IBPS SO Professional Knowledge - Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I) Syllabus

Professional Knowledge - Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Professional Knowledge - Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I) in IBPS SO, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Agronomy and Crop Production

   4 topics

   • Cropping Systems, Seasons (Kharif / Rabi / Zaid) and Patterns
   • Major Field Crops: Cereals, Pulses and Oilseeds
   • Tillage, Weed Management and Irrigation Methods
   • Dryland and Watershed Agriculture
2. 2

   Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

   4 topics

   • Soil Types, Properties and Soil Health
   • Macro and Micro Nutrients and Deficiency Symptoms
   • Fertilizers, Manures and Integrated Nutrient Management
   • Soil and Water Conservation
3. 3

   Horticulture, Plant Protection and Allied Sectors

   4 topics

   • Fruits, Vegetables and Plantation Crops
   • Plant Pathology, Entomology and IPM
   • Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Poultry
   • Fisheries, Sericulture and Apiculture
4. 4

   Agricultural Economics, Finance and Extension

   4 topics

   • Agricultural Finance and Rural Banking
     • Kisan Credit Card and crop loans
     • Priority sector lending to agriculture
   • NABARD, Cooperatives and Agricultural Credit Institutions
   • Government Schemes (PM-KISAN, PMFBY, PMKSY, e-NAM)
   • Agricultural Extension, Marketing and Food Processing

Professional Knowledge - Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I) flashcards for IBPS SO

22 of 51 cards from the Professional Knowledge - Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is a cropping system?

   The pattern and sequence in which crops are grown on a piece of land over a year along with the management practices and their interaction with farm resources.

2. Differentiate between cropping pattern and cropping system.

   Cropping pattern is the spatial and temporal arrangement of crops in a given area; cropping system includes the cropping pattern plus its management to derive benefits from available resources.

3. Name the three main crop seasons in India and their periods.

   Kharif (June-October, sown with monsoon, harvested in autumn), Rabi (October-March, winter crops), and Zaid (March-June, summer crops).

4. Give two examples of Kharif crops and two of Rabi crops.

   Kharif: rice, maize, cotton, soybean, bajra. Rabi: wheat, gram (chickpea), mustard, barley, peas.

5. What is multiple cropping?

   Growing two or more crops on the same field in one year, including intercropping, sequential cropping, mixed cropping and relay cropping.

6. Define intercropping and give its main objective.

   Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same field in a definite row arrangement; objective is higher productivity per unit area and insurance against crop failure.

7. What is relay cropping?

   Sowing a succeeding crop in a standing crop before harvesting the earlier one, so their growth periods overlap.

8. Name India's three major cereal crops by production.

   Rice, wheat and maize.

9. Which crop is called the 'King of cereals' and which the 'Queen of cereals'?

   Wheat is the King of cereals; Maize is the Queen of cereals.

10. Name three major pulse crops grown in India.

    Chickpea (gram/chana), pigeon pea (arhar/tur) and green gram (moong); also black gram, lentil and pea.

11. Why are pulses important in cropping systems besides as food?

    Being legumes, they fix atmospheric nitrogen through Rhizobium in root nodules, improving soil fertility.

12. Name four major oilseed crops of India.

    Groundnut, mustard/rapeseed, soybean and sunflower; also sesame, safflower and castor.

13. What is tillage?

    The mechanical manipulation of soil to create conditions favourable for crop growth, including loosening, pulverizing and weed control.

14. Differentiate between primary and secondary tillage.

    Primary tillage is the first deep cut to open soil (e.g., mouldboard/disc plough); secondary tillage is shallow operations after primary to refine the seedbed (e.g., harrowing, planking).

15. What is zero tillage (no-till) and its benefit?

    Sowing crops directly into untilled soil with minimal disturbance; conserves soil moisture, reduces erosion and cuts cost and energy.

16. List the main methods of weed control.

    Preventive, mechanical (hand weeding, hoeing), cultural (crop rotation, mulching), biological, and chemical (herbicides).

17. Give one example each of a selective and a non-selective herbicide.

    Selective: 2,4-D (kills broadleaf weeds, spares cereals). Non-selective: glyphosate (kills most plants).

18. Name the major methods of irrigation.

    Surface (flood, basin, border, furrow, check basin), sprinkler, and drip (micro/trickle) irrigation.

19. Which irrigation method has the highest water-use efficiency and why?

    Drip irrigation, because water is delivered slowly directly to the root zone, minimizing evaporation, runoff and deep percolation losses.

20. What is dryland agriculture?

    Crop production in areas receiving less than 750 mm annual rainfall without irrigation, relying entirely on conserved soil moisture from rain.

21. What is a watershed in the context of agriculture?

    A geographic area where all rainwater drains to a common outlet; managed as a unit for soil and water conservation and integrated development.

22. Define soil texture and name the three primary particle types.

    Soil texture is the relative proportion of particle sizes: sand (largest), silt, and clay (smallest).

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