UPCATET cheat sheet

Cropping intensity = (gross cropped area / net sown area) × 100; multiple cropping raises it above 100%.

Crop rotation with a legume fixes atmospheric N₂ via Rhizobium symbiosis, adding roughly 20–40 kg N/ha to the following crop.

C3 plants (wheat, rice) photorespire and have lower water-use efficiency than C4 plants (maize, sorghum, sugarcane), which have Kranz anatomy.

Critical period of crop-weed competition is generally the first 30–45 days after sowing for most annual field crops.

Seed rate (kg/ha) = (desired plant population/m² × test weight in g × 100) / (germination % × purity % × 10).

Dapog nursery, SRI and direct-seeded rice differ mainly in seedling age, spacing and water management; SRI uses single young seedlings at wide spacing.

Vernalization is cold treatment of germinating seeds or seedlings required by winter wheat and sugar beet to induce flowering.

Apomixis (e.g., in mango and citrus) produces seedlings identical to the mother plant, allowing nucellar embryony in citrus rootstock breeding.

Parthenocarpy gives seedless fruit without fertilization; gibberellic acid sprays induce it in grape and citrus.

Chilling requirement for breaking bud dormancy in temperate fruits is measured in chilling hours (0–7.2 °C); apple needs roughly 800–1,500 hours.

Coconut is monoecious; papaya is dioecious or gynodioecious; mango is andromonoecious - a key point for pollination planning.

Bananas are propagated vegetatively by suckers or tissue culture; the edible fruit is parthenocarpic and the plant is a giant herb.

Vegetative propagation methods: cutting (rose, sugarcane), layering (air layering in litchi, guava), grafting/budding (mango, citrus) and stooling.

Post-harvest: ethylene (C₂H₄) accelerates ripening and senescence; 1-MCP blocks ethylene receptors and extends shelf life.

Economic threshold level (ETL) is the pest density at which control measures should begin to prevent economic injury; EIL is the density that causes economic loss.

Koch's postulates establish a pathogen as the cause of a disease: constant association, isolation, re-inoculation, re-isolation.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produces Cry proteins toxic to lepidopteran larvae; Bt cotton targets bollworm.

Integrated Pest Management hierarchy: cultural, mechanical, biological, chemical, and legal/quarantine methods, with chemicals as last resort.

Fungicide groups: protectants (mancozeb, copper oxychloride) act before infection; systemics (carbendazim, propiconazole) act inside tissue.

Weed classification: sedges (Cyperus) have triangular stems; grasses have hollow round stems; broadleaves have net venation.

Biological control agents: Trichogramma for stem borer eggs, Chrysoperla for aphids, and Trichoderma as an antagonistic soil fungus.

Soil texture triangle classes are defined by percentages of sand (2–0.05 mm), silt (0.05–0.002 mm) and clay (<0.002 mm).

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) increases with clay content and organic matter; montmorillonite > illite > kaolinite in CEC.

Soil pH range: acidic <6.5, neutral 6.5–7.5, alkaline >7.5; lime raises pH, gypsum reclaims sodic soils.

Bulk density = oven-dry soil mass / total volume; typical mineral soil 1.1–1.6 g/cm³, and porosity = 1 − (bulk density / particle density).

Nitrogen fixation, nitrification and denitrification are the three key steps in the soil nitrogen cycle; denitrification loses N₂ and N₂O.

Field capacity is water retained at −0.33 bar; permanent wilting point at −15 bar; available water is the difference between them.

Essential plant nutrients: 16 total - macronutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S; micronutrients Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo, Cl, Ni.

Equations of motion: v = u + at; s = ut + ½at²; v² = u² + 2as, valid only for constant acceleration.

Newton's second law: F = ma; impulse J = FΔt = Δp, and momentum is conserved when net external force is zero.

Work-energy theorem: W_net = ΔKE; gravitational potential energy near Earth's surface U = mgh.

Ohm's law V = IR; resistors in series add, in parallel 1/R = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂; power P = VI = I²R = V²/R.

Snell's law: n₁ sin θ₁ = n₂ sin θ₂; critical angle sin θ_c = n₂/n₁ for total internal reflection.

First law of thermodynamics: ΔU = Q − W; efficiency of a heat engine η = 1 − T_cold/T_hot (Kelvin).

Simple pendulum period T = 2π√(L/g); it is independent of mass and, for small angles, amplitude.

Mole concept: 1 mol = 6.022 × 10²³ particles; molarity M = moles of solute / litres of solution.

Ideal gas equation PV = nRT with R = 8.314 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ or 0.0821 L atm mol⁻¹ K⁻¹.

pH = −log[H⁺]; pOH = 14 − pH at 25 °C; strong acid/base fully dissociates, weak ones are described by Ka or Kb.

Le Chatelier's principle: a system at equilibrium shifts to oppose changes in concentration, pressure or temperature.

Hybridization: sp (linear, 180°), sp² (trigonal planar, 120°), sp³ (tetrahedral, 109.5°).

Markovnikov's rule: in HX addition to an unsymmetrical alkene, H adds to the carbon with more hydrogens.

Oxidation number rules: O usually −2, H usually +1, sum equals the charge on the species; balance redox by half-reaction method.

Quadratic roots: sum = −b/a, product = c/a; discriminant D = b² − 4ac > 0 gives two real roots.

Arithmetic progression: nth term aₙ = a + (n−1)d; sum Sₙ = n/2 [2a + (n−1)d].

Geometric progression: aₙ = ar^(n−1); sum Sₙ = a(rⁿ − 1)/(r − 1) for r ≠ 1.

Differentiation: d/dx(xⁿ) = nx^(n−1), d/dx(sin x) = cos x, product rule (uv)' = u'v + uv'.

Definite integral ∫ₐᵇ f(x)dx = F(b) − F(a) by the fundamental theorem of calculus.

Probability: P(A∪B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A∩B); conditional P(A|B) = P(A∩B)/P(B).

Binomial theorem: (a + b)ⁿ = Σ C(n,k) a^(n−k) b^k; general term C(n,k) a^(n−k) b^k.

Photosynthesis light reaction occurs in thylakoid membranes, producing ATP and NADPH; the Calvin cycle fixes CO₂ in the stroma.

C4 photosynthesis uses PEP carboxylase for initial fixation, giving a 4-carbon acid and higher efficiency in hot, dry conditions.

Transpiration pull and cohesion-tension explain water ascent in xylem; phloem transport follows the pressure-flow (Münch) hypothesis.

Plant hormones: auxin (cell elongation, apical dominance), gibberellin (stem elongation, seed germination), cytokinin (cell division), ABA (stomatal closure).

Double fertilization in angiosperms: one sperm fuses with the egg (zygote) and another with two polar nuclei (triploid endosperm).

Monocot vs dicot: monocots have one cotyledon, parallel venation, scattered vascular bundles; dicots have two cotyledons, net venation, ring bundles.

C3, C4 and CAM plants differ in first stable product (3-PGA, oxaloacetate, malate) and timing of CO₂ fixation.

Human heart: four chambers; the left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood into the aorta, the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery.

Blood groups follow ABO and Rh systems; O-negative is the universal donor for red cells and AB-positive the universal recipient.

Nephron function: filtration in the glomerulus, selective reabsorption in the proximal tubule, and concentration in the loop of Henle.

Hormones: insulin lowers blood glucose (beta cells), glucagon raises it (alpha cells), thyroxine regulates basal metabolic rate.

Mendel's laws: segregation of alleles and independent assortment; a monohybrid cross gives a 3:1 phenotypic ratio.

Human chromosomes: 46 (23 pairs); sex determination is XY, with the male gamete determining the offspring's sex.

Nerve impulse conduction: depolarization by Na⁺ influx, repolarization by K⁺ efflux, and saltatory conduction in myelinated axons.

Coding-decoding: identify the shift or positional pattern between letters, e.g., A→C is +2, then apply it to the target word.

Series completion: check differences, ratios, squares/cubes and alternating patterns before concluding.

Blood relations: draw a family tree; vertical lines for generations, horizontal for siblings and marriage.

Direction sense: use a coordinate grid; final displacement = √(x² + y²) for perpendicular moves.

Syllogism: a conclusion follows only if true in every possible Venn diagram of the premises.

Average speed over equal distances = 2xy/(x + y); for equal times it is the simple mean (x + y)/2.

Clock problems: angle between hands = |30H − 5.5M| degrees at H hours and M minutes.

Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb; collective nouns take a singular verb when acting as one unit.

Articles: 'a/an' for indefinite reference (use 'an' before vowel sounds), 'the' for definite or unique reference.

Active to passive: object becomes subject, verb becomes 'be + past participle', agent introduced by 'by'.

Common error traps: 'one of the + plural noun + singular verb', and 'hardly/scarcely ... when' (not 'than').

Synonyms and antonyms are best answered by identifying the word's part of speech and register before choosing.

Indian agriculture: ICAR is the apex research body; the Green Revolution in the 1960s centred on high-yielding wheat and rice varieties.

National institutes: IARI (New Delhi), NBRI (Lucknow), CIMAP (Lucknow) and the ICAR headquarters in New Delhi.

Percentage change = (new − old)/old × 100; successive changes of a% and b% give a + b + ab/100.

Simple interest SI = PRT/100; compound interest A = P(1 + R/100)ⁿ.

Profit and loss: profit % = (SP − CP)/CP × 100; discount is always calculated on marked price.

Time and work: if A alone takes x days and B alone y days, together they take xy/(x + y) days.

Ratio and proportion: if a:b = c:d then ad = bc; divide a quantity in ratio m:n by parts m/(m+n) and n/(m+n).

Permutation vs combination: nPr = n!/(n−r)!; nCr = n!/[r!(n−r)!], order matters only in permutations.

Mensuration: area of circle = πr², volume of cylinder = πr²h, surface area of sphere = 4πr².

PM-KISAN provides income support of ₹6,000 per year in three instalments to eligible landholding farmer families.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a crop insurance scheme with farmer premium shares of 2% (kharif), 1.5% (rabi) and 5% (commercial/horticultural).

Soil Health Card scheme provides soil nutrient status and fertilizer recommendations to farmers.

National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is an online trading platform linking regulated wholesale mandis.

Kisan Credit Card (KCC) provides short-term credit for crop production and allied activities.

Agriculture is a State subject under the Constitution, with the Union government coordinating through ICAR and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The Green Revolution and White Revolution (Operation Flood) are landmark programmes in Indian food and dairy self-sufficiency.

Tenses: present perfect (has/have + past participle) links a past action to the present; past perfect marks the earlier of two past actions.

Prepositions of time: 'in' for months/years, 'on' for days/dates, 'at' for precise times.

Conditional sentences: first conditional 'if + present, will + verb'; second conditional 'if + past, would + verb'.

Reported speech: shift tense back one step and change pronouns and time/place words (now → then, here → there).

Commonly confused pairs: affect (verb) vs effect (noun); principal (main) vs principle (rule); its (possessive) vs it's (it is).

Modals: 'should' expresses advice, 'must' strong obligation, 'can' ability, 'may' permission or possibility.

Parallelism: items in a list or comparison must share the same grammatical form.

Greenhouse gases: CO₂, CH₄, N₂O and fluorinated gases; methane has a far higher global warming potential than CO₂ over 20 years.

Ozone layer depletion is driven by CFCs and halons; the Montreal Protocol phases out ozone-depleting substances.

Biodiversity hotspots in India include the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, Indo-Burma and Sundaland.

Soil erosion types: sheet, rill, gully and wind erosion; contour bunding and terracing are standard control measures.

Renewable energy sources: solar, wind, biomass, small hydro and geothermal; India's National Solar Mission promotes solar capacity.

Sustainable agriculture practices include organic farming, crop residue management and integrated nutrient management.

Air quality index categories range from Good to Severe, based on PM2.5, PM10, NO₂, SO₂, CO and ozone.