CUET UG Geography Booster Test 1-Commercial Crops and Challenges

The textbook notes that oilseeds are important commercial crops that occupy about 14 per cent of India's total cropped area. Therefore, Statement 1 is correct. The major oilseed crops grown in India include groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, soyabean, and sunflower, making Statement 2 correct. India has a significant position in global oilseed production due to its large cultivation area and diverse agro-climatic conditions, supporting Statement 3. Oilseeds are primarily grown to obtain vegetable oils used for food and other commercial purposes, making Statement 4 correct. Therefore, all four statements are correct, validating option C.

The textbook notes that oilseeds grow well in dry, rainfed areas across India. Malwa is identified as a plateau region in central India, making 1 - Plateau correct. Rayalaseema is a drought-prone region of Andhra Pradesh, making 2 - Region of Andhra Pradesh correct. Gujarat is an important groundnut-producing state, while Karnataka is a major oilseed-growing region. Therefore, the correct matching is 1 - Plateau, 2 - Region of Andhra Pradesh, 3 - Major groundnut producing area, 4 - Important oilseed growing area, validating option B.

Groundnut yields fluctuate significantly across India depending on how much soil moisture is available during the growing season. In states like Gujarat and Rajasthan, the crop is largely rainfed and depends on seasonal monsoons. However, the textbook notes that groundnut yields are high in Tamil Nadu because the crop is partly irrigated there. This steady, managed water supply protects the plants from dry spells and helps them produce more nuts per hectare, validating option B.

Rapeseed and mustard are winter crops that face risks from cold weather and frost during their flowering stages. To address these vulnerabilities, the agricultural sector introduced two main changes: expanding irrigation to cover nearly two-thirds of all cultivated mustard fields, and improving seed technology to produce more resilient varieties. The textbook notes that these two inputs worked together to improve and stabilize yields, helping to reduce year-to-year fluctuations. This means elements 1 and 2 jointly lead to outcome 3, validating option C.

The textbook notes that cotton productivity differs across India due to variations in water availability and agricultural practices. The north-western region of India has high cotton yields because cultivation is supported by irrigation systems, providing a regular water supply (1 matches with High yield - irrigated). In contrast, Maharashtra mainly depends on rainfed cotton farming in the Deccan Plateau, where irregular rainfall results in lower productivity (2 matches with Very low yield - rainfed). Gujarat is recognised as a major cotton-growing region, while the Deccan Plateau is largely associated with rainfed cotton cultivation. Therefore, the correct matching is option B.

The textbook notes that the partition of India affected jute cultivation significantly. Most of the fertile jute-growing areas of the Bengal delta went to East Pakistan, while India retained most of the jute processing mills, making Statement 1 correct. After partition, India increased jute cultivation, particularly in West Bengal, which now produces about three-fourths of the country's jute output, making Statement 2 correct. Jute grows well in warm, humid conditions with adequate rainfall, especially in eastern India, supporting Statement 3. Due to its importance as a cash crop and industrial raw material, jute is called the "golden fibre," making Statement 4 correct. Therefore, all statements are correct, validating option C.

According to the historical details in the textbook, commercial tea cultivation was introduced in stages. It began in the 1840s in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam (2). Following its success there, plantations were set up in the sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal, including the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts (1). Later, cultivation expanded to the lower slopes of the Nilgiri and Cardamom hills in southern India (3). This timeline creates the sequence 2, 1, 3, validating option A.

Coffee is a tropical plantation crop that requires specific altitudes, moderate temperatures, and well-drained soils to prevent waterlogging around its roots. The textbook states that coffee cultivation is concentrated in the highlands of the Western Ghats. This core production zone spans across Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, with Karnataka alone producing the largest share of the national harvest, validating option B.

Immediately after Independence in 1947, India faced critical food shortages. The government focused on structural modifications using available resources, which included shifting fields from cash crops to food crops (A), intensifying cropping on existing fields (B), and bringing fallow land under the plow (D). The introduction of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds and the Green Revolution package happened later, in the mid-1960s, meaning it was not an immediate post-Independence strategy. This makes option C the correct answer.

During the late 1950s, India's agricultural production began to stall despite initial efforts to expand cultivated land. To address this stagnation, the government shifted its focus toward targeting high-potential areas. This led to the launch of the Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and the Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) to concentrate inputs and boost productivity, validating option B.

The textbook notes that the new seed technologies introduced in the mid-1960s were demanding. These High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) required regular feeding with synthetic fertilizers to maximize production. However, these chemical inputs can damage crops if the soil is dry, making a reliable supply of water through irrigation a necessary requirement for the system to work. This explains why the Green Revolution succeeded first in regions with developed irrigation networks, like Punjab and Haryana, validating option A.

The textbook details the environmental and management changes brought about by the Green Revolution. The chain began with the introduction and widespread use of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice (1). Because these introduced varieties were grown in dense monocultures, they showed increased susceptibility to pests, insects, and plant diseases compared to diverse local crops (2). To protect their investments and ensure high yields, farmers significantly increased their use of chemical pesticides from the 1960s onward (3). This produces the logical sequence 1 -> 2 -> 3, validating option A.

The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) was launched to address the environmental impacts of intensive farming. The textbook notes that the overarching reasoning for promoting location-specific integrated or composite farming systems (which combine crops, livestock, and water-saving measures) is to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, and climate-resilient while protecting vital soil and water resources, validating option B.

The textbook highlights the importance of sustainable agricultural practices and the need to reduce dependence on chemical inputs. The government promotes organic farming through schemes such as Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), making 1 and 2 match with promoting organic farming. The Soil Health Card Scheme focuses on assessing soil nutrients and guiding farmers about proper fertilizer use, while Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) aims to improve irrigation efficiency and water management. Therefore, the correct matching is option A.

The textbook details the challenges facing India's rainfed farming sectors, noting that monsoon rainfall can be highly variable and unreliable. Arid zones like western Rajasthan deal with low total rainfall, but even regions that receive high annual rainfall experience significant fluctuations from year to year. A delayed or weak monsoon can trigger agricultural droughts, while intense, concentrated downpours can cause localized flash floods on the same land, validating option B.

The textbook outlines the economic challenges that create debt cycles for small-scale farmers. The process begins with smallholders having little or no initial savings (3). To run a competitive farm, they need to purchase expensive modern inputs like fertilizers and hybrid seeds (1). Lacking upfront cash, they must borrow money from institutions or local moneylenders (2). Finally, when they face crop failures from weather issues or low returns from volatile markets, they struggle to repay, trapping them in debt (4). This produces the sequence 3 -> 1 -> 2 -> 4, validating option A.

The textbook reviews the institutional challenges facing Indian agriculture, noting that land reform policies were introduced to fix historical inequalities. However, these reforms were often not implemented effectively. The text attributes this failure to a lack of strong political will, which led authorities to avoid making difficult decisions that went against the interests of powerful landlord lobbies, allowing land concentrations to persist through legal loopholes, validating option B.

Land consolidation programs were implemented in several states to merge scattered plots into larger, more efficient farms. However, the textbook notes that even where these programs succeeded, a second round of consolidation is often needed. This requirement is driven by rural population growth and traditional inheritance laws, which split family farms among heirs in each new generation, fragmenting the consolidated plots back into smaller pieces over time, validating option B.

The provided passage highlights the environmental risks associated with different farming systems. It explicitly states: "The situation is particularly alarming in irrigated areas. A large tract of agricultural land has lost its fertility due to alkalisation and salinisation of soils and waterlogging." This shows that over-irrigation without proper drainage can raise the water table, leaving salts behind as the water evaporates and degrading the soil in intensive farming zones, validating option B.

The final sentence of the passage states: "Leguminous crops have been displaced from the cropping pattern in the irrigated areas and duration of fallow has substantially reduced owing to multiple cropping." This shows that the transition to intensive, year-round cultivation of commercial grains has led farmers to reduce traditional soil-resting fallow periods and skip nitrogen-fixing legumes, validating option C.