Punjab PSEB Senior Secondary NSQF Agriculture cheat sheet

Soil pH scale runs 0–14; most field crops give best yields at pH 6.0–7.5, while tea and potato tolerate pH 5.0–5.5 and alkaline soils suit barley and cotton.

NPK ratio on a fertiliser bag is the percentage of N, P2O5 and K2O by weight; urea is 46-0-0, DAP 18-46-0, MOP 0-0-60, and SSP 0-16-0 plus 11% sulphur.

Fertiliser dose conversion: kg of nutrient needed ÷ (% nutrient in fertiliser ÷ 100) = kg of fertiliser; a 60 kg N/ha dose equals about 130 kg urea per hectare.

Seed rate and plant population: population per hectare = 10,000 ÷ (row spacing in m × plant spacing in m); a 22.5 cm × 10 cm maize stand gives roughly 44,000 plants per hectare.

Germination percentage = (germinated seeds ÷ total seeds sown) × 100; seed lot purity × germination ÷ 100 gives the real value used to adjust sowing rate.

Critical irrigation stages: wheat at crown root initiation (20–25 DAS) and flowering, rice at panicle initiation, maize at knee-high and tasselling, mustard at flowering and pod filling.

Major crop pests and signs: stem borer (dead heart in rice/maize), bollworm (bore holes in cotton bolls), aphid (curled shoots in mustard), whitefly (yellowing plus sooty mould).

Integrated pest management order: cultural (resistant variety, crop rotation, clean seed) → mechanical/physical → biological (Trichogramma, NPV, Bt) → need-based chemical spray at economic threshold level.

Weed classification by life cycle: annual, biennial and perennial; herbicides are selective (2,4-D in wheat) or non-selective (glyphosate, paraquat), and pre-emergence (pendimethalin) acts before weed emergence.

Seedbed preparation for nursery: plough to 15–20 cm, break clods, level the bed, make beds 1 m wide and 10–15 cm high with 30 cm channels; sow in lines 5 cm apart and cover with 1–2 cm soil or FYM.

Seed treatment sequence: dry dressing with fungicide (e.g., carbendazim 2 g/kg seed) first, then insecticide, then biofertiliser slurry (Rhizobium/Azotobacter) last and shade-dry before sowing.

Sprayer calibration: output (L/ha) = (nozzle flow in L/min × 600) ÷ (speed in km/h × swath in m); a 1.2 L/min nozzle at 3 km/h with a 1 m swath delivers about 240 L/ha.

Tractor-mounted plough operations: adjust the three-point linkage so the plough frame is level, set depth wheel to 15–20 cm, and keep forward speed 4–6 km/h for uniform furrow slices.

Drip irrigation layout: lateral spacing 0.6–1.2 m depending on crop, emitter discharge 2–4 L/h, and operating pressure 1.0–1.5 kg/cm²; flush laterals at the start of each season.

Compost pit method: layer 15 cm crop residue, 5 cm cattle dung slurry and a thin soil layer; keep moisture near 60% and turn every 15–20 days; compost is ready in 60–90 days.

Milk and grain sampling in the field: collect a representative sample from at least five points, mix, quarter down to 500 g, label with date, plot and variety, and store in a clean dry container.

Safety in the field: wear gloves, mask and goggles when handling pesticides, never mix concentrates in an open container, and observe the label pre-harvest interval (often 7–15 days) before picking produce.