaerobic fermentation that lowers pH?

  1. Grain storage
  2. Sun drying
  3. Silage making Correct answer.
  4. Hay making

Explanation

Silage making relies on anaerobic fermentation by lactic acid bacteria, which produce acid and lower pH to preserve the forage. Hay making preserves by drying, while sun drying and grain storage use moisture removal rather than fermentation. The low pH of silage inhibits spoilage organisms.

Question 18Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Artificial insemination in cattle offers which principal advantage over natural service?

  1. It allows widespread use of superior sires and reduces disease transmission Correct answer.
  2. It guarantees a higher conception rate than natural mating
  3. It eliminates the need for a veterinarian
  4. It removes the need for oestrus detection

Explanation

Artificial insemination lets one genetically superior bull serve many herds and avoids direct physical contact, lowering venereal disease spread and injury risk. Oestrus detection is still essential and conception rates depend on timing and technique, so it does not guarantee better results.

Question 19Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which agricultural marketing function involves sorting produce into uniform grades before sale?

  1. Grading Correct answer.
  2. Storage
  3. Assembling
  4. Processing

Explanation

Grading is the function of classifying produce into uniform quality categories so buyers can trade on known standards and prices reflect quality. Assembling gathers produce, processing transforms it, and storage holds it over time. Grading directly supports fair pricing and market access.

Question 20Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A cooperative sells 500 tonnes of paddy at a price of 1,800 per tonne, with a marketing cost of 200 per tonne. What is the net return?

  1. 1,000,000
  2. 800,000 Correct answer.
  3. 700,000
  4. 900,000

Explanation

Gross revenue is 500 × 1,800 = 900,000, and total marketing cost is 500 × 200 = 100,000. Subtracting cost from revenue gives a net return of 800,000. Reporting gross revenue or subtracting the cost only once per tonne in the wrong way produces the other figures.

Question 21Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which of the following best describes 'fixed cost' in farm enterprise budgeting?

  1. Cost that changes directly with the level of output
  2. Cost that must be paid whether or not production occurs Correct answer.
  3. Cost of hiring casual harvest labour
  4. Cost of seed and fertiliser used in a season

Explanation

Fixed costs, such as land rent, insurance and depreciation on machinery, are incurred regardless of the output level in the short run. Variable costs, including seed, fertiliser and casual labour, change with the scale of production. Distinguishing them is essential for break-even and marginal analysis.

Question 22Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A farm has total revenue of 250,000 and total variable cost of 180,000 while fixed cost is 60,000. What is the gross margin?

  1. 10,000
  2. 70,000 Correct answer.
  3. 130,000
  4. 190,000

Explanation

Gross margin equals total revenue minus total variable cost: 250,000 − 180,000 = 70,000. Fixed costs are excluded from gross margin and deducted later to obtain net profit. Confusing gross margin with net profit or with revenue leads to the other values.

Question 23Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which extension teaching method is most effective for demonstrating a new skill such as seed treatment to a small group of farmers?

  1. Newspaper advertisement
  2. Method demonstration with farmer participation Correct answer.
  3. Mass radio broadcast
  4. Printed leaflet distribution only

Explanation

A method demonstration shows the skill step by step and lets farmers practise under supervision, which is ideal for small groups learning a technique. Mass media such as radio, leaflets and newspapers raise awareness but cannot provide hands-on practice or immediate feedback.

Question 24Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

In agricultural extension, the term 'diffusion of innovation' describes which process?

  1. The mixing of two fertiliser products before application
  2. The transfer of land ownership between generations
  3. The physical movement of produce from farm to market
  4. The spread of a new practice through a farming community over time Correct answer.

Explanation

Diffusion of innovation refers to how a new idea or practice is communicated and adopted by members of a social system over time, typically following categories from innovators to laggards. It is a communication and adoption process, not a physical or legal transaction. Understanding it guides extension strategies.

Question 25Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which combination of factors would most likely cause a high risk of nitrate leaching from a field?

  1. Growing a deep-rooted legume without nitrogen fertiliser
  2. Heavy nitrogen application followed by heavy rainfall on a sandy soil Correct answer.
  3. Use of organic manure incorporated into a loam soil
  4. Split nitrogen application on a clay loam under moderate rainfall

Explanation

Nitrate is highly mobile and is not held by soil particles, so a large nitrogen dose on a sandy, low-retention soil followed by heavy rain moves nitrate below the root zone. Split applications, moderate rainfall and incorporation of organic matter reduce leaching risk, and legumes without fertiliser add little mobile nitrate.

Question 26Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which soil structure type is most favourable for root penetration and aeration in a well-managed agricultural topsoil?

  1. Platy layers
  2. Granular aggregates Correct answer.
  3. Single-grain sand
  4. Massive blocky clods

Explanation

Granular (crumb) structure creates small, rounded, porous aggregates that allow air, water and roots to move freely through the topsoil. It is the structure most associated with fertile, well-managed surface horizons. Massive, platy or single-grain arrangements restrict one or more of these movements.

Question 27Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which organic material is best described as having a high C:N ratio that temporarily immobilises soil nitrogen when incorporated fresh?

  1. Cereal straw Correct answer.
  2. Legume green manure
  3. Poultry litter
  4. Well-rotted farmyard manure

Explanation

Cereal straw is carbon-rich and low in nitrogen, giving a wide C:N ratio (often above 80:1). Soil microbes decomposing it draw on available soil nitrogen, temporarily immobilising it from the crop. Materials that are already decomposed or nitrogen-rich supply rather than tie up nitrogen.

Question 28Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which irrigation method is generally most efficient in water use for a widely spaced row crop such as cotton on level land?

  1. Flood irrigation
  2. Border strip flooding
  3. Drip (trickle) irrigation Correct answer.
  4. Furrow irrigation

Explanation

Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the root zone through emitters, minimising evaporation, runoff and deep percolation, so it achieves high application efficiency. Furrow, flood and border methods rely on gravity flow over the soil surface and lose more water to these pathways.

Question 29Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which practice is the most effective long-term control for the parasitic weed Striga in sorghum fields?

  1. Growing resistant or tolerant sorghum varieties with rotation to non-host legumes Correct answer.
  2. Increasing nitrogen fertiliser application alone
  3. Spraying a broad-spectrum contact herbicide after emergence
  4. Deep ploughing after harvest

Explanation

Striga survives in soil as seed for many years, so host resistance combined with rotation to non-host crops reduces the soil seed bank and prevents reproduction. This integrated approach targets the parasite's life cycle rather than only emerged plants. Single measures such as fertiliser or post-emergence sprays do not deplete the seed bank.

Question 30Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which insect order includes the majority of important defoliating caterpillars and armyworms attacking field crops?

  1. Hemiptera
  2. Coleoptera
  3. Orthoptera
  4. Lepidoptera Correct answer.

Explanation

Lepidoptera is the order of moths and butterflies, and its larvae (caterpillars) include armyworms, cutworms and many leaf-feeding pests. Their larval stage is the damaging defoliating phase. The other orders contain beetles, sucking bugs and grasshoppers respectively.

Question 31Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which pathogen group is responsible for the late blight disease of potato that spreads rapidly in cool, moist weather?

  1. Oomycete (Phytophthora infestans) Correct answer.
  2. Bacterium (Ralstonia solanacearum)
  3. Nematode (Meloidogyne species)
  4. Virus (potato leafroll virus)

Explanation

Late blight of potato is caused by Phytophthora infestans, an oomycete that thrives in cool, humid conditions and produces wind-borne sporangia. It attacks foliage and tubers and can destroy a crop within days. The other agents cause wilt, virus symptoms or root-knot galls rather than blight.

Question 32Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A farmer wants to control weeds in a standing cereal crop without harming the cereal. Which herbicide category is appropriate?

  1. Selective post-emergence herbicide Correct answer.
  2. Non-selective pre-plant soil sterilant
  3. Total-contact soil fumigant
  4. Broad-spectrum burndown herbicide

Explanation

Selective herbicides are formulated to kill target weeds while leaving the crop unharmed, and post-emergence types are applied after both crop and weeds have emerged. Non-selective or sterilant products would damage or kill the cereal. Selection depends on the crop-weed spectrum, not merely on timing.

Question 33Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which process converts atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available forms within root nodules of legumes?

  1. Nitrification
  2. Ammonification
  3. Denitrification
  4. Biological nitrogen fixation Correct answer.

Explanation

Biological nitrogen fixation is carried out by rhizobia in legume root nodules, using the enzyme nitrogenase to reduce atmospheric N2 to ammonia. Nitrification and ammonification transform nitrogen already in the soil, while denitrification returns nitrogen to the atmosphere.

Question 34Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A soil test shows available phosphorus at 8 kg/ha, well below the critical level for a cereal crop. Which fertiliser strategy is most appropriate?

  1. Apply gypsum to correct the deficiency
  2. Broadcast urea before sowing
  3. Spray potassium sulphate as a foliar feed
  4. Apply a phosphatic fertiliser such as DAP or single superphosphate near the seed zone Correct answer.

Explanation

Phosphorus is relatively immobile in soil, so placing phosphatic fertiliser near the seed zone improves uptake efficiency. DAP and single superphosphate are standard phosphatic sources. Urea supplies nitrogen, potassium sulphate supplies potassium, and gypsum supplies calcium and sulphur, none of which corrects phosphorus deficiency.

Question 35Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which cropping system is best described as growing two or more crops in the same field in a definite row arrangement during one season?

  1. Fallow cropping
  2. Intercropping Correct answer.
  3. Sole cropping
  4. Sequence cropping

Explanation

Intercropping involves growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same field in a defined arrangement. Sequence cropping grows crops one after another, sole cropping grows a single crop, and fallow leaves the land uncropped. The simultaneous, arranged growth is the defining feature of intercropping.

Question 36Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

In crop rotation, which principle most directly reduces the build-up of soil-borne pathogens?

  1. Alternating crops from different families with non-host species Correct answer.
  2. Applying the same fungicide every season
  3. Growing the same host crop continuously
  4. Increasing plant density of the susceptible crop

Explanation

Rotating to crops from different botanical families deprives soil-borne pathogens of their host, so their populations decline between susceptible crops. Continuous cropping of the same host allows pathogens to multiply. Fungicides and density changes do not break the host cycle in the same way.

Question 37Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which factor most directly determines the water-holding capacity of a soil?

  1. Slope of the field
  2. Content of clay and organic matter Correct answer.
  3. Depth of the plough layer
  4. Colour of the soil

Explanation

Clay particles and organic matter have large surface areas and small pore spaces that retain water against drainage, so they chiefly determine water-holding capacity. Colour, slope and ploughing depth influence other properties but not the intrinsic retention capacity as directly.

Question 38Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which of the following is the primary purpose of applying a pre-emergence herbicide in a crop field?

  1. To sterilise the soil of all microorganisms
  2. To fertilise the crop with nitrogen
  3. To kill emerged weeds after the crop is established
  4. To prevent weed seedlings from emerging through a treated soil surface layer Correct answer.

Explanation

Pre-emergence herbicides are applied to the soil surface before or shortly after sowing and before weeds emerge. They form a chemical barrier that kills germinating weed seedlings as they grow through it. They are not designed to act on established weeds or to fertilise or sterilise the soil.

Question 39Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which livestock species is a monogastric animal that cannot efficiently digest large amounts of fibrous roughage?

  1. Goat
  2. Sheep
  3. Cattle
  4. Pig Correct answer.

Explanation

Pigs are monogastric (single-stomached) animals with limited capacity to ferment fibre, so they need more concentrated feeds. Cattle, sheep and goats are ruminants with a rumen that supports microbial digestion of roughage. This distinction is fundamental to diet formulation.

Question 40Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A dairy cow's ration is deficient in calcium and shows a wide calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Which formulation adjustment is most appropriate?

  1. Increase only the phosphorus source
  2. Increase the calcium source and bring the Ca:P ratio toward about 2:1 Correct answer.
  3. Add more cereal grain only
  4. Remove all mineral supplements

Explanation

A wide Ca:P ratio reduces absorption of both minerals, so the ration should be corrected by adding calcium and adjusting the ratio toward the recommended range of about 2:1. Adding grain alone or removing minerals worsens the imbalance, and adding only phosphorus would widen the ratio further.

Question 41Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which measure is most effective for controlling mastitis in a dairy herd?

  1. Feeding more concentrate during lactation
  2. Reducing the number of milking sessions
  3. Increasing milking speed only
  4. Post-milking teat dipping with hygienic milking routine Correct answer.

Explanation

Mastitis is usually caused by bacteria entering the teat canal, so post-milking teat dipping combined with hygienic milking practices reduces new infections. Teat dipping disinfects the canal after milking when it remains open. Feeding and milking frequency changes do not directly prevent bacterial entry.

Question 42Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which poultry management practice is most important for preventing the spread of infectious disease within a flock?

  1. Maintaining strict biosecurity with controlled entry and disinfection Correct answer.
  2. Increasing stocking density to keep birds warm
  3. Providing continuous dim lighting
  4. Feeding only whole grain

Explanation

Biosecurity measures such as controlled entry, footbaths, disinfection and separation from wild birds prevent pathogens from entering and spreading in a flock. Lighting and feeding affect production but not pathogen transmission, and high stocking density increases disease risk.

Question 43Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which practice best preserves the feeding value of harvested green fodder during storage?

  1. Ensiling it at proper moisture in an airtight silo Correct answer.
  2. Drying it quickly on the ground after rain
  3. Leaving it in loose heaps exposed to sun and rain
  4. Storing it in open sheds with free air movement

Explanation

Ensiling preserves fodder through anaerobic fermentation in an airtight structure, retaining nutrients and preventing spoilage. Exposure to sun, rain or free air causes oxidation, leaching and mould growth that reduce feeding value. Proper moisture and exclusion of air are essential for good silage.

Question 44Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which type of farm record is used to track income and expenditure of the farm business over a period?

  1. Herd register
  2. Financial (account) record Correct answer.
  3. Crop yield record
  4. Labour attendance record

Explanation

Financial or account records record receipts and payments and are used to calculate profit, cash flow and enterprise returns. Herd registers, yield records and labour records capture physical or operational data rather than money flows. Each record type serves a distinct management purpose.

Question 45Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A farmer sells 2,000 kg of wheat at 25 per kg, and the total cost of production is 40,000. What is the profit?

  1. 15,000
  2. 50,000
  3. 5,000
  4. 10,000 Correct answer.

Explanation

Gross revenue is 2,000 kg multiplied by 25 per kg, which equals 50,000. Profit is revenue minus total cost, that is 50,000 minus 40,000, giving 10,000. The other figures result from arithmetic errors or from confusing revenue with profit.

Question 46Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which marketing channel typically gives the producer the smallest share of the consumer's rupee?

  1. Sale to a cooperative marketing society
  2. Contract sale to a processor
  3. Sale through a long chain of middlemen Correct answer.
  4. Direct sale to consumers at the farm gate

Explanation

Each intermediary in a long marketing chain adds a margin, so the producer's share of the final consumer price falls as the chain lengthens. Direct sales and cooperative or contract arrangements shorten the chain and usually raise the producer's share. This is the basis of the marketing efficiency argument.

Question 47Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which extension approach is most suitable for reaching a large number of farmers quickly with a simple seasonal advisory?

  1. Personal letters to each farmer
  2. Mass media such as radio broadcasts Correct answer.
  3. Individual farm visits
  4. One-to-one telephone counselling

Explanation

Mass media such as radio can reach many farmers at once and are cost-effective for simple, timely messages. Individual visits, letters and one-to-one calls are personal methods that reach few farmers at high cost per contact. The choice of method depends on the scale and complexity of the message.

Question 48Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which factor would most increase the risk of soil erosion by water on a cultivated field?

  1. Leaving the soil bare during heavy rainfall Correct answer.
  2. Maintaining a dense crop canopy
  3. Growing crops along the contour
  4. Adding organic mulch to the surface

Explanation

Bare soil exposed to heavy rain is directly detached by raindrop impact and carried away in runoff, so erosion risk rises sharply. Crop canopy, contour cultivation and mulch all protect the surface by intercepting rain and slowing runoff. Soil cover is the single most important defence against water erosion.

Question 49Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

A farmer applies 120 kg of urea containing 46% nitrogen. Approximately how much nitrogen is supplied?

  1. 12 kg
  2. 46 kg
  3. 120 kg
  4. 55 kg Correct answer.

Explanation

Nitrogen supplied equals the quantity of urea multiplied by its nitrogen content: 120 kg times 0.46 equals about 55 kg of nitrogen. The figure of 46 kg confuses the percentage with a quantity, 120 kg is the product weight, and 12 kg is a decimal error. Such calculations guide accurate fertiliser dosing.

Question 50Agriculture (PSEB Senior Secondary elective subject)

Which combination of practices best illustrates integrated nutrient management for a cereal field?

  1. Applying a single high-analysis fertiliser for all crops
  2. Applying only chemical fertiliser at maximum rate
  3. Combining organic manure, balanced chemical fertiliser and a legume in rotation Correct answer.
  4. Using only farmyard manure without any mineral supplement

Explanation

Integrated nutrient management blends organic sources, balanced mineral fertilisers and biological contributions such as legumes to sustain soil fertility and crop yield. This combination improves nutrient-use efficiency and soil health. Single-source or blanket approaches risk imbalance or declining soil organic matter.