BCS examination Agriculture & Food Systems (bridge): practice questions

1 · Major crops: rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeonpea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, mango · medium

IR8, released by the International Rice Research Institute in 1966, is remembered because it

1. was the first hybrid rice, bred using cytoplasmic male sterility in China
2. was the semi-dwarf rice that launched the Green Revolution in rice
3. was the first aromatic basmati bred for Middle East exports
4. was the first genetically engineered rice with beta-carotene

2 · Major crops: rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeonpea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, mango · hard

Long-duration pigeonpea is commonly intercropped with sorghum or pearl millet mainly because

1. both crops root to the same shallow depth, so they share topsoil moisture
2. the cereal shades the pigeonpea and so keeps the pod borer from laying any eggs on it
3. pigeonpea grows slowly early on, so the cereal matures before competition peaks
4. pigeonpea cannot form root nodules unless a cereal is grown alongside it

3 · Major crops: rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeonpea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, mango · hard

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in irrigated rice is promoted because it

1. saves water and cuts methane emissions while keeping yields close to continuous flooding
2. raises methane emissions but doubles grain yield by adding more organic matter to the soil
3. makes transplanting unnecessary because rice seeds germinate only in drying soil
4. eliminates the need for any nitrogen fertiliser because drying releases soil nitrogen

4 · Pests and diseases of major crops · hard

An exporter plans to ship fresh mangoes to a market with strict quarantine rules. Which pest most often determines the treatment the fruit must receive before shipment?

1. Fruit fly, controlled by hot-water, vapour-heat or irradiation treatment
2. Malformation, controlled by removing affected panicles at shipment
3. Mango hopper, controlled by one pre-harvest insecticide spray at flowering
4. Powdery mildew, controlled by sulphur dusting in the packhouse

5 · Livestock · easy

The 'true stomach' of a ruminant, which secretes acid and digestive enzymes, is the

1. rumen
2. abomasum
3. omasum
4. reticulum

6 · Basics of veterinary science · medium

The One Health approach is based on the observation that

1. only plant diseases affect food security, so animal health needs no attention in policy
2. most emerging human infections come from animals, linking human, animal and environmental health
3. animal diseases never cross into humans, so veterinary and medical services can stay apart
4. antibiotic use in livestock has no effect at all on resistant infections in the human population

7 · Watershed management · medium

In the Universal Soil Loss Equation, A = R x K x LS x C x P, the factor C stands for

1. clay content of the soil
2. climate and rainfall erosivity
3. contouring and terracing practices
4. cover and management

8 · Irrigation and drainage · medium

Subsurface drainage of waterlogged saline land is usually done with

1. additional flood irrigation to wash salts deeper each year
2. open trenches dug along every field boundary to the surface
3. perforated pipes buried in the field below the root zone
4. rows of eucalyptus planted only along the canal banks

9 · Post-harvest handling · hard

A supermarket stores bananas at 4 °C to extend shelf life, and the peel turns dull and brown. The most likely cause is

1. ethylene shortage, because cold stores contain no ripening hormone at all
2. chilling injury, because tropical fruits are damaged by low temperatures
3. freezing of the pulp, because bananas freeze solid at about 4 degrees Celsius
4. fungal rot, because cold stores always have higher humidity than warm rooms

10 · Post-harvest handling · medium

The HACCP system ensures food safety by

1. testing every finished pack at the end of the line and discarding any batches that fail
2. identifying hazards and controlling them at critical control points in the process
3. certifying that the raw material was grown organically without synthetic inputs
4. setting the retail price of food so that consumers can afford safe products