Indian Forest Service Examination Forest Nursery & Plantation Establishment: practice questions

1 · Growing media and sowing methods · medium

Why do root trainers need light, soil-less growing media?

1. Soil is banned in every forest nursery in South Asia under current national rules
2. Light media contain all the nitrogen seedlings need for their whole lifetime
3. Soil-less media make seedlings germinate a month earlier than any soil medium
4. Soil compacts in small cells, reducing aeration and drainage

2 · Nursery operations: shading, watering, nutrition, weed control · hard

During hardening, nitrogen fertilisation is usually reduced because:

1. Nitrogen turns the leaves blue and makes the plants unsaleable to planting agencies at the nursery gate
2. Nitrogen evaporates from the medium in full sun and pollutes the air of the nursery
3. Nitrogen is required only by plants growing in root trainers and not in polybags
4. Nitrogen promotes shoot elongation, whereas hardening aims to stop growth and lignify tissues

3 · Seedling quality grading and hardening · hard

Soft, shade-grown, heavily fertilised plants are dispatched without hardening. What is the most likely outcome?

1. High mortality in the first dry spell after planting
2. Faster growth than hardened plants with no extra losses at all
3. Immediate flowering and seed production in the first year
4. Complete resistance to browsing animals because of soft leaves

4 · Planting patterns, spacing and pit sizes · hard

Why are larger pits, such as 45–60 cm cubes, used in arid zones and on hard soils?

1. To loosen a larger volume of soil so roots can spread and more water is stored
2. To make the plants sit deeper so that only the top leaves show above ground, which can hide them from browsing animals
3. To reduce the cost of planting by moving less soil than with small pits
4. To allow the polybag to remain on the plant without restricting roots

5 · Moisture conservation and irrigation at establishment · hard

What should be done if the water budget for establishment cannot be met?

1. Plant twice as many seedlings so that enough survive without any watering at all
2. Adjust species, spacing, planting time or conservation works rather than plant more than can be kept alive
3. Water only the tallest plants and allow all the others to die during the dry season, which can save some money for the division
4. Cancel the dry-season weeding so that weeds shade the plants and save water

6 · Survival assessment and beating up · hard

Survival in a plantation is very low. What should be done before replanting?

1. Replant immediately with the same stock, method and timing to save time
2. Identify and correct the cause of failure, such as drought, poor stock, browsing or poor planting
3. Abandon the site permanently, because a failed site can never be replanted under the forest law
4. Double the spacing so that fewer plants need to survive