Brief Summary
Alright, so this session by Agri Coaching Chandigarh is basically a marathon for CUET PG aspirants, especially those in Agriculture Science or Agribusiness Management. It's all about cracking agronomy concepts, general agriculture, and those PYQs and MCQs. The session covers everything from the fathers of different agricultural fields to cropping systems, precision farming, irrigation, and even drone tech in agriculture. It's a mix of rapid revisions, matching exercises, and concept explanations to help you ace the exam.
- Covers key agronomy concepts for CUET PG aspirants.
- Includes PYQs, MCQs, and rapid revisions.
- Focuses on general agriculture, cropping systems, precision farming, and more.
CUET PG Agronomy Marathon Start 🔥
The session is designed for students prepping for the CUET PG exam, whether they are from an agriculture science background or an ABM background. Agronomy is a key subject for both. The session will cover agronomy concepts, PYQs, MCQs, and relevant solutions. It's important to practice questions to assess preparation and recall.
Topics Overview + Strategy 🔥
The session will cover a wide range of topics including general agriculture, sowing, cropping systems, precision farming, organic farming, irrigation, agrometeorology, dryland agriculture, weed science, and crops. These are popular topics with high chances of questions in the CUET exam.
Father of Agronomy (PYQ) 🔥🔥🔥
The first question is "Who is called the Father of Agronomy?" which was asked in the CUET PG Agriculture Science exam 2025. The correct answer is Petro DeCrescenzi. This section highlights the importance of knowing the 'fathers' of various agricultural fields, as questions related to them are common.
Important Fathers List (Rapid Revision 🔥)
This is a rapid revision of important figures: Father of Agriculture (World) is Norman Borlaug, (India) is MS Swaminathan. Father of Agronomy is Petro DeCrescenzi. Father of Green Revolution (World) is Norman Borlaug, (India) is MS Swaminathan. Father of Meteorology is Luke Howard, (India) is LA Ramdas. Father of Climatology is Wladimir Peter Köppen. Father of Natural Farming is Masanobu Fukuoka, and Zero Budget Natural Farming is Subhash Palekar. Father of Organic Farming is Sir Albert Howard, and Tillage & Weed Science is Jethro Tull.
International Institutes Matching 🔥🔥
This section involves matching international agricultural institutes with their locations. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture is in Ibadan, Nigeria. International Livestock Research Institute is in Nairobi, Kenya. International Water Management Institute is in Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is currently in Beirut, Lebanon.
ICRISAT + BBF Concept 🔥🔥🔥
The most popular agro-technology developed by ICRISAT is the Broad Bed and Furrow (BBF) method, associated with groundnut crops. ICRISAT was established in 1972.
Dryland Agriculture Institutes 🔥
Important institutes related to dryland agriculture include: Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan (established 1959). Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) in Hyderabad (established 1985). International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad (established 1972). International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), currently in Beirut, Lebanon (established 1977). Central Soil Conservation Board (established 1953). All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture started in 1970.
Books & Authors (Fukuoka 🔥)
Masanobu Fukuoka, the father of natural farming, is the author of "The One-Straw Revolution."
Indian Institutes Location PYQ 🔥🔥
Matching Indian Institutes with their locations: Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture is in Srinagar. Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research is in Pune. National Research Centre for Integrated Farming is in Motihari. National Research Centre on Pomegranate is in Solapur. Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture is located in Lucknow, as per a CUET PG 2025 exam question.
Kera vs Pora Method 🔥🔥🔥
Kera and Pora are traditional Indian sowing methods where seeds are sown in ploughed furrows. In the Pora method, seeds are sown in a continuous line using a funnel-shaped attachment, while in the Kera method, seeds are manually dropped by hand. These methods are common in rural areas and involve sowing seeds behind the plough, either manually or mechanically.
Relay Cropping Concept 🔥🔥🔥
Relay cropping involves growing two or more crops simultaneously during the life cycle of each, where the second crop is planted after the first crop reaches its reproductive stage but before it's ready to harvest. This is similar to a relay race where there's an overlap between two runners.
Multiple Cropping Types (Full Concept 🔥🔥🔥)
Multiple cropping systems are divided into parallel and sequential types. Parallel includes mixed, inter, relay, alley, multi-storied, and synergetic cropping. Sequential includes double, triple, quadruple, and ratoon cropping. Mixed cropping is random scattering of mixed seeds without row arrangement. Intercropping involves planting two or more crops together in a definite row ratio. Alley cropping is planting crops between rows of trees. Multi-storied cropping arranges plants by height in the same land. Synergetic cropping ensures the overall yield of combined crops is higher than their sole cropping yields.
Sequential Cropping 🔥🔥
Sequential cropping involves planting different crops one after another in the same land but at different times. For example, planting paddy in the Kharif season, followed by wheat in the Rabi season, and then watermelon in the Zaid season.
Additive vs Replacement Series 🔥🔥🔥
In intercropping, efficiency is checked through Land Equivalent Ratio (LER). On the basis of plant population, intercropping is of two types: Additive and Replacement series. Additive series maintains the base crop population at 100% and introduces the intercrop by reducing spacing, resulting in LER > 1. Replacement series reduces the base crop population to introduce the intercrop, resulting in LER < 1, and intercropping is not beneficial here.
Intercropping & Alley Cropping 🔥🔥
Intercropping involves growing two or more crops together. Alley cropping, also known as hedgerow intercropping, involves planting rows of trees or shrubs with crops grown in the alleys between them.
Strip Cropping Concept 🔥🔥
Strip cropping involves growing erosion-resisting and erosion-permitting crops in alternate ways on contours or across the slope to conserve soil and water.
Precision Farming vs Organic 🔥🔥🔥
Precision farming uses technology and data to optimize inputs and reduce waste, while natural farming avoids external inputs, relying on locally available resources. Subsistence farming produces enough for household needs, not for commercial purposes. Organic farming avoids synthetic chemicals and GMOs but allows bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides.
Drone in Agriculture (PYQ 🔥🔥)
Drones in agriculture are part of precision farming, enabling crop monitoring, and precise application of pesticides and fertilizers, reducing fertilizer use. Drones provide aerial images for crop monitoring.
Organic Farming + Hydroponics 🔥🔥
Organic farming avoids chemical and synthetic products, and GMOs. Aeroponics grows crops in the air without soil, using nutrient mist. Hydroponics grows plants in water with required nutrients. Aquaponics combines hydroponics and aquaculture. Geoponics is soil-based cultivation. Vertical farming grows crops vertically in stacks. Urban farming is cultivation in cities, rooftops, and balconies.
Crop Rotation Concept 🔥🔥
Crop rotation reduces pests and diseases by breaking their life cycles.
Shifting Cultivation (Jhum etc.) 🔥🔥🔥
Shifting cultivation is contrary to increasing forest land. It involves cutting and burning vegetation, cultivating for a short period, and then abandoning the land. Synonyms for shifting cultivation include slash and burn, jhum (North East), podu (Andhra Pradesh), kurwa (Jharkhand), and bewar/dahiya (MP).
Taungya System Types 🔥🔥🔥
The most successful taungya system is village taungya. Taungya system involves cultivating trees and crops together on forest land temporarily. Types include village taungya, departmental taungya, and lease taungya. Village taungya is most successful as it involves no monetary exchange, and farmers freely cultivate crops while caring for trees.
Atmospheric Layers (Agromet 🔥🔥🔥)
The outermost layer of the atmosphere is the exosphere. The sequence of atmospheric layers is troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. Troposphere is the densest layer where weather phenomena occur. Stratosphere contains the ozone layer. Mesosphere is the coldest layer where meteoroids burn. Thermosphere contains satellites and auroras. Exosphere has low gravity and density.
Nitrogen Fixation Concept 🔥🔥
Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere that plants cannot utilize directly. It is captured by certain bacteria living symbiotically in root nodules.
Monsoon System India 🔥🔥🔥
The southwest monsoon enters India in June to September. It's also known as the summer monsoon, starting in South India with the first rain in Kerala around June 1st. It accounts for 75% of India's rainfall. The southwest monsoon has two branches: Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The Arabian Sea branch first brings rain to the Western Ghats in Kerala and moves north. The Bay of Bengal branch brings rain to the North East and Eastern Himalayas. The North East monsoon, also known as the winter or retreating monsoon, starts on October 15th and is limited to southern states.
Coral Bleaching + Climate 🔥
Ocean acidification due to climate change results in coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is the loss of color in corals due to the expulsion of colorful algae, which are important components of the marine ecosystem.
Rice Varieties + Aroma Compound 🔥🔥
Tokyo is a variety of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), which is a pseudocereal rich in complex carbohydrates. Ricinine is a toxic alkaloid found in castor. Golden rice, developed by IRRI, addresses Vitamin A deficiency.
Baby Corn + Final Questions 🔥
For maize crops grown for fodder, the seed rate should be 50 kg/hectare. Harvesting of baby corn should be done two to three days after silking. Baby corn is an unfertilized cob of maize, harvested young and small. Parboiling is a process of paddy to prevent breakage of grains during milling and enhance nutrients.
