AGR 101 – IMPORTANCE FOR MID SEMESTER EXAM.

1. Agro-climatic zones of India is 15

2. CRRI is located at Cuttack as Central Rice Research Institute.
3. Coimbatore district is coming under high rain fall zone area – False (F)
4. Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) is located at Jodhpur
5. Paleolithic means old stone age.
6. Book “Horse hoeing husbandary” was written by Jethro Tull
7. TNAU was established in 1971.
8. Agro-climatic regions of India by the Planning Commission is 15.
9. The branch of agriculture which deals with production of flowers, fruits, vegetables, ornamentals
flowers etc. – Horticulture.
10. Famine commission appointed in 1901.
11. Science of agriculture requires primary physical skill secondary mental skill.
12. Agronomy is derived from Greek word.
13. Agros means field.
14. Annals of agriculture book published by Arthur Young.
15. Agronomy refers to branch of agricultural science which deals with Principles & practices of soil,
water and crop management.
16. Inverse yield nitrogen law concept was developed by Wilcox.
17. Great Granary was the name for storage structure for food grains was discovered during Harappa
period.
18. Yellow revolution – oil seeds
19. White revolution – Milk
20. Blue revolution – fish
21. Pink revolution – shrimp
22. Kharief season crop – cotton
23. Winter season crop – sunflower
24. High rainfall zone – Kannyakumari district
25. Southern zone – Ramnad, Nellai
26. North – eastern zone – Lake districts
27. Cauvery delta zone – rice bowl of Tamil Nadu
28. Wet land crop – paddy
29. Karikala Cholan constructed Kallanai across the Cauvery river during 190 AD.
30. During samba season, long duration rice varieties are selected.
31. Expansion of ICAR is Indian Council of Agricultural Research
32. Law of minimum concept was proposed by Francis Bacon
33. Suitable bio-fertilizer for rice is azospirillum
34. Agricultural sector has occupied 43 % of India’s geographical area.
35. Expand WMO – World Meteorological Organisation.
36. Expand ITK – Indigenous Technological Knowledge
37. Francis Bacon (1561 – 1621 AD) – found water as nutrient for plants
38. Madurai – Head quarters of Sangam poets
39. Tamil Almanac – Panchangam
40. Land leveling – Parambu
41. Blue revolution – fish production
42. Oldest water regulation structure in the world is Kallanai - True (T)
43. Cropping intensity of middle Gangetic plains zone is 144% - F
44. History is the inherited values carried from one generation to another generation-False
45. Tools called ‘thattai’ and ‘kavan’ were used for scaring birds in millet fields - True (T)
46. Law of minimum was proposed by Justus Van Liebig
47. The most extensive soil found in India is alluvial soil or Indo-Gangetic alluviam
48. Introduction of semi dwarf wheat varities formed the basis for green revolution.
49. During Kautilya’s period, agriculture, cattle breading and trade were grouped into a science is
called Varta.
50. IISR – Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research at Lucknow
51. IGFRI – Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute at Jhansi
52. SBI – Sugarcane Breeding Institute at Coimbatore
53. The headquarters of ancient Tamil Sangam poets was Coimbatore– False (Madurai)
54. Agricultural science that deals with principles and practices of crop production and field
management is Agronomy.
55. As per Kautilya, the quantity of rainfall essential for getting good yield of rainfed crop is 16
drons.
56. Mesolithic period to characterized by tiny stone implements called microliths.
57. Water requirement – (Effective RF + Ground water contribution) is Irrigation requirements.
58. Law of minimum concept was proposed by Liebig.
59. The poem ‘Tholkappiyam’ classified the land into five groups
60. The mean annual rainfall of high rainfall zone in Tamil Nadu is 1469 mm.
61. Inverse N law – Wilcox
62. Law of diminishing returns – Mitscherlich
63. Record of past events – History
64. Inherited value from generations – Heritage
65. Detrimental to crop growth – Infra red and ultra violet rays
66. The chalcolithic revolution in the fourth millennium B.C. began in Nile.
67. Aryan land was called Saptasindhava.
68. Coimbatore belongs to Western zone.
69. Branch of agriculture which deals with silk worm rearing and silk production is termed as
sericulture.
70. Soil related factors affecting crop production are called edaphic factors.
71. Chemicals used to control weeds are called weedicides.
72. Potash content in Muriate of Potash is 60 %.
73. The other name of Kautilya was Chanakya.
74. FAO – Rome.
75. High water holding capacity – Black soil
76. Weed – Trianthema
77. Dry land IFS – goat.
78. Cultivation of crops started during 1000 BC.
79. Arthasasthra was written by Chanakya.
80. Chandra Gupta was called as Chanakya.
81. Highlight about green revolution invent of high yielding varieties of wheat and rice.
82. What is ITK? Indigenous Technological Knowledge.
83. Define agriculture and agronomy
84. Total forest area in India is 69 m.ha.
85. Cultivation of wheat and barley was made during 7500 BC.
86. Mould board plough was developed by Thomas Jefferson.
87. Chirabunji is located in East Himalayan region.
88. In which year Madras Agricultural College was established at Saidapet 1876.
89. Sugarcane Breeding Institute is located at Coimbatore.
90. According to Kautilya’s Arthasasthra, one dronas rainfall is equal to 40-50 mm.
91. Who wrote Annals of Agriculture? Arthur Young.
92. Kautilya’s time agriculture, cattle breeding and trade were grouped into a science is called Varta.
93. First Agricultural University was started at Pantnagar in the year 1962.
94. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) located at
Hyderabad.
95. Expand IARI and where it is situated? Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
96. Role of women in Vedic agriculture
97. High rain fall zone
98. Agriculture is an art, science and business. Discuss it.
99. What is white revolution?
100. Mention any four agricultural implements mentioned in Sangam literature.
101. What is ITK? Give one ITK related to seed treatment.
102. Write in detail about the importance and scope of Indian agriculture.
103. What are all the mentions of agriculture in Artha Shastra? Explain.
104. Where International Rice Research Institute is located? – Manila, Phillipines.
105. Explain agriculture is an art.
106. Write note on Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK).
107. Write the mentions of agriculture in Tholkappiyam.
108. Write the scope of Agronomy.
109. Write in details about cultivated crops mentioned in Tholkappiyam.
110. Briefly write about women in agriculture and empowerment in India.
111. What is shifting cultivation? Write about drawbacks of it.
112. List out any four National Institutes involved in agriculture research with its location.
113. Give the importance of Neolithic civilization.
114. List out the agro-climatic zones of Tamil Nadu.
115. Explain how agriculture is an art, science and business. What is the importance of
agriculture in India?
116. Describe agriculture in Arthsasthra and in Sangam literature.
117. 1880 - Department of Agriculture was established

118. 1903 - Imperial Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) was started at Pusa, Bihar
119. 1912 - Sugarcane Breeding Institute was established in Coimbatore
120. 1929 - Imperial Council of Agricultural Research at New Delhi (then ICAR) after
independence becomes ICAR
121. 1936 - Due to earth quake in Bihar, IARI was shifted to New Delhi and the place was
called with original name Pusa
122. 1962- First Agricultural University was started at Pantnagar
123. 1965-67 - Green revolution in India due to introduction of HYV –Wheat, rice, use of
fertilizers, construction of Dams and use of pesticides
124. 1876 - Madras Agricultural College was established at Saidapet
125. 1906 - Agricultural College & Research Institute was established at Coimbatore
126. 1971 - Tamil Nadu Agricultural University was started
127. CIMMYT – Centro International de Mejoramiento de Maizy Trigo.(International Centre
for maize and Wheat development (Londress, Mexico)
128. IITA –International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, Ibadon in Nigeria, Africa)
129. ICRISAT – International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (Pattancheru
in Hyderabad, India)
130. IIMI- International Irrigation Management Institute, Colombo, SRILANKA
131. IRRI – International Rice Research Institute (Los Banos, Philippines)
132. IBPGR - International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, Italy
133. CGIAR – Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Washington D.C
134. FAO – Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome
135. WMO- World Meteorological Organization, Vienna.
136. In India, Agriculture Share in GDP in 1980, 39% and in 2010 it was 16%
137. The Constitution of India guarantees to all Indian women equality (Article 14), equality
of opportunity (Article 16) and equal pay for equal work [Article 39(d)].
138. The Government of India declared 2001 as the Year of Women's Empowerment
(Swashakti).
139. Rig veda is the most ancient literary work of India.
140. Palaeolithic period (old stone age)
141. Mesolithic period (middle stone age)
142. Neolithic period (new stone age)
143. In India, Colonial British Era was between from 1757 to 1947 CE.
144. 1880: Famine Commission Report was submitted which was base for inception of
Agricultural Department.
145. 1881: Separate Department of Agriculture at Centre for Famine relief operations
146. 1957 : All India Coordinated Maize Improvement Project was initiated (First coordinated
project) to exploit maize research (Specifically heterosis).
147. 1963: Introduction of semi dwarf wheat varieties from Bhakra Dam (completed in 1963)
is the largest dam in India.
148. Kautilya gave great importance to agriculture and suggested a separate post of head of
agriculture and named as ‘Sitadhakashya’.
149. Kautilya wrote a treatise titled, Arthasasthra, which deals with the management of
resources. During Kautilya’s time agriculture, cattle breeding and trade were grouped into a
science called ‘Varta’.
150. Kautilya suggested many important aspects in agriculture which are highly relevant
today.
151. A rainfall of 16 dronas (One drona = 40 mm to 50 mm; so totally 600-800 mm) was
essential and 40 dronas rainfall (1600-200 mm) is sufficient for rice.
152. During the Sangam period (200 BC to 100 AD), the main profession of the population of
the Tamil region (now Tamil Nadu) was agriculture.
153. The Sangam period literature covers wide aspects of the people’s life, such as epics,
ethics, social life and religion written on Palmyara leaves.
 154. After advent of paper and printing machinary, Shri Swaminatha Iyer who is popularly
called ‘Tamill grandfather’ painstakingly brought out as printed books.
155. Two peoms of the Sangam period, viz., Tholkappiyam and Thirukural, gives us a vivid
picture of agricultural practices in that period.
156. Tholkapiyam was written by Tholkappier during 200 BC. It gives descriptions of various
agricultural aspects and these are enumerated below.
157. Tholkapiyam has classified the lands into five (but, cultivable land in to four) groups,
viz., Mullai (forest), Kurinji (hills), Marudham (cultivable lands), and Neithal (coastal areas).
158. Palai land was not brought under cultivation and left as fallow.
159. Tholkappier also mentioned about monocots and dicots.
In Sangam periods, failure of monsoon rains and reduction in grain yield were attributed to the
king’s sins.
160. Buffaloes were used for ploughing with a wooden plough. Deep ploughing was
considered superior to shallow ploughing.
161. A labour saving tool called Parambu was used for leveling paddy fields.
162. Tools such as Amiry, Keilar, and Yettam were used to lift water from wells, tanks, and
rivers.
163. Tools called Thattai and Kavan were used for scaring birds in millet fields. Traps were
used to catch wild boars in millet fields.
164. The selected seed was stored for sowing only and never used as food grain. It was
believed that such a diversion would destroy the family.
165. Crop rotation was practiced by raising black gram (urd) after rice.
166. A tool called Senyam was used for harvesting rice.
167. Operations requiring hard work such as ploughing were done by men while women
attended to light work such as transplanting, weeding, bird scaring, harvesting and winnowing.
168. In Kandapuranam, it is mentioned that Valli, daughter of a king, was sent for bird scaring
in millet fields where Lord Muruga (son of Lord Shiva) courted her and married.
169. Products were exchanged by weight. In Madurai (the headquarters of Sangam poets),
there was a food grain bazaar where 18 kinds of cereals, millets and pulses were sold.
170. Thirukural poem was composed by a gifted poet named Thiruvalluvar during 70 BC. It
devotes one topic (10 couplets) for agriculture under the chapter politics. This clearly reveals the
recognition that the prime duty of a king is to ensure agricultural production.
171. Some Importance of agriculture,
‘World spins around many industries. All such industries spin around agriculture’
‘Farmers alone live an independent life; others worship them and are second to them’
‘If farmers stop cultivation, even rishis (sages) cannot survive’
172. Ploughing
‘If land is ploughed deep and soil allowed drying to one fourth weight, even manuring is not
necessary’
173. Manuring
‘Manuring is more important than ploughing: crop protection is more important than
 irrigation’. 174. Green leaf manuring, farmyard manure, and sheep penning were in vogue though
farmers were not aware that they supplied nitrogen to the crop.
Rainfall prediction
174. • Large number of fireflies seen at night on the forest trees is a sign that the monsoon will
start early (Farmers in Maharashtra).
175. • If there is rain, accompanied with lightning and mild thunder on the second day of
Jayastha month (May – June), there will be no rain for the next 72 days (Farmers Gujarat)
176. Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK)
 Summer ploughing conserves moisture, eradicates weeds, consolidates soil erosion and
minimizes the number of ploughings at the time of sowing.
 Due to cowdung coating for cotton seeds, the easy dibbling of seeds to remove fuzz, good
germination, no cost and pest-reduction were the advantages.
 Soaking sorghum seeds in cow urine before sowing increase the drought tolerance and the
seeds had germination with minimum rain and it was considered as no cost practice.
 Soaking Bengal gram in water as found with the previous practice, farmers had resorted to
the practice of soaking bengal gram in water before sowing because it considered as no cost
and withstanding water stress.
 Cotton seeds treated with red soils facilitate easy dibbling of seeds and it favours good
germination.
 Cattle penning practices improve the soil fertility owing to organic manure.
 Sorghum mixed with lab-lab given additional yield owing to mixed cropping and it enhances
nitrogen fixation by leguminous lab-lab.
 Use of cow dung cake as burrow fumigant is economical in controlling rats.
 Raising castor as a border crop in cotton field is used as trap crop for the cotton pest and it
also provided additional income.
 Easy removal of pest, easy separation of kernels, longer shelf life and higher economics are
advantages of coating red gram with red soil.
 Mixing green gram with ash was one of the post harvest indigenous practice and it had
certain advantages like pest reduction and cheaper method.
177. Agronomy is a main branch of Agriculture. It is synthesis of several disciplines like soil
science, Agricultural chemistry, crop physiology, plant ecology, biochemistry and economics.
178. Agronomist is a scientist who is dealing with the study of problems of crop production
and adopting/recommending practices of better field crop production and soil management to get
high yield and income.
179. Planning Commission of India (1989) delineated the country into 15 agro climatic
regions based on homogeneity in rainfall, temperature, topography, cropping and farming
systems and water resources.
180. New Delhi located in Trans-Gangetic Plains zone.

181. In Southern Plateau and Hills zone comprises 35 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu which are typically semi-arid zones. Dryland farming is adopted in 81% of the
area and the cropping intensity is 111 percent.
182. The highest rain receiving place of Chirabunji is located in Eastern Himalayan zone.
183. Famine and drought are common features of the region in Western Dry zone.
184. The National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) under ICAR classified the regions
based on the rainfall pattern, cropping pattern and administrative units, 127 agro-climatic zones.
185. Tamil Nadu has been classified into seven distinct agro-climatic zones.
186. The mean annual rainfall of the High rainfall zone is 1469 mm received in 64 rainy days.
This zone consists of Kanayakumari district.
187. The highest rainfall of 4500 mm received in Anamalai hills in High altitude and Hilly
zone.
188. National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) of the ICAR has
delineated 20 agro-ecological regions (AERs) in the country.
189. The name of the zone comprises of Nilgiris, Shevroys, Elagiri-Javvadhu, Kollimalai,
Patchaimalai, Anamalais, Palanis and Podhigaimalais is Hilly and High altitude zone.
190. National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) of the ICAR
has delineated 20 agro-ecological regions (AERs) in the country.
191. The major advantage of LGP based criteria is that the LGP is the direct indicative of
moisture availability of a given landform rather than the total rainfall.
192. Based on the rainfall pattern, cropping pattern and administrative units, 127 agro-
climatic zones are classified by National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) under ICAR.
193. Famine and drought are common features of the region in western dry zone of India.
194. Middle Gangetic zone has 39% of gross cropped area is irrigated and the cropping
intensity is 142%.
195. Agronomist aims at obtaining maximum production at minimum cost
196. Agronomist is responsible for every decision made in the farm management.
197. The crop physiology helps to understand the basic life process of crops to understand
functioning of each parts of plant to determine their input requirement like nutrients etc.
198. The scope of agronomist is to identify the proper season for cultivation of wide range
of crops is needed which could be made possible only by Agronomy science.
199. In Kautilya period the superintendent of agriculture should be a person who is
knowledgeable in agriculture and horticulture.
200. In Kautilya period Sali (transplant rice), Virlu (direct sown rice), Till (Sesame) and
millets should be sown at the commencement of rain.

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