Classification of Crops Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The crop that is not a cereal is pigeon pea.

Cereals are grasses grown for their grain: maize, finger millet (ragi) and sorghum (jowar) all belong to the grass family. Pigeon pea (arhar or tur) is a legume, a pulse crop of the pea family, grown for its protein-rich seeds.

So pigeon pea is the odd one out.

Pulses such as pigeon pea fix atmospheric nitrogen through root nodules, which is why they are grown in rotation or as intercrops with cereals such as maize and sorghum.

Answer: B

The medicinal crop is Aloe vera.

Aloe vera is a succulent cultivated for the gel and latex in its fleshy leaves, which are used in ayurvedic and modern medicine for burns, skin conditions and digestion, and in cosmetics. It is one of the main medicinal plants grown commercially in India, including in Madhya Pradesh.

Sugarcane is a cash crop grown for sugar and jaggery, and cotton is a fibre crop. Mahua is a forest tree whose flowers and seeds are gathered for food, liquor and oil rather than a crop cultivated for medicine. So the other options are wrong.

Answer: D

The crop that is not a commercial crop is Bajra.

Commercial (cash) crops are grown mainly for sale rather than for the farmer's own consumption. Sugarcane and cotton are classic cash crops that feed the sugar and textile industries, and banana is grown on plantations for the market.

Bajra (pearl millet) is a coarse cereal, a food and fodder crop grown largely for subsistence in dry areas. It is classed with food grains, not cash crops.

Answer: B

The correct order is Soil preparation - Sowing - Irrigation - Harvesting.

The field is first ploughed, levelled and manured so the seed has loose, aerated soil. Seeds are then sown, and the crop is irrigated as it grows, since watering is needed by the germinating and growing plants. Harvesting comes last, when the crop has matured.

The other sequences break this logic: irrigating before sowing is only an occasional pre-sowing watering, not the standard step after preparation; harvesting cannot come before sowing; and soil preparation cannot be the final step of a cropping cycle.