Agronomy and Crop Production
Agronomy and Crop Production
This domain tests how crops are planned, established and managed in Rajasthan's kharif, rabi and zaid seasons. Expect questions on seed rates, spacing, cropping systems, moisture conservation and critical growth stages rather than isolated definitions.
Core rules and concepts
- Kharif crops are sown with monsoon rain (bajra, jowar, maize, groundnut, cotton); rabi crops depend on residual moisture or irrigation (wheat, mustard, chickpea, cumin); zaid crops fit between them (moong, vegetables).
- Crop planning uses rainfall probability, soil depth, irrigation availability and crop duration. Cropping intensity = (gross cropped area / net sown area) × 100.
- Dryland practices include contour bunding, mulching, deep ploughing once in 2-3 years, ridge-furrow sowing and contingency crop substitution.
- Critical stages for irrigation: crown root initiation in wheat, flowering in mustard, tasseling in maize, branching/flowering in chickpea.
Worked example
A bajra recommendation is 4 kg seed/ha, but the seed lot has 85% germination and 95% purity. Adjusted seed rate = 4 ÷ (0.85 × 0.95) = 4 ÷ 0.8075 = 4.95 kg/ha. Reason: only 80.75% of sown seed is pure and viable, so more seed must be sown to establish the target population.
Traps that cost marks
Using gross cropped area when the question asks for net sown area; ignoring germination and purity in seed-rate calculations; writing that bajra is a rabi crop because it is irrigated in some pockets; confusing critical stages with harvest maturity.