NABARD Grade-A Exam : Notes on Agriculture & Rural Development (with focus on Rural India)

The upcoming important exams are NABARD grade A and grade B, in which there is a section Agriculture & Rural Development (with a focus on Rural India) having high weightage of 40 marks. So, for the same, it becomes really important to have an in-depth knowledge of the various terminologies and practices involved in agriculture. Further its imperative to be aware of the present scenario of Indian Agriculture and the state of Rural Development in India. To help you with this, today, we are providing you with all necessary information related to the mentioned field which will help you to fetch some good marks.

6) Root system:

Taproot system: The main root goes deep into the soil. E.g. Tur, Grape, Cotton etc.

Adventitious/Fiber rooted: The crops whose roots are fibrous shallow & spreading into the soil.  E.g. Cereal crops, wheat, rice etc.

7) Economic Importance:

Cash crop: Grown for earning money. E.g. Sugarcane, cotton.

Food crops: Grown for raising food grain for the population and & fodder for cattle. E.g. Jowar, wheat, rice etc.

8) No. of Cotyledons:

Monocots or monocotyledons: Having one cotyledon in the seed. 

Gramineae: includes the following crops: wheat, barley, rice, maize, oat, sugar cane, sorghum, ryegrass, and sudangrass.

Liliaceae: includes onion and garlic.

Dicots or dicotyledonous: Crops having two cotyledons in the seed.

Leguminosae: field bean, lupine, chickpea, lentil, fenugreek, Egyptian clover, alfalfa, soybean, peanut, grass pea, castor bean, red clover and white clover.

Malvaceae: cotton.

Linaceae: flax.

Solanceae: potato, tomato, and tobacco. 

Pedaliaceae: sesame.

Composite: sunflower and safflower

9) Photosynthesis (Reduction of CO2/Dark reaction):

C3 plants: Photorespiration is high in these plants C3 Plants have lower water use efficiency. The initial product of C assimilation in the three ‘C’ compounds. The enzyme involved in the primary carboxylation is ribulose-1,-Bisphosphate carboxylase.  E.g. Rice, soybeans, wheat, barley cotton, potato.

C4 plants: The primary product of C fixation is four carbon compounds which may be malice acid or acerbic acid. The enzymes responsible for carboxylation are phosphoenol Pyruvic acid carboxylase which has a high affinity for CO2 and capable of assimilation CO2 event at a lower concentration, photorespiration is negligible. Photosynthetic rates are higher in C4 than C3 plants for the same amount of stomatal opening. These are said to be drought resistant & they are able to grow better even under moisture stress. C4 plants translate photosynthates rapidly.  E.g. Sorghum, Maize, Napier grass, sesame etc.

CAM plants (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism): the stomata open at night and a large amount of CO2 is fixed as a malic acid which is stored in vacuoles. During day stomata are closed. There is no possibility of CO2 entry. CO2 which is stored as malice acid is broken down & released as CO2. In these plants, there is negligible transpiration. C4 & CAM plants have high water use efficiency. These are highly drought resistant.  E.g. Pineapple, sisal & agave.

10) Length of Photoperiod required for Floral Initiation:

Most plants are influenced by the relative length of the day & night, especially for floral initiation, the effect on a plant is known as photoperiodism depending on the length of photoperiod required for floral ignition, plants are classified as:

Short-day plants: Flower initiation takes plate when days are short less than ten hours.  E.g. rice, Jowar, green gram, black gram etc.

Long day’s plants: require long days are more than ten hours for floral ignition. E.g. Wheat, Barley,

Day-neutral plants: Photoperiod does not have much influence for phase change for these plants. E.g. Cotton, sunflower. The rate of the flowering initiation depends on how short or long is photoperiod. Shorter the days, more rapid initiation of flowering in short days plants. Longer the days more rapid are the initiation of flowering in long days plants.