RBSE Prav Voc Agriculture cheat sheet

Agriculture is the science and art of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock; it includes crop husbandry, animal husbandry, fisheries, and forestry.

Branches: agronomy (field crops), horticulture (fruits, vegetables, flowers), forestry, animal science, and agricultural engineering; agrostology deals with grasses and forage.

Photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2, catalysed in chloroplasts; C3 plants fix CO2 into 3-phosphoglycerate, C4 plants into oxaloacetate.

Crop classification by season: kharif (monsoon-sown, e.g., rice, maize, cotton, groundnut), rabi (winter-sown, e.g., wheat, mustard, gram), and zaid (summer, e.g., moong, watermelon).

Plant parts and functions: root absorbs water and minerals; stem conducts and supports; leaf is the photosynthetic organ; flower is the reproductive organ; fruit is the mature ovary.

Essential plant nutrients: 16 elements; macro (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S) and micro (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo, Cl); C, H, O come from air and water.

Seed germination requires viable seed, adequate moisture, suitable temperature, and oxygen; epigeal germination lifts cotyledons above soil, hypogeal keeps them below.

Plant growth regulators: auxin promotes rooting and apical dominance; gibberellin promotes elongation; cytokinin promotes cell division; ethylene ripens fruit; abscisic acid induces dormancy and stomatal closure.

Cropping intensity = (gross cropped area ÷ net sown area) × 100; it measures how many times land is cropped in a year.

Cropping systems: sole cropping, mixed cropping (two or more crops together with no row arrangement), intercropping (row arrangement), sequence cropping, and relay cropping.

Seed rate depends on test weight, germination percentage, and desired plant population; pure live seed = germination % × purity %.

Tillage operations: primary (ploughing to break soil) and secondary (harrowing, levelling); zero tillage avoids ploughing and conserves moisture and soil structure.

Irrigation scheduling: critical stages are the growth phases most sensitive to water stress, e.g., crown root initiation in wheat, panicle initiation in rice, flowering in most crops.

Weed control integrates cultural (crop rotation, timely sowing), mechanical (hoeing, hand weeding), chemical (herbicides), and biological methods.

Harvesting indices and maturity signs: grain moisture, colour change, leaf senescence, and days to maturity guide timing; threshing separates grain from chaff.

Crop rotation with legumes fixes atmospheric nitrogen via Rhizobium symbiosis and breaks pest and disease cycles.

Soil texture classes by particle size: sand (2.0–0.05 mm), silt (0.05–0.002 mm), clay (<0.002 mm); the textural triangle names the class from the percentages.

Soil profile horizons: O (organic), A (topsoil), E (eluviation), B (illuviation), C (parent material), R (bedrock).

Soil pH governs nutrient availability; most crops perform best at pH 6.0–7.0; lime raises pH in acid soils, gypsum or elemental sulphur lowers pH in alkaline soils.

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is the soil's ability to hold exchangeable cations; clay and organic matter raise CEC; sandy soils have low CEC.

Essential nutrient deficiency symptoms: N - pale older leaves; P - purple leaves and stunted growth; K - marginal leaf scorch; Fe - interveinal chlorosis on young leaves.

Fertilizer grades: urea (46-0-0), DAP (18-46-0), MOP (0-0-60), SSP (0-16-0 plus calcium and sulphur); N-P-K figures are percentages of N, P2O5, and K2O.

Soil erosion types: sheet, rill, gully, and wind erosion; contour bunding, terracing, strip cropping, and mulching control erosion.

Organic matter improves structure, water-holding capacity, and microbial activity; the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio near 24:1 favours steady decomposition.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) hierarchy: cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical control, with chemicals used as a last resort.

Economic threshold level (ETL) is the pest population density at which control measures are justified to prevent economic loss.

Insect pest classification by mouthparts: chewing (caterpillars, beetles) controlled by stomach poisons; sucking (aphids, hoppers) controlled by systemic or contact insecticides.

Key disease agents: fungi (rusts, blights, mildews), bacteria (wilts, leaf spots), viruses (mosaics, leaf curl), and nematodes (root knot).

Koch's postulates establish that a specific pathogen causes a disease; diagnosis uses symptoms, signs, and laboratory isolation.

Pesticide formulation types: EC (emulsifiable concentrate), WP (wettable powder), SC (suspension concentrate), G (granule), and dust; label directions specify dose and pre-harvest interval.

Pesticide safety: observe pre-harvest interval, wear protective equipment, follow resistance management by rotating mode-of-action groups.

Biological control agents: Trichoderma for soil-borne fungi, Bacillus thuringiensis for lepidopteran larvae, Trichogramma for egg parasitism, and neem (azadirachtin) as a botanical.

Ruminant digestion: four stomach compartments - rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum; microbial fermentation in the rumen digests cellulose.

Cattle breeding terms: gestation period about 280 days; heat cycle about 21 days; age at first calving target 24–30 months.

Milk composition: water about 87%, fat 3.5–4.5%, protein 3.2–3.5%, lactose 4.5–5%, plus minerals; colostrum is the first milk rich in antibodies.

Breed classes: Bos indicus (zebu) breeds such as Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar; Bos taurus dairy breeds such as Holstein-Friesian and Jersey.

Poultry: incubation about 21 days for chicken; layer strains are selected for egg production, broiler strains for rapid growth.

Animal nutrition: feedstuffs supply energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins; roughage is high-fibre, concentrate is high-energy; balanced ration meets all requirements.

Common livestock diseases: foot-and-mouth disease (viral), mastitis (bacterial udder infection), anthrax, and brucellosis; vaccination and hygiene are core control measures.

Artificial insemination (AI) uses collected and processed semen to improve genetics; estrus detection is critical for timing insemination.

Horticulture divisions: pomology (fruits), olericulture (vegetables), floriculture (flowers), and arboriculture (trees and shrubs).

Propagation methods: sexual (seed) and asexual (cuttings, layering, grafting, budding, tissue culture); asexual propagation preserves cultivar traits.

Vegetable classification by botanical family: solanaceous (tomato, brinjal, chilli), cucurbits (cucumber, pumpkin), crucifers (cabbage, cauliflower), legumes (pea, bean).

Orchard management includes pruning (removing unwanted growth), training (shaping the canopy), and thinning (removing excess fruit to improve size).

Kitchen garden layout uses succession planting and companion planting to supply continuous fresh vegetables on small land.

Protected cultivation: greenhouse and polyhouse control temperature, humidity, and light to extend seasons and raise yields.

Post-harvest handling of fruits and vegetables: grading, precooling, and cool storage reduce respiration and ethylene damage; climacteric fruits ripen after harvest.

Nursery management: raised beds, sterilized media, shade nets, and pricking out of seedlings ensure healthy transplants.

Farm cost concepts: fixed costs do not vary with output (land rent, machinery depreciation); variable costs vary with output (seed, fertilizer, labour).

Gross margin = gross output value − variable costs; it ranks enterprises when fixed costs are hard to allocate.

Net farm income = gross income − total costs (fixed + variable); return on investment = net income ÷ investment × 100.

Benefit-cost ratio = total benefits ÷ total costs; a ratio above 1 indicates a profitable project.

Break-even point = fixed costs ÷ (unit price − unit variable cost); it gives the output needed to cover all costs.

Marketing functions: assembling, grading, storage, transport, processing, and distribution; market margins are the gaps between producer and consumer prices.

Demand and supply: price rises when demand exceeds supply; elasticity measures responsiveness of quantity to price change.

Farm records: physical (area, yield, livestock numbers) and financial (cash book, ledger, inventory); records support planning and credit applications.

Tractor-implement matching: a mouldboard plough is a primary tillage implement; harrows, cultivators, and rollers are secondary tillage implements.

Draft is the force required to pull an implement; power requirement = draft × speed, and efficiency losses occur in transmission and wheel slip.

Irrigation methods: surface (flood, furrow), sprinkler (overhead), and drip (trickle); drip irrigation saves water and delivers fertilizer through fertigation.

Water pumps: centrifugal pumps suit low lifts and large flows; positive-displacement pumps suit high pressure and low flow.

Post-harvest machinery: threshers, winnowers, cleaners, graders, dryers, and storage structures; safe grain moisture for storage is typically 10–12%.

Farm structures: animal sheds, godowns, silos, and greenhouses must be designed for ventilation, drainage, and load bearing.

Soil and water conservation structures: contour bunds, check dams, farm ponds, and grassed waterways reduce runoff and erosion.

Renewable energy on farms: solar pumps, biogas plants from dung, and windmills for water lifting reduce fossil-fuel dependence.

Extension education is non-formal education that transfers research-based technology to rural people and brings farmer problems back to researchers.

Teaching methods: individual (farm visits, office calls), group (demonstrations, meetings, field days), and mass (radio, TV, print, digital media).

Diffusion of innovations: stages are knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation; adopter categories are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.

Adoption is influenced by relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability of the innovation.

Rural development programmes address infrastructure, credit, health, education, and employment alongside agricultural extension.

Farmer organizations: cooperatives, self-help groups (SHGs), and farmer producer organizations (FPOs) improve bargaining power and market access.

Extension worker roles: change agent, facilitator, trainer, and liaison between farmers, researchers, and government agencies.

Participatory approaches such as participatory rural appraisal (PRA) involve farmers in diagnosis, planning, and evaluation.

Sustainable agriculture balances productivity, profitability, and environmental protection across generations.

Organic farming avoids synthetic fertilizers and pesticides; it relies on compost, green manure, biofertilizers, and biological pest control.

Conservation agriculture principles: minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop diversification.

Greenhouse gases from agriculture include methane from rice paddies and ruminants, and nitrous oxide from nitrogen fertilizers.

Agroforestry integrates trees with crops or livestock; it improves soil, provides fuel and fodder, and diversifies income.

Integrated nutrient management combines organic and inorganic sources to maintain soil fertility and reduce nutrient losses.

Water quality protection: buffer strips, controlled fertilizer timing, and avoiding over-irrigation reduce nutrient runoff and leaching.

Biodiversity conservation in farmland uses hedgerows, crop diversity, and reduced pesticide use to support pollinators and natural enemies.

Agro-processing adds value to raw produce; it includes milling, oil extraction, dairy processing, fruit and vegetable processing, and feed manufacturing.

Value chain stages: production, primary processing, secondary processing, packaging, distribution, and retail; each stage adds cost and margin.

Food preservation methods: drying, canning, freezing, fermentation, pickling, and irradiation; each targets microbial growth and enzyme activity.

Entrepreneurship traits: opportunity recognition, risk-taking, innovation, and resource mobilization.

Business plan components: product, market analysis, production plan, marketing plan, financial projections, and risk assessment.

Small-scale agro-enterprises need raw material supply, technical know-how, credit, quality standards, and market linkages.

Food safety and quality standards: hygiene, packaging, labelling, and certification support market access and consumer trust.

Cooperatives and FPOs help agro-entrepreneurs share processing equipment, secure bulk inputs, and negotiate better prices.