Tillage, Seedbed Preparation and Sowing Methods MCQs 2026

Intercropping is the practice of growing

1. A One crop after another with a fallow gap ✓
2. B Only weeds with the main crop ✓
3. C Two or more crops together in a definite pattern ✓
4. D One crop only in a greenhouse ✓

Relay cropping means sowing the succeeding crop

1. A Before harvesting the preceding crop ✓
2. B Only after a long fallow ✓
3. C Only in nursery beds ✓
4. D After burning all residues ✓

The most serious risk of excessive pulverization by repeated rotary tillage is

1. A Permanent increase in organic matter ✓
2. B Loss of soil structure and formation of compact layers ✓
3. C Guaranteed pest elimination ✓
4. D Conversion of saline soil into neutral soil ✓

Contour cultivation reduces soil erosion by tilling

1. A Straight up and down the slope ✓
2. B Across the slope along contour lines ✓
3. C Only in circular basins ✓
4. D Only after burning residues ✓

Strip tillage means

1. A Tilling only narrow strips where rows will be planted ✓
2. B Ploughing the entire field repeatedly ✓
3. C Keeping all soil permanently submerged ✓
4. D Removing all crop residues by burning ✓

A stale seedbed technique controls weeds by

1. A Sowing crop before any irrigation ✓
2. B Applying fertilizer only after harvest ✓
3. C Keeping field under deep water always ✓
4. D Allowing weeds to emerge and killing them before sowing ✓

Tillage in agronomy means the mechanical manipulation of soil to

1. A Increase seed dormancy ✓
2. B Create favourable conditions for crop growth ✓
3. C Remove all soil organisms permanently ✓
4. D Convert clay into sand ✓

Primary tillage is generally the first major soil-working operation performed

1. A After harvest and before seedbed preparation ✓
2. B Only after crop emergence ✓
3. C Only for fertilizer top dressing ✓
4. D After threshing but not in the field ✓

A mouldboard plough is designed mainly to

1. A Measure seed germination ✓
2. B Apply foliar spray ✓
3. C Harvest standing crop ✓
4. D Invert and turn the furrow slice ✓

A disc plough is especially useful in soils that are

1. A Only flooded and puddled ✓
2. B Pure sand without residues ✓
3. C Hard, dry, trashy or sticky ✓
4. D Already finely pulverized ✓

A chisel plough is used to loosen soil with

1. A Little or no inversion ✓
2. B Complete puddling ✓
3. C Seed metering ✓
4. D Chemical weed killing only ✓

A subsoiler is primarily used for

1. A Separating grain from straw ✓
2. B Breaking hardpan below the normal plough layer ✓
3. C Calibrating a seed drill ✓
4. D Measuring soil pH ✓

Harrowing after ploughing is a secondary tillage operation mainly used to

1. A Invert soil to full depth ✓
2. B Transplant seedlings ✓
3. C Break clods and level the seedbed ✓
4. D Measure soil moisture tension ✓

A field cultivator is commonly used for

1. A Deep subsoil blasting only ✓
2. B Grain storage aeration ✓
3. C Seed certification testing ✓
4. D Inter-row cultivation and shallow soil stirring ✓

Puddling in lowland rice mainly helps to

1. A Increase soil macropores permanently ✓
2. B Reduce percolation losses and suppress weeds ✓
3. C Promote deep taproot growth ✓
4. D Dry the soil profile rapidly ✓

Zero tillage means sowing a crop

1. A Only after three ploughings ✓
2. B Only by transplanting seedlings ✓
3. C After burning all residues ✓
4. D Without prior conventional tillage ✓

Conservation tillage is characterized by

1. A Retention of crop residues on the soil surface ✓
2. B Complete removal of all residues ✓
3. C Deep inversion before every crop ✓
4. D Use of only animal-drawn implements ✓

Minimum tillage aims to

1. A Maximize number of ploughings ✓
2. B Eliminate seed placement control ✓
3. C Reduce tillage operations to the least necessary ✓
4. D Keep soil permanently flooded ✓

An ideal seedbed for most small-grain crops is

1. A Very loose to unlimited depth ✓
2. B Fine and moist near seed with firm soil below ✓
3. C Completely dry and cloddy ✓
4. D Covered with standing weeds ✓

Tilth refers to the

1. A Physical condition of soil as related to crop growth ✓
2. B Chemical formula of fertilizer ✓
3. C Genetic purity of seed ✓
4. D Market grade of grain ✓

A plough pan is commonly formed by

1. A One-time green manuring ✓
2. B Surface mulching only ✓
3. C Repeated tillage at the same depth ✓
4. D Balanced fertilizer application ✓

Laser land levelling improves crop production mainly by

1. A Increasing seed dormancy ✓
2. B Reducing all nutrient uptake ✓
3. C Making soil permanently acidic ✓
4. D Improving irrigation uniformity and field grade ✓

Ridge sowing is particularly useful where the objective is to

1. A Improve drainage around crop roots ✓
2. B Keep seed permanently submerged ✓
3. C Prevent any interculture operation ✓
4. D Reduce row visibility ✓

Raised-bed planting often helps farmers to

1. A Eliminate all fertilizer needs ✓
2. B Increase seed rate without limit ✓
3. C Prevent root growth below 2 cm ✓
4. D Save irrigation water and improve drainage ✓

A broad bed and furrow system is mainly adopted to

1. A Increase runoff erosion deliberately ✓
2. B Remove excess water from the root zone ✓
3. C Broadcast seed unevenly ✓
4. D Store harvested grain in field ✓

A seed drill is used to place seed

1. A Randomly on the soil surface only ✓
2. B Only in nursery trays ✓
3. C At uniform depth and spacing in rows ✓
4. D Only after transplanting ✓

Dibbling is the method of sowing in which seeds are

1. A Scattered over the field surface ✓
2. B Placed in holes at fixed spacing ✓
3. C Mixed with irrigation water ✓
4. D Placed only by aircraft ✓

Broadcasting of seed means

1. A Scattering seed uniformly over the field surface ✓
2. B Planting each seed by hand at fixed depth ✓
3. C Moving seedlings from nursery to field ✓
4. D Sowing only on raised beds ✓

Transplanting refers to

1. A Scattering dry seed before rain ✓
2. B Breaking a hardpan with a chisel ✓
3. C Applying pesticide to stored seed ✓
4. D Moving seedlings from nursery to the main field ✓

Line sowing is preferred over broadcasting because it facilitates

1. A Loss of plant population ✓
2. B Uneven germination by design ✓
3. C Interculture and weed control ✓
4. D Complete absence of row spacing ✓

Optimum sowing depth mainly depends on seed size, soil type and

1. A Soil moisture condition ✓
2. B Colour of harvested grain ✓
3. C Market price of crop ✓
4. D Number of leaves at maturity ✓

Small-seeded crops are generally sown

1. A Deeper than all large-seeded crops ✓
2. B Shallower than large-seeded crops ✓
3. C Only by transplanting ✓
4. D Only under standing water ✓

Excessively deep sowing generally causes

1. A Immediate flowering ✓
2. B Higher germination in all soils ✓
3. C Complete weed suppression ✓
4. D Delayed and poor emergence ✓

Seed rate is calculated mainly from desired plant population, seed weight and

1. A Leaf colour at maturity ✓
2. B Number of irrigations only ✓
3. C Germination percentage ✓
4. D Soil pH only ✓

For rectangular spacing, plant population per hectare is calculated as

1. A Row spacing multiplied by seed weight ✓
2. B 10000 divided by row spacing and plant spacing in metres ✓
3. C Seed rate divided by rainfall ✓
4. D Germination percentage multiplied by fertilizer dose ✓

A precision planter is designed to

1. A Place single seeds at accurate spacing ✓
2. B Scatter seed randomly ✓
3. C Puddle soil before rice transplanting ✓
4. D Harvest mature pods ✓

The Happy Seeder is mainly used for

1. A Transplanting cotton seedlings ✓
2. B Harvesting sugarcane setts ✓
3. C Sowing wheat into standing rice residues ✓
4. D Spraying orchards ✓

A rotavator is used mainly for

1. A Deep ripping below 60 cm only ✓
2. B Measuring seed moisture ✓
3. C Threshing wheat grain ✓
4. D Pulverizing and mixing surface soil ✓

Direct dry seeding of rice means seed is sown

1. A Only as nursery seedlings ✓
2. B In dry or moist non-puddled soil before flooding ✓
3. C Only by aerial spraying in deep water ✓
4. D After grain harvest of rice ✓

Wet direct seeding of rice commonly uses

1. A Pre-germinated seed on puddled soil ✓
2. B Dry seed in deep cracks ✓
3. C Vegetative cuttings only ✓
4. D Seedlings uprooted after flowering ✓

A bed planter is an implement that

1. A Only measures plant height ✓
2. B Only harvests fodder ✓
3. C Only applies pesticide dust ✓
4. D Forms beds and sows seed in one operation ✓

Seed priming is best described as

1. A Dry heating seed until viability is lost ✓
2. B Mixing seed with harvested grain ✓
3. C Controlled hydration before sowing to improve germination ✓
4. D Increasing seed dormancy deliberately ✓

Seed treatment before sowing is commonly done to

1. A Protect seedlings from seed- and soil-borne diseases ✓
2. B Reduce seed purity ✓
3. C Lower germination percentage intentionally ✓
4. D Make all seed dormant ✓

Rhizobium inoculation is recommended for legume seed mainly to improve

1. A Phosphorus mining by roots only ✓
2. B Biological nitrogen fixation ✓
3. C Seed coat thickness ✓
4. D Grain milling quality ✓

Selection of sowing time is important because it matches crop growth with

1. A Highest land rent ✓
2. B Seed bag colour ✓
3. C Suitable temperature and moisture conditions ✓
4. D Distance from market only ✓

Late sowing of wheat in Punjab often reduces yield because grain filling faces

1. A Permanent frost throughout summer ✓
2. B Excessively long vegetative period ✓
3. C Complete absence of weeds ✓
4. D Terminal heat stress ✓

Good seed-soil contact is essential mainly for

1. A Increasing weed seed dormancy ✓
2. B Rapid water uptake and uniform germination ✓
3. C Reducing oxygen around seed to zero ✓
4. D Preventing fertilizer placement ✓

A cloddy seedbed usually results in

1. A Poor seed-soil contact and uneven emergence ✓
2. B Perfect seed placement ✓
3. C Zero runoff risk ✓
4. D Higher germination in every crop ✓

A roller or packer after sowing is used to

1. A Deep plough the field ✓
2. B Increase clod size ✓
3. C Separate weed seed from crop seed ✓
4. D Firm the seedbed and improve seed-soil contact ✓

Fallow tillage in dry farming is primarily meant to

1. A Increase transpiration losses ✓
2. B Destroy soil structure deliberately ✓
3. C Control weeds and conserve soil moisture ✓
4. D Delay all sowing for several years ✓