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Range Forest Officer recruitment Forest Tree Seed Technology: practice questions

Range Forest Officer recruitment (state exams) · India · State Public Service Commissions and state forest departments (e.g. MPPSC, UKPSC, UPPSC)

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers
8worked here, free
19written to this exam in this subject
10syllabus units

What this subject covers

Collecting, processing, storing, testing and certifying tree seed so that nurseries get the right seed of known quality and origin.

In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF 59 Unit 2 (seed collection, dormancy, testing, ISTA rules, certification); IFoS Forestry Paper I Section B; ICAR AIEEA-PG Group 09 (tree seed technology)

Where the 19 questions fall

How our questions for Range Forest Officer recruitment spread across the units of Forest Tree Seed Technology. Difficulty: 14 easy, 5 medium, 0 hard.

Orthodox, intermediate and recalcitrant seed and their storage3
Seed development, maturity indices and seed years2
Seed collection methods and timing2
Seed extraction, cleaning and processing2
Seed dormancy types and pre-treatments2
Seed testing: purity, moisture, viability (tetrazolium), germination2
Seed zones, seed sources and documentation of origin2
Seed pests and seed health2
ISTA rules and seed testing standards1
Seed certification and the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme1

8 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

1 · Seed development, maturity indices and seed years · easy

A heavy, often synchronised seed crop after years of light crops is called a:

  1. Mast year
  2. Fallow year
  3. Dormancy year
  4. Rotation year
Answer and working

A. Mast year

Mast years are irregular heavy crops, often synchronised across large areas. The other terms do not describe seed crops.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

2 · Seed collection methods and timing · easy

Fleshy fruits should be transported after collection in:

  1. Tightly sealed plastic bags left in the sun
  2. Open, ventilated containers, processed quickly
  3. Closed tins filled with water for a week
  4. Airtight drums stored for a month
Answer and working

B. Open, ventilated containers, processed quickly

Fleshy fruits ferment and heat in closed bags, killing the seed. Ventilation and quick depulping prevent this.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

3 · Orthodox, intermediate and recalcitrant seed and their storage · easy

Orthodox seeds are seeds that:

  1. Tolerate drying and cold storage
  2. Are killed by any drying below high moisture
  3. Must be sown within days of falling
  4. Can be stored only in liquid nitrogen
Answer and working

A. Tolerate drying and cold storage

Orthodox seeds survive drying to about 5% and low temperatures, and store for years. The other descriptions fit recalcitrant seed.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

4 · Seed dormancy types and pre-treatments · medium

Teak germination is commonly improved by:

  1. Storing the fruits in a freezer for one full year
  2. Soaking the fruits in gibberellic acid for one minute
  3. Removing the embryo and sowing it on agar plates
  4. Alternate soaking in water and drying in the sun over a period of days
Answer and working

D. Alternate soaking in water and drying in the sun over a period of days

Alternate wetting and drying weathers the hard endocarp and felty mesocarp. Germination is still slow and uneven.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

5 · Seed certification and the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme · medium

A seed production area is:

  1. A nursery where seedlings are raised in polybags
  2. A good stand upgraded by removing inferior trees
  3. A laboratory where seeds are tested for purity
  4. A store where dried seed is kept at low temperature
Answer and working

B. A good stand upgraded by removing inferior trees

Seed production areas are upgraded stands managed for seed. Nurseries, laboratories and stores are other facilities.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

6 · Seed zones, seed sources and documentation of origin · easy

A provenance is:

  1. The nursery where seedlings were raised
  2. The laboratory that tested the seed
  3. The geographic origin of the seed
  4. The person who bought the seed
Answer and working

C. The geographic origin of the seed

Provenance means geographic origin.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

7 · Seed pests and seed health · easy

Bruchid beetles are serious pests of:

  1. The cones of conifers only
  2. Legume seeds such as acacias
  3. Teak leaves in the nursery
  4. Bamboo culms after harvest
Answer and working

B. Legume seeds such as acacias

Bruchids develop in legume seeds and continue breeding in stored seed.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

8 · Orthodox, intermediate and recalcitrant seed and their storage · easy

Teak seed can be stored for years because it is:

  1. Orthodox
  2. Recalcitrant
  3. Viviparous
  4. Serotinous
Answer and working

A. Orthodox

Teak seed is orthodox and keeps when dry.

Further reading: Schmidt, Guide to Handling of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Seed (2000); Bonner & Karrfalt, The Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008); ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing

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Read the subject

Forest Tree Seed TechnologyThe full study manual, free Range Forest Officer recruitmentFormat, sections and how it has changed

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Forest Tree Seed Technology for other exams

State Forest Service · IndiaICAR AICE-JRF/SRF · IndiaIndian Forest Service Examination · India

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