Basics of Agronomy

Agronomy

• Mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between fungus and the roots of higher plants

• VAM (Vascular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) functions as a phosphorus-solubilizing fungi in plant roots

• Cereals are deficient in the amino acid Lysine

• Legumes are deficient in the amino acid Methionine

• A power tiller is most suitable for cultivating paddy

• Ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer contains 15% Nitrogen and 62% P2O5

• The Tetrazolium (Tz) test determines the viability of seeds

• In a wet rice nursery, maintain a water level of 5 cm

• The optimum puddling depth in rice cultivation is 5 cm

• The ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet radiation

• The first Indian director of IARI was Dr. B. Vishvanath

• The most critical irrigation stage in wheat is the CRI stage (21 days after sowing)

• The basic goal of sustainable agriculture is to maintain ecological balance

• Jhuming is a rice cultivation practice in the Eastern part of India

• Plants that thrive in saltwater are known as Halophytes

• Crop canopy temperature is measured using an infrared thermometer

• Reclamation disease is due to a deficiency of copper

• Abscisic acid (ABA) is a hormone associated with drought tolerance

• The contribution of livestock to agriculture is 29.7%

• 2,4-D and Dicamba are hormones used as herbicides

• Nitrogen is an element available as both an anion and a cation

• Gibberellic acid is a dormancy-breaking hormone

• The ringworm disease is caused by fungus

• The North East monsoon is responsible for rainfall in Tamil Nadu

• Stress hardening in plants can be achieved by applying Abscisic Acid (ABA)

• The maximum permissible limit of biuret in urea is 1.5%

• Organic matter contains 58% carbon

• Azotobacter is used as a biofertilizer for wheat

• Azospirillum is used as a biofertilizer for sorghum and grasses

• Vertical mulch is used in black cotton soils

• The criteria of essentiality were given by Arnon & Stout in 1939

• The optimum spacing for wheat is 22.5 cm (line to line)

• The nontraditional area for cultivating wheat is Eastern India

• DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) is a major phosphorus fertilizer commonly used in India

• Punjab is the state with the minimum population below the poverty line (BPL)

• Bihar has the maximum number of people below the poverty line (BPL)

• Azotobacter is a biofertilizer more suited for sugarcane

• The depth of sowing for soybean seed is 3 cm

• TN-1 (1964-65) was the first variety of rice introduced in India

• Indian mustard is known as Brassica juncea

• Ammonium nitrate is an explosive fertilizer

• Alluvial soil is the most prominent soil group in India

• Single Super Phosphate (SSP) contains 12% sulphur

• Zinc is a micronutrient deficient in Indian soils

• Nitrogen is a macronutrient which is mostly deficient in Indian soils

• Spike tooth harrow is a type of secondary tillage implement

• Lime is the most widely used material for correcting soil acidity

• The Diara cultivation method is followed in Cucurbits

• The C:N ratio of organic matter is 10:1

• The National Seed Act was passed in 1966

• The National Seed Corporation (NSC) was established in 1963

• IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid) is a root-promoting hormone

• NAA (Naphthalene Acetic Acid) is a flower and fruit setting hormone

• Bench terracing is done when the slope is more than 15% (16-33%)

• Mass per unit volume is called bulk density

• Disk plough is used when the soil is tough

• Triticale is the first man-made cereal

• Urea is the cheapest fertilizer containing nitrogen

• The first product of urea hydrolysis is ammonium

• NABARD was set up on the recommendation of the B. Sivaraman committee

• Azotobacter is a free-living nitrogen-fixing organism

• The fruit of mustard is known as siliqua

• Supplemental irrigation is known as life-saving irrigation

• Edible oil (65%) is the major agricultural importing commodity in India

• Lunishree is a variety of super rice

• Plants with separate male and female flowers on the same plant are known as monoecious

• The National Biodiversity Board is situated in New Delhi

• The Beaufort scale is used to measure wind force/speed

• One standard atmosphere is equal to 1013.25 mb

• Dieback of shoots occurs due to a deficiency of copper

• Occurrence of grey spots on leaves is due to a deficiency of manganese (Mn)

• Red rot is the most destructive disease of sugarcane

• Potatoes are borne on a stolon

• Potato tubers are a modified form of the stem

• Sowing of sugarcane in the trench method is helpful to prevent lodging

• For seed, carrots are grown as a biennial crop

• Boron is harmful to plants when its concentration is more than 3 ppm

• Maize has the maximum productivity among the cereals

• Kaolin is a type of anti-transpirant known as a reflecting type

• Cycocel (CCC) is a growth retardant

• The family of sesame is Pedaliaceae.

• The family of jute is Tilliaceae

• The exhaustive family of crops is Gramineae (Poaceae).

• The origin of maize is Mexico

• The origin of soybean is China

• The origin of tobacco is Mexico

• Bihar has the highest area under summer maize

• Indian Journal of Agriculture Sciences is published by ICAR

• Yellowing of tea leaves suggests sulphur deficiency

• Methane is the greenhouse gas released from paddy fields

• Adventitious root is the edible part of sweet potato (Ipomoea batata)

• Carbon dating is used to determine the age of fossils

• Flooding method is suitable for saline soils

• Potassium contributes to disease and drought resistance

• Phosphorus is involved in energy transfer and storage in plants

• 17 nutrients are considered essential elements for plants

• According to Arnon & Stout, 16 nutrients are essential

• Apical bud dominance is caused by auxin hormone

• Highest consuption of K fertilizer is in Maharashtra

• Wheat has the world's highest cereal crop production

• The seed rate of sorghum is 9-12 kg/ha

• De-suckering is an important practice for tobacco

• Lantana camara was the first weed controlled biologically

• Seed law is adopted in Karnataka

• A tensiometer directly measures soil moisture tension

• A lysimeter measures evapotranspiration

• Parshall flume is used for water flow measurement

• Flood irrigation suits rice and jute

• Fertilizer application through irrigation is fertigation

• Puddling is the most important cultural practice in rice

• Post-harvest cereal losses account for 10%

• Saltation is a process of wind erosion

• Loamy soils have an irrigation efficiency of 70% (highest)

• Broadcasting is a sowing pattern used in dry land

• Drip irrigation is the most efficient method of irrigation

• Chickpea is an extensively grown pulse crop in India

• A psychrometer measures relative humidity

• Mulch crops are grown for soil moisture conservation

• Maize is one example of an erosion permitting crop

• Cowpea and groundnut are erosion-resistant crops

• Fluchloralin is used as a pre-plant incorporation (PPI) herbicide

• Bathua (lambs quarter) is an example of a C3 weed

• Hordeum distichon is the botanical name of two-rowed barley

• Hordeum vulgare is the botanical name of six-rowed barley

• The first AICRP was started in maize 1957

• The optimum plant population for Bt cotton is 10,000 plants/ha

• Dropsy disease in humans is caused by the weed Argemone mexicana (Satyanasi)

• Rice, tea, and potato crops are suitable for soil with pH 4-6

• Red hemoglobin in root nodules is responsible for oxygen transport

• The annual rainfall in Rajasthan is about 500-575 mm

• Sugarcane and rice are aminophilic plants

• Egypt has 100% of its cropped area under irrigation

• Israel has the highest irrigation efficiency

• India has the highest irrigated area

• Optical wavelengths in remote sensing range from 0.3 to 15 um

• India was the first country to develop and use hybrid bajra, and the first variety was HB-1(1965)

• Wheat has the maximum area under irrigation in India

• Mango is the most extensively grown fruit crop in the world

• Pusa Giant is a variety of berseem, Napier grass, and papaya

• Capillary water in the soil is most useful for plants

• At the equator, day and night are always equal

• Atmospheric pressure always decreases with altitude

• Horizontal heat transfers from warmer areas to cooler areas, which is known as cloth line effect

• Vertical heat transfers from warmer to cooler crop areas are known as the oasis effect

• Nitrogenase is the enzyme involved in nitrogen reduction

• Molybdenum is the element of nitrate reduction

• Most field crops require a pH range of 6.5-7.0 for optimum growth

• Cultivated crops are mostly acidic

• The depth of water required by a crop is known as Delta

• The area irrigated by one cusec discharge of water is Duty

• The time, in days, for which irrigation is supplied to a crop is the base period

• Rancidity in sunflower oil is due to oxidation

• T-9 and Pant U-19 are varieties of black gram

• RMO-40 and RMO-257 are varieties of moth bean

• Pusa Baisakhi and SML-668 are elite varieties of moong bean

• 0.1% solution in 500 liters of water is 500 ml

• Bioclimatic low was proposed by Hopkins

• Chemical safeners, such as herbicide antidotes, are known as NA and used first in maize

• Potato has the highest K¹ uptake

• The low-pressure area near the equator is called the doldrums/ITCZ

• Triacontanol, a growth stimulant, is obtained from leaves of lucerne

• Tillage increases the water-holding capacity and infiltration of soil, but reduces bulk density

• A wet land plough is the smallest among wooden ploughs. It is used to puddle soil with an efficiency of 0.1 ha for 8 hours

• A blade harrow is known as Bakhar and used for weed control before sowing

• Sprinkler systems protect from the cold by releasing latent heat of fusion

• Splitting of a pod or fruit at maturity is known as dehiscent

• Continuous consumption of Lathyrus causes Lathyrism due to BOAA

• Phosphatic fertilizer is preferred for green manure crops

• Cattle consuming low magnesium grass suffer hypomagnesaemia ('Grass Tetany')

• Ranching is grazing on public lands

• Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a place and time

• Scientists separated germs in maize to manufacture contraceptives

• India ranks first producing and consuming sugar

• Tobacco gives the maximum agricultural excise revenue

• India is the only country to develop hybrid cotton commercially

• Karnataka is the largest coffee producer

• China produces and consumes the most tobacco, while India is third in production

• Phenyl mercuric acetate (PMA) reduces transpiration

• Jowar is known as the camel crop/King of coarse grains

• India is 2nd commercializing hybrid rice

• HD 2329 is a wheat variety that promoted high production during the Green Revolution

• Plant rectangularity is the ratio of the distance from plant to plant and between rows

• In water erosion, a gully 3 m deep and 18 m wide constitutes a small gully (G2)

• A medium gully (G3) is 3-9 m deep and 18+ m wide with a side slope of 8-15+%

• Winds are classified by wind ward side.

• Agronomic measures reduce soil erosion on slopes less than 2%

• Bench terracing is practiced on 16-33% slopes

• The highest award to an agricultural scientist in India is the Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Award

• Agriculture's contribution to India's GDP has been decreasing.

• Agro-climatic regional planning began in the 7th five year plan (1988)

• Nitrogen fixation in rice fields is performed by blue-green algae like water fern Azolla.

• Cubodial Plant arrangements yield maximum population density.

• Growing crops with differing natural habits to eliminate competition is known as parallel cropping

• The Choti Lerma wheat variety is resistant to all three types of rust.

• A ratoon crop of sugarcane is only advised once

• The cultivations of >2 crops of varying heights results in Mutistory cropping

• The nursery area for 1 hectare of rice is 0.10 ha

• Tip burn of paddy is due to reduced O2 and N₂ gases under the H2O

• Red or purple maize leaves indicate a phosphorus deficit

• Vavilon found 8 origin centers and 3 sub-centers

Crop Origins:

• Rice: S. E. Asia (Burma)
• Tea: China
• Sugarcane: New Guinea
• Soybean: China
• Wheat: S. W. Asia (Turkey)
• Mustard: China
• Gram: S. W. Asia
• Cow pea: Africa
• Maize: C. America (Mexico)
• Cotton: India
• Tobacco: C. America
• Brinjal: India
• Groundnut: Brazil
• Arhar: Africa
• Moong: India
• Jowar: Africa
• Potato: S. America (Peru)
• Bajra: Africa

Terms and Agronomists:

• Irrigation Agronomy: Dr. N.G. Dastane
• Cropping System: Dr. S.S. Bains
• Irrigation Engineering: A.M. Michele
• SRNF (Slow-release nitrogen fertilizer): Dr. Rajendra Prasad
• CRI stage of irrigation in wheat: B. L. Bhardwaj
• Functional nutrient: Nicholus, 1963
• Essentiality of nutrient (criteria): Arnon & Stout 1939
• Agrobiology: Wilcox
• IW/CPE Ratio: Parihar et al 1974
• Transplanting in pearl millet: Dr. Gautum
• Coefficient of effectiveness: Nichiporovic (1950)
• H-4 hybrid of cotton: Dr. C.T. Patel (GUJ.) 1970
• Jaya (first Indian rice): Dr. Shastry
• Law of minimum: J.V. Liebig in 1840
• Law of limiting factor: Blackman (1905)
• Leaf area index: Watson (1947)
• Nutrient mobility concept: Brays R.H
• "A" value concept: Dean & Friend
• Harvesting index: Donald
• Photoperiodism concept: Gardener & Allard 1920
• Thermoperiodism: F. Went
• Vernalization: Lysenko
• Antibiotics (Penicillin): Alexandrian Fleming 1929
• Bacillus radicicola (now Rhizobium): Beijerinck 1890
• Rothamsted experimental station: J.B. Lawes & J.H. Gilber (1843)
• Father of the field plot experiment: J. B. Boussingault
• Father of pedology: V.V. Dokuchaiv
• Father of the golden revolution: Dr. K.L. Chadda
• Father of tillage/weed science: Jethro Tull
• Father of the soil testing technique: M. L. Troug
• Father of soil microbiology: S. N. Winogradsky
• Father of agriculture chemistry: J. V. Liebig