Cropping Systems, Crop Rotation and Multiple Cropping MCQs 2026

A major advantage of sugarcane ratoon cropping is that it

1. A Requires new seed every week ✓
2. B Prevents regrowth ✓
3. C Saves planting cost and gives an early crop ✓
4. D Produces only leaves ✓

Cotton-wheat is a common cropping sequence in the irrigated areas of

1. A Northern polar region ✓
2. B Punjab and Sindh cotton belt ✓
3. C High mountain glaciers ✓
4. D Coastal mangrove forest ✓

Staggered sowing in an intensive cropping programme is often used to

1. A Eliminate crop maturity ✓
2. B Fix all prices by law ✓
3. C Prevent irrigation scheduling ✓
4. D Spread labour demand and harvest risk ✓

Rotating cereals with broadleaf crops helps most in

1. A Making all crops identical ✓
2. B Preventing root growth ✓
3. C Breaking weed and disease cycles ✓
4. D Stopping photosynthesis ✓

Biological nitrogen fixation in a legume rotation is favored by effective nodules and adequate

1. A Phosphorus supply ✓
2. B Soil salting ✓
3. C Seed burning ✓
4. D Deep flooding only ✓

Agroforestry-based cropping systems integrate crops with

1. A Only glass bottles ✓
2. B Trees and sometimes livestock ✓
3. C Only seed stores ✓
4. D No biological component ✓

Intensive cropping can degrade soil if farmers fail to replenish

1. A Seed labels ✓
2. B Crop names ✓
3. C Nutrients and organic matter ✓
4. D Market receipts ✓

Triple cropping means growing three crops on the same field during

1. A One hour ✓
2. B One irrigation turn ✓
3. C One seed test ✓
4. D One year ✓

A cropping system includes the crop pattern along with

1. A Management practices used on the farm ✓
2. B Only the botanical names of crops ✓
3. C Only seed color ✓
4. D Only post-harvest storage ✓

Crop rotation is best defined as a planned sequence of crops on the same field over

1. A One hour only ✓
2. B Seasons or years ✓
3. C Different planets ✓
4. D Only storage rooms ✓

Multiple cropping means growing two or more crops on the same land during

1. A One irrigation turn only ✓
2. B One seed lot only ✓
3. C One agricultural year ✓
4. D One laboratory test ✓

Intercropping is the growing of two or more crops simultaneously with

1. A A definite row or spatial arrangement ✓
2. B No field layout at all ✓
3. C Only one crop species ✓
4. D Only stored seed mixtures ✓

Mixed cropping differs from intercropping mainly because mixed cropping has

1. A Only perennial trees ✓
2. B No seed at sowing ✓
3. C Only one harvest date by law ✓
4. D No definite row arrangement ✓

Sequential cropping refers to planting the next crop

1. A Before any seed germinates ✓
2. B After harvesting the previous crop ✓
3. C Only in a glasshouse ✓
4. D Without removing weeds ever ✓

Relay cropping means the next crop is sown

1. A Only after five fallow years ✓
2. B Only in a seed store ✓
3. C Before the standing crop is harvested ✓
4. D After soil sterilization ✓

Ratoon cropping obtains a new crop from

1. A Imported seedlings only ✓
2. B Dried grain in storage ✓
3. C Detached flowers only ✓
4. D Regrowth of stubble after harvest ✓

Cropping intensity is calculated as gross cropped area divided by net sown area multiplied by

1. A 100 ✓
2. B 10 ✓
3. C 1000 ✓
4. D 0.1 ✓

If net sown area is 40 ha and gross cropped area is 80 ha, cropping intensity is

1. A 50 percent ✓
2. B 200 percent ✓
3. C 80 percent ✓
4. D 120 percent ✓

A land equivalent ratio greater than one indicates that intercropping

1. A Has no biological yield ✓
2. B Always fails economically ✓
3. C Has yield advantage over sole cropping ✓
4. D Uses no land at all ✓

The main fertility benefit of including legumes in rotation is

1. A Increasing soil stones ✓
2. B Adding sodium chloride ✓
3. C Stopping all root growth ✓
4. D Atmospheric nitrogen fixation ✓

Following an exhaustive crop with a restorative crop is a principle used to maintain

1. A Soil fertility ✓
2. B Seed color ✓
3. C Flower fragrance ✓
4. D Threshing speed ✓

The rice-wheat system of Punjab is an example of

1. A Shifting cultivation only ✓
2. B Sequential double cropping ✓
3. C Single-crop monoculture only ✓
4. D Orchard forestry only ✓

Continuous monoculture often increases the risk of

1. A Pest buildup and nutrient depletion ✓
2. B Permanent pest elimination ✓
3. C Unlimited nitrogen fixation ✓
4. D No weed pressure ✓

Strip cropping is primarily adopted on sloping land to

1. A Increase seed dormancy ✓
2. B Produce only one crop family ✓
3. C Reduce soil erosion ✓
4. D Stop photosynthesis ✓

Ley farming involves alternating arable crops with

1. A Permanent bare fallow only ✓
2. B Fish ponds only ✓
3. C Storage bins ✓
4. D Grass or legume pasture ✓

Green manuring is the practice of

1. A Burning all crop residues ✓
2. B Incorporating a green crop into the soil ✓
3. C Selling fodder as hay ✓
4. D Drying seed in a warehouse ✓

A catch crop is usually a

1. A Short-duration crop grown between main crops ✓
2. B Tree crop grown for fifty years ✓
3. C Crop grown only in a pot ✓
4. D Crop harvested before germination ✓

The main purpose of a cover crop is to

1. A Increase bare soil exposure ✓
2. B Remove all organic matter ✓
3. C Stop rainfall entry completely ✓
4. D Protect soil surface and reduce erosion ✓

A trap crop is planted to

1. A Prevent all flowering ✓
2. B Attract pests away from the main crop ✓
3. C Replace irrigation channels ✓
4. D Increase seed dormancy ✓

A nurse crop is used mainly to

1. A Kill all seedlings ✓
2. B Act as a storage container ✓
3. C Protect or assist establishment of another crop ✓
4. D Replace fertilizer labels ✓

Crop rotation helps weed control because it

1. A Varies crop life cycles and field operations ✓
2. B Keeps the same sowing date forever ✓
3. C Removes all soil moisture ✓
4. D Prevents harvesting ✓

Alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted crops helps plants use

1. A Only the seed coat ✓
2. B Only the storage room ✓
3. C No nutrients ✓
4. D Different soil layers ✓

Growing crops of the same family repeatedly should be avoided because they often share

1. A Only seed color ✓
2. B Pests and diseases ✓
3. C Only market price ✓
4. D No biological traits ✓

Diversified cropping generally improves farm stability by

1. A Spreading risk and using resources better ✓
2. B Removing all crop choices ✓
3. C Forcing one market outlet ✓
4. D Ending soil cover ✓

Cropping pattern refers to the proportion and sequence of crops in

1. A Seed bags only ✓
2. B Animal feed only ✓
3. C Space and time ✓
4. D Laboratory glassware ✓

Successful intercropping depends most on component crops having

1. A Identical pest susceptibility ✓
2. B Exactly same root depth ✓
3. C No economic value ✓
4. D Complementary growth habits ✓

A fixed row ratio in intercropping mainly helps in

1. A Stopping germination ✓
2. B Field operations and resource sharing ✓
3. C Changing crop species names ✓
4. D Avoiding all harvest ✓

Equivalent yield is used to compare intercrops by converting produce into

1. A Only seed moisture ✓
2. B Number of weeds ✓
3. C Yield of one reference crop ✓
4. D Soil texture class ✓

Maize plus cowpea fodder intercropping is useful because it combines

1. A Two crops with no fodder value ✓
2. B Only seed spices ✓
3. C Trees with fish ✓
4. D Cereal bulk with legume protein ✓

Short-duration varieties are important in multiple cropping because they

1. A Fit more crops into the year ✓
2. B Always need more years to mature ✓
3. C Prevent all irrigation ✓
4. D Produce no harvest ✓

Zaid crops are generally grown in the interval between

1. A Two winter harvests only ✓
2. B Rabi and kharif seasons ✓
3. C Two fallow years ✓
4. D Seed testing and storage ✓

In rice-wheat systems, quick field turnaround after rice harvest is important for timely

1. A Fruit ripening ✓
2. B Tobacco curing ✓
3. C Wheat sowing ✓
4. D Orchard pruning ✓

The three basic principles of conservation agriculture are minimum disturbance, soil cover and

1. A Permanent burning ✓
2. B Continuous bare soil ✓
3. C Maximum puddling ✓
4. D Crop diversification ✓

Fallow land in a rotation is land that is

1. A Left uncropped for a season ✓
2. B Always double cropped ✓
3. C Planted with three crops ✓
4. D Used only for threshing ✓

Crop diversification reduces market risk mainly by

1. A Fixing one sale price forever ✓
2. B Avoiding dependence on one crop ✓
3. C Eliminating all buyers ✓
4. D Stopping harvest dates ✓

A break crop controls soil-borne diseases mainly by being a

1. A Host crop planted repeatedly ✓
2. B Crop with no roots ✓
3. C Non-host crop in the rotation ✓
4. D Crop grown only in bags ✓

Water-use efficiency in a rotation improves when crops are chosen to match

1. A Seasonal water availability ✓
2. B Storage bag color ✓
3. C Seed label size ✓
4. D Threshing machine paint ✓

Aggressivity in intercropping is an index used to measure

1. A Seed moisture only ✓
2. B Soil pH only ✓
3. C Number of machinery sheds ✓
4. D Competitive ability of component crops ✓

In relay cropping, proper maturity duration is important because crop overlap should

1. A Prevent any emergence ✓
2. B Avoid severe competition ✓
3. C Require no harvest ✓
4. D Destroy both crops ✓

Double cropping means growing

1. A Two crops on the same field in one year ✓
2. B Two varieties in different countries ✓
3. C Two crops in ten years ✓
4. D Only two weeds ✓

Crop rotation means

1. A planting the same crop forever ✓
2. B growing different crops in planned sequence on the same land ✓
3. C never changing fields ✓
4. D only fallowing permanently ✓

The best agronomic package combines

1. A right variety, timely sowing, nutrition, water, and plant protection ✓
2. B only one input ignoring others ✓
3. C random practices ✓
4. D late sowing with excess N only ✓

Precision agronomy uses

1. A uniform blind application only ✓
2. B spatial data to vary inputs within fields ✓
3. C no maps ✓
4. D guesswork without sensors ✓

Cropping system sustainability requires

1. A maximizing short-term yield only ✓
2. B mining nutrients continuously ✓
3. C maintaining soil, water and economic viability over time ✓
4. D ignoring groundwater ✓

Source limitation vs sink limitation diagnoses whether

1. A photosynthesis or storage organs constrain yield ✓
2. B only water EC matters ✓
3. C only seed brand matters ✓
4. D markets set biological yield ✓

Plant growth regulators are used to

1. A modify height, fruit set or ripening in some crops ✓
2. B replace all fertilizers ✓
3. C irrigate fields ✓
4. D control only soil texture ✓

Opportunity cropping means

1. A fixed calendar only ignoring rain ✓
2. B planting when unexpected moisture/conditions allow an extra crop ✓
3. C never using rainfall ✓
4. D only fallowing after rain ✓

Dry sowing relies on

1. A residual or expected moisture without pre-irrigation ✓
2. B standing flood always ✓
3. C puddling ✓
4. D continuous sprinkler from day one ✓

Specialized farming focuses on

1. A maximum enterprise mix always ✓
2. B no market orientation ✓
3. C one or few enterprises at larger scale ✓
4. D only subsistence plots ✓

Crop diversification reduces risk by

1. A growing only one crop nationwide ✓
2. B eliminating markets ✓
3. C spreading income and biological pressures across enterprises ✓
4. D banning horticulture ✓

Basal fertilizer application is

1. A applied at or before sowing, often incorporated ✓
2. B only at harvest ✓
3. C only as foliar at maturity ✓
4. D never mixed in soil ✓

Top dressing of fertilizer means

1. A basal dose only before sowing ✓
2. B placing fertilizer under hard pan only ✓
3. C foliar only of pesticides ✓
4. D applying nutrient to the growing crop after establishment ✓

Rauni irrigation refers to

1. A pre-sowing irrigation to ensure germination moisture ✓
2. B last irrigation at harvest only ✓
3. C foliar spray of water ✓
4. D canal closure permanently ✓

Irrigation immediately after sowing may be needed when

1. A soil is already saturated ✓
2. B seeds are stored in godowns ✓
3. C seedbed moisture is insufficient for germination ✓
4. D crop is already harvested ✓

Depth of sowing should generally

1. A always be 30 cm ✓
2. B always be surface without cover ✓
3. C ignore species ✓
4. D match seed size and soil moisture conditions ✓

Time of sowing is a key agronomic factor because it

1. A has no yield effect ✓
2. B aligns crop stages with favorable weather ✓
3. C only affects packaging ✓
4. D only changes seed color ✓

Certification of seed ensures

1. A random unlabeled grain ✓
2. B standards of purity, germination and health ✓
3. C farm-saved seed without standards always ✓
4. D only color of bags ✓

Roguing in seed production removes

1. A off-type and diseased plants ✓
2. B all healthy plants ✓
3. C only weeds after harvest ✓
4. D soil clods only ✓

Blind hoeing is

1. A deep ploughing after flowering ✓
2. B harvesting green ✓
3. C irrigating blindly ✓
4. D light tillage after sowing before crop emergence to kill weeds ✓

Plant geometry refers to

1. A only genetic maps ✓
2. B only fertilizer ratios ✓
3. C spacing arrangement (rows/plants) in the field ✓
4. D only irrigation EC ✓

Break crops in rotations help

1. A reduce cereal disease and nematode pressure ✓
2. B increase continuous wheat pathogens ✓
3. C eliminate diversity ✓
4. D ban legumes ✓

Green manuring with sesbania/guar can

1. A deplete all soil N ✓
2. B salinize fields necessarily ✓
3. C replace irrigation water ✓
4. D add nitrogen and organic matter before a cereal ✓

Crop residue burning causes

1. A increased soil carbon always ✓
2. B air pollution and loss of organic matter/nutrients ✓
3. C improved air quality ✓
4. D higher OM automatically ✓

IPM emphasizes

1. A calendar spraying only ✓
2. B monitoring and multiple tactics before relying only on chemicals ✓
3. C no scouting ✓
4. D eradication of all insects including beneficials always ✓

Economic threshold in pest management is

1. A zero insects always ✓
2. B infinite pests ✓
3. C pest density where control cost equals expected damage prevention benefit ✓
4. D spray calendar only ✓

Randomized complete block design is used to

1. A eliminate need for replication ✓
2. B bias treatments ✓
3. C avoid statistics ✓
4. D control field variability in agronomic experiments ✓

Border effect in field experiments is controlled by

1. A discarding border rows or using adequate borders ✓
2. B harvesting only borders ✓
3. C ignoring edge plants as equal always ✓
4. D planting one row only ✓

Phenotyping in agronomy trials measures

1. A only soil color remotely without plants ✓
2. B only market arrivals ✓
3. C plant traits related to growth and yield ✓
4. D only fertilizer bag counts ✓

Crop modeling helps agronomists to

1. A replace all field trials forever without data ✓
2. B ignore weather ✓
3. C simulate growth and evaluate management scenarios ✓
4. D ban sensors ✓

Bed planting can improve

1. A irrigation efficiency and sometimes yield in wheat/cotton systems ✓
2. B waterlogging deliberately ✓
3. C uniform flooding depth only ✓
4. D zero raised soil ✓

Puddling in rice fields

1. A increases infiltration for wheat always ✓
2. B has no effect on subsequent crops ✓
3. C reduces percolation and helps transplanting but can harm soil structure for wheat ✓
4. D only aerates soil ✓

Direct seeded rice (DSR) aims to

1. A reduce labor and water compared with puddled transplanting ✓
2. B increase puddling energy ✓
3. C mandate continuous flooding deeper ✓
4. D ban mechanization ✓

Transplanting is used in rice to

1. A avoid all nurseries ✓
2. B dry seed only in deserts ✓
3. C replace irrigation ✓
4. D establish uniform stands in puddled fields ✓

Seed priming can

1. A kill all embryos necessarily ✓
2. B replace soil moisture fully ✓
3. C speed germination and improve stand under stress ✓
4. D eliminate need for sowing ✓

Short-duration varieties help

1. A always yield less necessarily ✓
2. B never escape heat ✓
3. C fit crops into tight rotations and escape stress windows ✓
4. D only increase water use ✓

Triple cropping is more feasible where

1. A arctic climates dominate ✓
2. B growing season, water and short-duration varieties allow three harvests ✓
3. C water is unavailable ✓
4. D varieties are all long-duration only ✓

Double cropping means

1. A one crop in two years ✓
2. B harvesting two crops from the same field in one year ✓
3. C permanent fallow ✓
4. D only ratoon forever without planting ✓

Fodder-crop integration supports

1. A ending dairy ✓
2. B banning manure use ✓
3. C livestock nutrition and farm nutrient cycling ✓
4. D only cash crops without animals ✓

Agroforestry as a cropping system integrates

1. A only pure crop monoculture ✓
2. B trees with crops and/or livestock ✓
3. C only concrete yards ✓
4. D only hydroponics indoors ✓

Strip cropping on slopes helps

1. A maximize runoff speed ✓
2. B remove vegetation strips ✓
3. C deep plough downslope only ✓
4. D reduce erosion by alternating strips of crops/cover ✓

Mulching conserves moisture by

1. A increasing bare soil heating always ✓
2. B reducing evaporation and moderating soil temperature ✓
3. C raising ET dramatically ✓
4. D removing all residues ✓

Foliar feeding is useful for

1. A correcting micronutrient deficiencies quickly ✓
2. B replacing all soil NPK forever ✓
3. C irrigating deserts fully ✓
4. D controlling only rodents ✓

Site-specific nutrient management adjusts

1. A one blanket dose forever ✓
2. B fertilizer to field variability and crop need ✓
3. C no soil tests ✓
4. D random application ✓

Potential yield is mainly set by

1. A climate, CO2 and crop genetics under non-limiting water/nutrients/pests ✓
2. B only farmer credit score ✓
3. C only diesel price ✓
4. D only packaging ✓

Yield gap analysis compares

1. A only fertilizer prices ✓
2. B actual farm yields with attainable/potential yields ✓
3. C only rainfall in another country ✓
4. D only seed bag weights ✓

Liebig's law of the minimum states that

1. A all factors are always abundant ✓
2. B only maximum factors matter ✓
3. C yield ignores nutrients ✓
4. D growth is limited by the scarcest essential factor ✓

Allelopathy is

1. A only mutualistic pollination ✓
2. B chemical inhibition/stimulation of one plant by another ✓
3. C only mycorrhizae ✓
4. D only N fixation ✓

Ratoon cropping is common in

1. A wheat every week ✓
2. B sugarcane (harvesting regrowth from stools) ✓
3. C rice only as trees ✓
4. D potato true seed orchards only ✓

Indeterminate crops continue

1. A only one-day flowering always ✓
2. B vegetative growth while flowering/fruiting over a longer period ✓
3. C no fruit set ✓
4. D instant death after first flower ✓

Determinate crops

1. A grow vegetatively forever without flowering ✓
2. B never senesce ✓
3. C only produce roots ✓
4. D flower/fruit over a relatively defined period then mature ✓

Source-sink relationship refers to

1. A only irrigation canals ✓
2. B photosynthate production vs demand by growing organs ✓
3. C only fertilizer bags ✓
4. D only market yards ✓

Harvest index is

1. A economic yield divided by total biological yield ✓
2. B only straw weight ✓
3. C only root weight ✓
4. D seed rate per acre ✓

Tillering in wheat is important because

1. A tillers never bear spikes ✓
2. B only roots make grain ✓
3. C leaves alone are harvested ✓
4. D productive tillers contribute to spike number and yield ✓

Lodging reduces yield by

1. A increasing harvest ease always ✓
2. B raising test weight always ✓
3. C impairing photosynthesis, harvestability and grain quality ✓
4. D improving root anchorage ✓

Integrated weed management combines

1. A cultural, mechanical, biological and chemical methods ✓
2. B only one herbicide forever ✓
3. C no monitoring ✓
4. D abandoning all control ✓

Herbicide selectivity means

1. A killing crop and weeds equally ✓
2. B being inactive on all plants ✓
3. C working only on insects ✓
4. D killing weeds without seriously harming the crop at proper dose ✓

Stale seedbed technique involves

1. A sowing into dense weeds ✓
2. B allowing weeds to germinate then destroying them before sowing ✓
3. C never tilling moist soil ✓
4. D using only hand weeding after flowering ✓

Cultural weed control includes

1. A only herbicides forever ✓
2. B ignoring weeds ✓
3. C rotation, stale seedbed, proper spacing and mulching ✓
4. D planting thinner always without plan ✓

Weed competition is most damaging usually

1. A only after harvest ✓
2. B early in crop life when resources are contested ✓
3. C only in storage ✓
4. D never at seedling stage ✓

Earthing up / ridging can help

1. A flood roots permanently ✓
2. B increase lodging always ✓
3. C remove all soil from roots ✓
4. D support plants, improve drainage and cover weeds ✓

Thinning is practiced to

1. A increase density further ✓
2. B remove all plants ✓
3. C achieve desired spacing in over-crowded stands ✓
4. D stop weeding ✓

Seed rate recommendations depend on

1. A only the farmer's mood ✓
2. B only bag color ✓
3. C only brand logo ✓
4. D seed size, germination %, method and desired population ✓

Plant population affects yield through

1. A only seed coat color ✓
2. B only market price ✓
3. C competition for light, water and nutrients ✓
4. D only tractor color ✓

Happy Seeder / residue drills help to

1. A mandate residue burning ✓
2. B prevent sowing ✓
3. C increase smog deliberately ✓
4. D sow wheat into rice residues without burning ✓

A major issue in rice-wheat systems is

1. A too early wheat always ✓
2. B absence of any cereals ✓
3. C no irrigation canals ✓
4. D late wheat sowing after late rice harvest ✓

The rice-wheat system of Pakistan is concentrated in

1. A only Balochistan deserts ✓
2. B only alpine Gilgit valleys ✓
3. C only mangrove belts ✓
4. D Punjab and parts of Sindh irrigated plains ✓

Zero tillage wheat after rice is promoted to

1. A increase puddling requirement ✓
2. B delay wheat sowing deliberately into heat ✓
3. C save time, moisture and costs in the rice-wheat system ✓
4. D remove all residues by fire only ✓

Conservation tillage emphasizes

1. A clean deep ploughing every week ✓
2. B burning all residues ✓
3. C bare fallow maximization ✓
4. D reduced soil disturbance and residue retention ✓

Seedbed preparation aims to

1. A compact soil to brick hardness ✓
2. B remove all moisture ✓
3. C bury seeds 50 cm always ✓
4. D create suitable tilth for germination and rooting ✓

Cover crops primarily

1. A maximize bare soil erosion ✓
2. B remove all residues ✓
3. C raise salinity deliberately ✓
4. D protect soil and may add organic matter/N ✓

Catch crops are grown to

1. A utilize short intervals and capture residual nutrients/moisture ✓
2. B remain for decades ✓
3. C replace all rotations forever ✓
4. D only decorate fields ✓

A companion crop is grown to

1. A support or protect another crop (e.g., nurse crop) ✓
2. B destroy the main crop ✓
3. C replace irrigation ✓
4. D eliminate pollinators ✓

Intercropping differs from mixed cropping mainly by

1. A more systematic row/spatial arrangement of component crops ✓
2. B never using two crops ✓
3. C only using trees ✓
4. D banning legumes ✓

Mixed cropping is

1. A only sole cropping ✓
2. B only orchard monoculture ✓
3. C growing two or more crops simultaneously without distinct row arrangement necessarily ✓
4. D only fallow ✓

Relay cropping means

1. A leaving land fallow always ✓
2. B growing only one crop in five years ✓
3. C sowing the next crop before the previous is harvested ✓
4. D transplanting trees only ✓

Cropping intensity is

1. A only plant height ✓
2. B number of crops grown per year on a given area (often as %) ✓
3. C only seed size ✓
4. D only leaf color ✓

Monocropping continuously can increase

1. A pest, disease and soil nutrient imbalance risks ✓
2. B automatic biodiversity ✓
3. C guaranteed higher yields forever ✓
4. D zero fertilizer need ✓

A cropping pattern describes

1. A only fertilizer brands ✓
2. B only tractor models ✓
3. C only market holidays ✓
4. D yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops on a farm ✓

Agronomy is the branch of agriculture dealing with

1. A principles and practices of field crop production and soil management ✓
2. B only animal surgery ✓
3. C only forest logging ✓
4. D only food processing machinery ✓