GK Test - 23

Key Points

• Chilli is considered one of the most important commercial spice crops in the world.
  • Chilli is also called "wonder spice".
  • Chilli is believed to have originated in tropical America.
• Andhra Pradesh is the leading producer of Chilli in India.
• Andhra Pradesh contributes nearly 57% of the total Chillie production in India. 
• The major chilly growing districts in Andhra Pradesh are:
  • Warangal.
  • Krishna.
  • Khammam.
  • Prakasham.
• The most important Chilli growing states in India are Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
• Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu together constitute nearly 75% of the total Chillie producing area in the country.

Key Points

• Mulching is the technique of covering the exposed ground with a layer of an outside substance.
• "Mulch" is the name of the covering material.
• When growing commercially significant crops, such as fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, and nursery saplings, mulching is typically used.
• It is useful for home gardeners' raised beds, containers, and yard gardening.

Additional Information

• Rock dam:
  • Similar to sediment basins with earthen embankments are rock dams.
  • These dam-building constructions are made of gravel and rock.
• Shelter belts:
  • To stop the wind from eroding the soil, plant rows of trees on one side of the space.
  • They are called shelter belts.
• Contour barriers:
  • Contour barriers are contour strips that stop soil particles and water from moving downhill.
  • These obstacles lessen the erosive power of the water by slowing its flow.

• A place is given a special name depending on its major cultivation.
• This main produce attributes to the majority of agricultural production in the place.

Key Points

Andra Pradesh:

• Andhra Pradesh is known as the "Egg Bowl of India" due to the large production of eggs.
• It is also known as the Egg Bowl of Asia due to its egg production quantity.
• Being the largest producer of rice, it also called the rice bowl of India.

Thus, Andhra Pradesh is known as the “Egg Bowl” of India.

Additional Information

Key Points

Additional Information

• Shifting cultivation, under the names Kumari, Hakkal, or Punam( local names).
  • t has been an important agricultural system in the Western Ghats.
• Kumari:- Kumari cultivation is practised in the Western Ghats.
  • The Western Ghats is a mountain range that runs parallel to the Western Coast of India.
• Dahiya:- Dahiya cultivation is practised by Baiga tribes.
  • Baiga tribes are found in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• Jhum cultivation: It is also known as slash and burn agriculture.
  • It is the process of growing crops by first clearing the land of trees and vegetation and burning them thereafter.
    • The burnt soil contains potash which increases the nutrient content of the soil.
• Bringa:- Bringa cultivation is practised in Odisha.
• Kuruwa:- Kuruwa cultivation is practised in Madhya Pradesh.

Concept:

The nitrogen cycle has four steps-

• Nitrogen Fixation- Conversion of molecular nitrogen into the inorganic nitrogenous compound.
• Ammonification- Conversion of the dead organic nitrogenous compound into ammonia.
• Nitrification- Oxidation of ammonia into nitrates.
• Denitrification- Nitrites or nitrates converts back into molecular free nitrogen.

Key Points

Rhizobium

• It is a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 
• Rhizobium is found in the nodules of legumes and is responsible for nitrogen fixation.
• This was discovered in 1886 by the German physiologists Heleriegal and Wilfarth.  

• Vibrio is a gram-negative, comma-shaped bacteria.

Thus, the bacterium which lives symbiotically in the root nodules of leguminous plants and fixes atmospheric nitrogen is Rhizobium.

Additional Information

• Nitrifying bacteria are chemolithotrophic organisms that include species of the genera e.g. Nitrosomonas, Nitrosococcus, Nitrobacter, Nitrospina, Nitrospira, and Nitrococcus.
• Nitrifying bacteria convert the most reduced form of soil nitrogen, ammonia, into its most oxidized form, nitrate.
• In itself, this is important for soil ecosystem function, in controlling losses of soil nitrogen through leaching and denitrification of nitrate.
• Nitrifying bacteria: Nitrosomonas, Nitrosococcus, Nitrobacter (nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium compounds into nitrates)
• Ammonifying bacteria: Bacillus mycoides (ammonifying bacteria convert amino acids into ammonium compounds)
• Non-symbiotic Nitrogen-fixing bacteria:  Clostridium (nitrogen fixation bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen to nitrates)
• Symbiotic Nitrogen-fixing bacteria: Rhizobium

Key Points

• Kharif crops, also known as monsoon crops, are cultivated during the monsoon season in India, which typically begins in June and continues until September.
• They thrive in warm and humid conditions, requiring substantial rainfall (generally 75-100 cm).
• The harvest takes place at the end of the monsoon season, usually between September and October.
• Kharif crops include rice (a staple food in West Bengal), maize (used in food products in Karnataka), cotton (cash crop in Gujarat), sorghum (jowar in Maharashtra), pearl millet (bajra in Rajasthan), and various pulses (like moong in Punjab).

Additional Information

Key Points

• The full form of CACP is The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices.
•  It is a decentralized agency and the advisory body to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare of the Government of India.

Important Points

• It was established in 1965 as the Agricultural Prices Commission and was renamed with the present name in 1985.
• CACP recommends Minimum Supporting Price to Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) which is not binding on it.

Additional Information

• NITI Ayog
  • It is a public policy think tank of the Government of India.
  • It is established with the aim to achieve sustainable development goals with cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process. 
• NABARD
  • It stands for National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
  • It is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India.
  • It comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• FCI
  • The FCI stands for The Food Corporation of India.
  • It is a statutory body created and run by the Government of India.
  • It comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Key Points

• Cotton is a tropical crop and is grown as a Kharif crop in India.
  • Cotton requires uniformly high temperatures between 21 °C and 30 °C.
  • During October, the day temperature should be above 26°C which helps in the ripening and bursting of cotton bolls under sunny skies.
  • A growing period of at least 210 frost-free days is also required for the plant to mature. Rainfall should be moderate, between 50-75 cm.
  • The cotton plant requires adequate rainfall in the early stages of development, but requires sunny and dry weather after flowering.

Key Points

• Kharif Crops: Paddy, Jowar, Bajra, Maize, Ragi, Arhar(Tur), Moong, Urad, Cotton, Groundnut, Sunflower Seed, Soybean Black, Sesamum, Nigerseed
• Rabi crops: Wheat, Barley, Gram, Masur (Lentil), Rapeseed/Mustard, Safflower, Toria,
• Other Crops: Copra, De-Husked Coconut, Jute, Sugarcane
• ​Hence option 3 is correct.​

Additional Information

• Wheat
  • Second most important staple food for the Indian population. 
  • It is a rich source of calcium, thiamine, riboflavin and iron.
  • The preferred staple food in northern and north-western parts of the country. 
• Climatic conditions for wheat
  • Wheat is a temperate crop that requires a cool climate with moderate rainfall. 
  • It shows great adaptability & can be grown in tropics as well (yields are low in tropics). 
  • It is a rabi crop (winter crop – requires cool and less moist climate).
• Groundnut
  • Groundnut is the most important oilseed in India.
  • It accounts for nearly half of the major oilseeds produced in India. 
  • Groundnut kernels are rich in proteins and vitamins and have high calorific value. 
  • It contains 40-50% oil which is used as edible oil or hydrogenated vanaspati. 
  • The oil is used for manufacturing margarine, medical emulsions, soap etc. 
  • Its oil cake is used as an important rich cattle feed.

Key Points

• The Golden Revolution in the Indian agricultural sector is related to horticulture.
• The Golden Revolution is related to Horticulture and Honey.
• It started in 1991 and lasted till 2003.
• Father of Golden Revolution: Nirpakh Tutaj.

Additional Information