IBPS SO Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I), CRP SPL-XV (2025) · India · Institute of Banking Personnel Selection
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe farm science an agribusiness manager must know: crops, soils, pests, horticulture, livestock, irrigation and post-harvest. Agribusiness master's entrance syllabi draw roughly a fifth to a quarter of their questions from this ground.
In the exams: agricultural master's entrance examinations, agribusiness, about 20–25% of the paper (heavy); agricultural master's entrance examinations, agricultural economics (present); agricultural development bank officer recruitment, agriculture and rural development (heavy); professional-knowledge papers in agricultural field officer recruitment in banking (heavy)
How our questions for IBPS SO Agricultural Field Officer, CRP SPL-XV spread across the units of Agriculture & Food Systems (bridge). Difficulty: 30 easy, 36 medium, 11 hard.
| Major crops: rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeonpea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, mango | 10 | |
| Soils and NPK deficiency symptoms | 10 | |
| Pests and diseases of major crops | 9 | |
| Livestock | 9 | |
| Farm machinery and energy | 7 | |
| Irrigation and drainage | 7 | |
| Basics of veterinary science | 6 | |
| Horticulture | 5 | |
| Post-harvest handling | 5 | |
| Organisational set-up of agricultural research, education and extension | 4 | |
| Importance of agriculture in the national economy | 2 | |
| Food and nutrition | 2 | |
| Watershed management | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A maize field shows stunted plants whose older leaves are dark green turning purplish-red, with poor rooting and late maturity. The most likely deficiency is
C. phosphorus
Purpling of older leaves with stunting and delayed maturity is the classic phosphorus deficiency picture. Nitrogen deficiency gives pale yellow older leaves, potassium gives scorched leaf margins, and zinc gives interveinal chlorosis and bands on young leaves.
Further reading: Tisdale et al., Soil Fertility and Fertilizers
Khaira disease of rice, with rusty-brown patches on older leaves and stunted growth on alkaline soils, is caused by
C. zinc deficiency
Khaira is the name given in India to zinc deficiency in rice; it was first diagnosed at Pantnagar and is corrected with zinc sulphate. Iron toxicity causes bronzing on acid soils, and bacterial leaf blight is an infectious disease, not a nutritional disorder.
Further reading: Tisdale et al., Soil Fertility and Fertilizers
Loose smut of wheat is controlled mainly by seed treatment because
A. the fungus lies inside the seed embryo, so it is internally seed-borne
Ustilago tritici infects the flower and lies dormant in the embryo of the next seed, so only treatment of the seed itself (systemic fungicide, hot-water or solar treatment) breaks the cycle. Foliar sprays or soil treatment cannot reach it, and it is not insect-borne.
Further reading: Agrios, Plant Pathology
Late blight of tomato and potato, the disease behind the Irish famine of the 1840s, is caused by
D. Phytophthora infestans
Late blight is caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans. Alternaria solani causes early blight, Fusarium oxysporum causes wilts, and Xanthomonas species cause bacterial spots and blights.
Further reading: Agrios, Plant Pathology
India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of
D. spices
India leads world spice production, consumption and export. Cut-flower exports are led by the Netherlands, Colombia, Kenya and Ecuador, apples by China, and coffee by Brazil and Vietnam.
Further reading: Spices Board of India; FAOSTAT
The 'true stomach' of a ruminant, which secretes acid and digestive enzymes, is the
B. abomasum
The abomasum is the glandular stomach equivalent to the monogastric stomach. The rumen and reticulum are fermentation chambers, and the omasum absorbs water and nutrients from digesta.
Further reading: ICAR Handbook of Animal Husbandry
Haemorrhagic septicaemia, an acute disease of cattle and especially buffaloes during the monsoon, is caused by
B. Pasteurella multocida
Haemorrhagic septicaemia is caused by specific serotypes of Pasteurella multocida. Clostridium chauvoei causes black quarter, Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax, and Brucella abortus causes brucellosis.
Further reading: WOAH Terrestrial Manual
Subsurface drainage of waterlogged saline land is usually done with
C. perforated pipes buried in the field below the root zone
Subsurface drains, perforated pipes laid at depth and sloped to an outlet, lower the water table and carry leached salts away. Open surface drains remove surface water only, tree rows (bio-drainage) are a supplementary measure, and extra irrigation without drains worsens waterlogging.
Further reading: FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 61
India's National Food Security Act 2013 provides subsidised grain to up to what share of the population?
D. 75% rural and 50% urban
The Act covers up to 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population, about two-thirds of the total, through the targeted public distribution system. Two-thirds is the overall figure, not the rural share.
Further reading: National Food Security Act 2013
In India the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) coordinates public extension at which level?
C. District
ATMA is a district-level society linking line departments, research (KVKs) and farmer groups for demand-driven extension, with block-level teams below it. It is not a national or village body.
Further reading: Ministry of Agriculture, ATMA guidelines
Ten here, 77 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to IBPS SO Agricultural Field Officer, CRP SPL-XV in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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