RPSC Agriculture Officer (Rajasthan) 2024 · India · Rajasthan Public Service Commission
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 RPSC Agriculture Officer 2024 spread across the units of Agriculture & Food Systems (bridge). Difficulty: 7 easy, 13 medium, 1 hard.
| Major crops: rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeonpea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, mango | 5 | |
| Soils and NPK deficiency symptoms | 4 | |
| Pests and diseases of major crops | 3 | |
| Organisational set-up of agricultural research, education and extension | 2 | |
| Importance of agriculture in the national economy | 1 | |
| Horticulture | 1 | |
| Forestry | 1 | |
| Livestock | 1 | |
| Basics of veterinary science | 1 | |
| Irrigation and drainage | 1 | |
| Post-harvest handling | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
If a wheat farmer in the plains of South Asia can give only one irrigation after sowing, at which stage should it be given?
B. Crown root initiation, about three weeks after sowing
Crown root initiation, around 20 to 25 days after sowing, is the most critical stage for wheat irrigation because water stress then reduces crown roots and tillering, which cannot be recovered later. Irrigation at dough stage or maturity adds little to yield.
Further reading: Reddy, Principles of Agronomy
In chickpea, 'nipping' refers to
C. removing the growing tips so that the plant branches and bears more pods
Nipping removes the apical bud about a month after sowing; this breaks apical dominance and encourages lateral branches that carry more pods. Removing flowers or pods would reduce grain yield, and chickpea is not ratooned.
Further reading: ICAR Handbook of Agriculture
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
How much urea (46% N) is needed to supply 120 kg of nitrogen per hectare?
A. About 261 kg
Product = nutrient / fraction = 120 / 0.46 = 260.9 kg. Multiplying 120 by 0.46 gives 55 kg, the most common slip; 552 kg multiplies 120 by 4.6, a decimal slip in the grade (dividing by 0.46 twice would give about 567 kg).
Further reading: Tisdale et al., Soil Fertility and Fertilizers
A cow is found dead with dark, unclotted blood oozing from the nostrils and anus. Which disease should be suspected, and why must the carcass not be opened?
A. Anthrax, because opening it lets the bacteria form resistant spores
Sudden death with unclotted blood from natural openings suggests anthrax. Bacillus anthracis forms long-lived spores when exposed to air, so the carcass is not opened and is disposed of under veterinary supervision. Brucellosis is bacterial, not viral, and mastitis is an udder infection.
Further reading: WOAH Terrestrial Manual
The fumigant most widely used to disinfest stored grain is
C. phosphine
Phosphine, generated from aluminium or magnesium phosphide, is the most widely used grain fumigant; it is highly toxic and must be applied by trained staff under the label. Urea is a fertiliser, gypsum a soil amendment and ethylene a ripening hormone.
Further reading: FAO grain storage manuals
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, 21 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to RPSC Agriculture Officer 2024 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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