NABARD Gr A 2020

Static ARD| MCQs

Phase 2
Agrometeorology
 QUESTION 1

Q. Which of the following is true regarding Weather?

[1] Average conditions that are expected at a certain place over a number of years
[2] Include precipitation, temperature, humidity etc.,
[3] Forecast can only be done over longer periods of time
[4] Study of Weather - Meteorology
[5] All of the above
Answer : [4] Study of Weather - Meteorology
 QUESTION 1
Features Weather Climate
Definition Weather is the state of the atmosphere on a Climate is the average conditions that are expected at
current day at a current time. It changes day to a certain place over a number of years.
day.
Components Weather includes sunshine, rain, cloud cover, Climate may include precipitation, temperature,
winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, humidity, sunshine, and wind velocity, phenomena
blizzards, ice storms, thunderstorms, steady rains such as fog, frost, and hail storms over a long period of
from a cold front or warm front, excessive heat, time.
heat waves and more.
Forecast Day to day forecast can be done depending on the Climate forecast can only be done over longer periods
air pressure, temperature and other similar of time, such as 30 years. The average of weather over
factors. 30 years helps determine the climate of a certain area.
Determined by Real-time measurements of atmospheric pressure, Aggregating weather statistics over periods of 30 years
temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity,
precipitation, could cover, etc.
Study Meteorology Climatology
 QUESTION 2

Q. Which of the following is true regarding the Agro climatic zones classification in
India?
[1] There are 15 agro-climatic zones
[2] Sub-regionalization into 83 Sub zones
[3] ICAR with IMD gave this classification
[4] All of the above
[5] None of the above
Answer : [1] There are 15 agro-climatic zones
 QUESTION 2

• Planning Commission of India (1988-89) divided country into different agro climatic regions based on homogeneity
in rainfall, temperature, topography, cropping and farming systems and water resources.
• The principles used for this sub-regionalization related intrinsically with the character of the agricultural economy,
namely, soil type, climate, temperature and its variations, rainfall and other agro-metereological characteristics,
water demand and supply characteristics including quality of water and acquifer conditions.
• India is divided into 15 agro-climatic regions.
• The demarcated agro-climatic zones were not considered adequately homogeneous for the purpose of a detailed
operational planning and hence sub-regionalization was carried out.
• The 15 zones were further divided into 73 sub-zones (regions). These sub-zones describe within the state level agro-
climatic and socio-economic features.
 QUESTION 3

Q. Saffron, one of the premium crops in India and around the world, is grown
abundantly in which of the following Agro-climatic zones of India?
[1] Lower Gangetic Plains
[2] Upper Gangetic Plains
[3] Eastern Himalayan Region
[4] Western Himalayan Region
[5] None of the above
Answer : [4] Western Himalayan Region
▪ Western Himalayan region covers Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal
▪ Climate is cool and humid.
▪ Annual rainfall -1650-2000m.
▪ Soil is predominantly alluvial.
▪ The valley floors grow rice, while the hilly tracts grow maize in the kharif season.
▪ Winter crops are barley, oats, and wheat.
▪ The region supports horticultural crops like apple, peaches, apricot, pears, cherry, Almond, litchis, walnut,
etc. Saffron is grown in this region.
▪ Cropping intensity is lowest in J & K and highest in Himachal Pradesh.
Agro-Climatic Zone
Western Himalayan region
Eastern Himalayan region
Lower Gangetic plains region
Middle Gangetic plains region
Upper Gangetic plains region
Trans- Gangetic plains region
Eastern plateau and hills region
Central Plateau and hills region
Western Plateau and hills region
Southern plateau and hills region
East coast plains and hills region Orissa, AP, TN & Pondicherry
West coast plains and Ghat region TN, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra
Gujarat plains and hills region
Western dry region
The islands region
States
J&K, HP, Uttaranchal
Arunachal Pradesh, the hills of Assam, Sikkim,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura
and the Jalpaiguri, Coochbihar, Darjeeling district
of West Bengal
West Bengal
Eastern UP, Bihar plains
UP
Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh & Rajasthan
Eastern part of MP, southern part of WB, most of
inland Odisha
MP, Rajasthan, UP
Major part of Maharashtra, parts of MP & one
district of Rajasthan
AP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
Gujarat
Rajasthan
Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep
 QUESTION 4

Q. Which of the following is not true regarding the Agro ecological zones
classification?
[1] There are 20 Agroclimatic zones
[2] Length of growing period as a factor
[3] Sub divided into 70 sub zones
[4] All of the above
[5] None of the above
Answer : [3] Sub divided into 70 sub zones
▪ Based on the parameters (rainfall, temperature, vegetation, potential evapo-transpiration) which form the "Bioclimate" and
parameters (rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, soil storage) which constitutes the "Length of the Growing Period" (LGP) and
parameters (soils and physiography) which form the "Soil or Land Scape.“
▪ National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) of the ICAR has delineated 20 agro-ecological regions
(AERs) in the country using the FAO 1978 concept of superimposition of length of growing periods and bio-climate maps on soil
physiographic map.
▪ These twenty agro-ecological zones were sub-divided into 60 sub-zones.
▪ The major advantage of LGP based criteria is that the LGP is the direct indicative of moisture availability of a given landform
rather than the total rainfall.
▪ Agro-ecosystems approach allows crop planning based on length of growing period rather than the quantity of rainfall.

LGP refers to the number of days available for crop growth with suitable conditions.
 QUESTION 5

Q. Length of Growing Period (LGP) of 90-150 days is for which of the following
ecosystems in India?
[1] Arid ecosystem
[2] Humid perhumid ecosystem
[3] Coastal ecosystem
[4] Semi Arid ecosystem
[5] All of the above
Answer : [1] Semi Arid ecosystem
System LGP Major areas

Arid ecosystem Less than 90 days Western Himalayas, Deccan plateau,

Semiarid ecosystem 90-150 days Central high lands, Gujarat plains,
Kathiawar peninsula,

Sub humid ecosystem 150-180 days or 180- Eastern plateau (Chotanagpur) and
210 days Eastern ghats hot sub-humid eco-
region,
Humid-Perhumid 210+ Bengal and Assam plain hot sub-humid
ecosystem

Coastal ecosystem 210+ Eastern coastal plain, Western ghat

Island ecosystem 210+ Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadeep,
 QUESTION 6

Q. Which of the following is a true pair with regards to layers of atmosphere?

[1] Troposphere – Seat of Weather phenomena
[2] Stratosphere – Seat of Photochemical reactions
[3] Mesosphere – Meteors zone
[4] Thermosphere - Ionosphere
[5] All of the above
Answer : [5] All of the above
The temperature here starts increasing with
heights.

In this layer, the temperature starts

decreasing with increasing altitude

In this layer the temperature increases

with height.

The height is about 18 km on the equator

and 8 km on the poles. Temperature in this
layer decreases at the rate of 1 degree
Celsius for every 165 m of height/6.5 degree
Celsius for every 1 km.
 QUESTION 7

Q. Clouds classification system was first introduced by ____________ in 1803, is that

adopted by the World Meteorological Organization and published in the International
Cloud Atlas (1956)?
[1] Luke Howard
[2] Kelvin Holmez
[3] William Ferrell
[4] Daniel Gabrielle
[5] None of the above
Answer : [1] Luke Howard
 Classification clouds
based on WMO

Family D
Family A Family B Family C
Clouds with large
High level clouds Medium level clouds (2- Low level clouds (0-2
vertical extending (0-13
(altitudes of 5-13 km) 7 km) km)
km)
▪ The International Cloud Atlas is the single
most authoritative and comprehensive
reference for identifying clouds.
▪ It was first published in the 19th century
and was last updated 30 years ago.
▪ The new 2017 version of International
Cloud Atlas was a digitalized one and has
many additions.
 QUESTION 8

Q. How many Genera of clouds are present, as per the classification of clouds given by
the World Meteorological Organization and published in the International Cloud
Atlas?
[1] 4
[2] 6
[3] 8
[4] 10
[5] 15
Answer : [4] 10
▪ Consideration of the most typical forms of clouds leads to the recognition of ten genera. The classification
is limited to a description of the main types and of the essential characteristics necessary to distinguish a
given genus from genera having a somewhat similar appearance.

Nephology is the science of clouds, which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology
 QUESTION 9

Q. Which are clouds that produce precipitation that reach the ground in the form of
rain, snow and hail?
[1] Cirrus
[2] Altus
[3] Stratus
[4] Nimbus
[5] All of the above
Answer : [4] Nimbus
The word ‘nimbus’ is derived from Latin meaning rainstorm or cloud. Nimbus clouds are clouds that produce precipitation
that reach the ground in the form of rain, snow and hail.
 QUESTION 10

Q. Which of the following is true regarding the Monsoons in India?

[1] Consists of series of cyclones that arise in Indian Ocean
[2] Travel in northeast direction and enter the Peninsular India along its west coast
[3] North eastern monsoon is prominent in Southern and South Eastern India
[4] None of the above
[5] All of the above
Answer : [5] All of the above
South West Monsoon
✓ A minimum barometric pressure is established in the interior parts of the Peninsular
by the month of March.
✓ Westerly winds prevail on the west Kerala and south winds on the west of northern
Circars, Orissa and Bengal.
✓ During April and May the region of high temperature is shifted to north viz., upper
Sind, lower Punjab and Western Rajasthan.
✓ This area becomes the minimum barometric pressure area to which monsoon winds
are directed.
North east Monsoon
✓ During September end, on account of the increase in barometric pressure in Northern
India, there is a shift of the barometric pressure to the South East.
✓ These changes bring on heavy and continuous rainfall to the Southern and South Eastern
India.

Winter Rainfall

✓ It is restricted more to Northern India and is received in the form of snow on the hills
and as rains in the plains of Punjab, Rajasthan and central India.
✓ Western disturbance is a dominant factor for rainfall during these months in
northwestern India.

Summer Rainfall

✓ The summer Rainfall is received from March to May as local storms. It is mostly
received in the South East of Peninsular and in Bengal.
✓ Western India does not generally receive these rains.
 QUESTION 11

Q. Classification of climate based on Moisture Deficit Index is being followed by which

of the following organisations in India?
[1] ICAR
[2] MoAFW
[3] IARI
[4] ICRISAT
[5] None of the above
Answer : [1] ICAR
▪ The ICAR under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland
Agriculture adopted classification based on Moisture Deficit Index (MDI)

▪ PET is the demand or maximum amount of water that would be

evapotranspired if enough water were available (from precipitation and soil Rainfall (mm) Name of the climatic
region
moisture).
Less than 500 Arid
▪ When we talk about Evapo-Transpiration, we are referring to how much
500-750 Semi-arid
water actually is evapotranspired and is limited by the amount of water
750-1000 Sub arid
that is available.
More than Humid
1000
 QUESTION 12

Q. The Troll Classification was modified by _________________ for India and the
classification was brought out based on the number of humid months?
[1] ICRISAT
[2] ICAR
[3] IARI
[4] All of the above
[5] None of the above
Answer : [1] ICRISAT
▪ The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that
conducts agricultural research for development in the drylands
of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
▪ Troll (1965) proposed a classification called the seasonal
climates of the earth utilising monthly rainfall and potential
evapotranspiration.
▪ The importance of Troll's classification lies on the duration of
arid and humid months.
▪ Thus he came out with a classification of climatic regions based
on the humid months in a year.
▪ He defined humid month as the month having precipitation
more than PET.
 QUESTION 13

Q. Which of the following scales of climate includes the coverage of the events like
Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Sea and Land breezes.?
[1] Microscale
[2] Synoptic scale
[3] Planetary scale
[4] Mesoscale
[5] All of the above
Answer : [4] Mesoscale
S. No Types of Climate Horizontal Scale Vertical Scale Time Scale
(km) (km) (hrs)

1 Macro-climate
A Planetary Scale (Global) 2000-5000 & more 10 200 to 400

B Synoptic Scale (continental or 500-2000 10 100

oceanic)

2 Meso climate (City or country) 1 to 100 1-10 1 – 10

3 Micro climate (Park or schoolyard) <100m 200 m 6 – 12
minutes
 QUESTION 14

Q. According to IMD, a rainy day is defined as a day with rainfall of ___________ rainfall.
[1] 1 mm
[2] 2.5 mm or more
[3] 1.5 mm or more
[4] 2 mm
[5] None of the above
Answer - [2] 2.5 mm or more
▪ There are on an average 130 rainy days in a year
in the country out of which the rain during 75
days considered as effective rain.
▪ The remaining 55 days are very light and shallow
which evaporates immediately without any
contribution to surface or ground water recharge.
▪ A rain gauge (also known as an udometer,
pluviometer, or an ombrometer, or a cup) is an
instrument used to gather and measure the
amount of rainfall over an area in a predefined
period of time.
 QUESTION 15

Q. Which of the following is true regarding IMD, India Meteorological Department ?

[1] It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, GoI
[2] It is an agency of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI
[3] It is one of the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological
Organization
[4] Both 1 and 3
[5] Both 2 and 3
Answer : [4] Both 1 and 3
▪ The India Meteorological Department (IMD), also referred to as the Met Department, is an agency of the
Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for
meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
▪ It was established in 1875.
▪ Agricultural meteorology division of the IMD: This division was established under IMD at Pune in 1932
in order to provide direct services to the farming community of the country. The prime objective is to
minimize the impact of adverse weather on crops and to make use of crop-weather relationships to boost
agricultural production.
▪ Services of the Division:
▪ I. Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva
▪ II. Dissemination of Agromet advisories
▪ III. Feedback & Awareness of Agromet Service
▪ IV. Training Programme to AMFUs (Agro-Met Field Units)
 QUESTION 16

Q. Which of the following is used to measure Transpiration in plants?

[1] Crescograph
[2] Pyrheliometer
[3] Hygrometer
[4] Porometer
[5] All of the above
Answer : [4] Porometer
• A crescograph is a device for measuring the growth in plants. It was invented in the early 20th century by
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose. The Bose crescograph uses a series of clockwork gears and a smoked glass
plate to record the movement of the tip of a plant (or its roots).
• Porometer estimates of stomatal conductance depend on the rate of transpiration, i.e. on radiation and
humidity.
• A pyrheliometer is an instrument for measurement of direct beam solar irradiance.
• A hygrometer is a device that is used to measure the moisture content of the air, basically this means
the relative humidity and the dew point.
 QUESTION 17

Q. As per the classification of annual rainfall, in India by IMD, rainfall received

between 20 percent and 59 percent of the long period average (lpa) can be classified
as ______________ category.
[1] Large excess
[2] Normal
[3] Excess
[4] Deficient
[5] None of the above
Answer - [3] Excess
 QUESTION 17

1. Large Excess: 60 percent and above of the long period average (lpa)
2. Excess: between 20 percent and 59 percent of the long period average (lpa)
3. Normal: minus 19 percent to plus 19 percent of the long period average (lpa)
4. Deficient: minus 20 percent to minus 59 percent of the long period average (lpa)
5. Large deficient: below 60 percent of the long period average (lpa)
6. No Rain: 0 percent of the long period average (lpa)

Long Period Average (LPA): Averages of rainfall received between 1951 and 2001 (50 years) are
termed as the Long Period Average or LPA and are considered as normal. This is computed to be 88
cm.
 QUESTION 18

Q. Which of the following is not true regarding the weather forecasting that is being
done by IMD?
[1] Weather forecasting is done for seven parameters
[2] 5-day weather forecasts district wise
[3] Advisory preparation on every Tuesday and Friday of the week
[4] 7-day weather forecasts state wise
[5] None of the above
Answer : [4] 7-day weather forecasts state wise
 QUESTION 18

✓ Currently, IMD issues quantitative district level 5-day weather forecasts twice a week using a Multi-Model
Ensemble technique based on forecast products from models available in India and other countries.
✓ Weather forecasts for seven parameters (rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures, wind speed and
direction, relative humidity and cloudiness) as well as weekly cumulative rainfall forecasts are generated.
✓ These products are disseminated to Regional Meteorological Centres and Meteorological Centres of IMD
located in different states.
✓ Experts in these centres add value to IMD forecast products, which are then communicated to 130 AMFUs
located within SAUs, ICAR Institutes, and Indian Institutes of Technology.
✓ Weather forecast collected over 5 days is sent to all regional met centres of IMD for value addition keeping
local synoptic condition and climatology in consideration.
✓ The value-added forecast is provided to concerned agro-met field units for advisory preparation on every
Tuesday and Friday of the week and prepared advisories disseminated to farmers through multi-channel
dissemination network.
 QUESTION 19

Q. Weather forecasting done by IMD falls under which of the following categories
based on the validity period?
[1] Short range forecast
[2] Long range forecast
[3] Medium range forecast
[4] Very short range forecast
[5] None of the above
Answer : [3] Medium range forecast
 QUESTION 19

Types of forecast Validity period Main users Predictions

Short range Upto 72 hours Farmers Rainfall distribution, heavy rainfall,
marine heat and cold wave conditions,
agencies, thunder storms etc.
a) Now casting 0 to 2 hours general public

b) Very short 0-12 hours

range
Medium range Beyond 3 days and Farmers Occurrence of rainfall, temperature
upto 10 days
Long range Beyond 10 days Planners This forecasting is provided for Indian
upto a month and a monsoon rainfall. The outlooks are
season usually expressed in the form of
expected deviation from normal
condition.
 QUESTION 20

Q. What is the detailed information collected from the agricultural departments and
condensed by the IMD and presented in a pictorial form known as?
[1] Crop modelling
[2] Crop weather modelling
[3] Crop weather Calendar
[4] Crop Weather forecasting
[5] None of the above
Answer – [3] Crop weather Calendar
Bottom part
It provides the activities related to crop or information related to phenological stages of the crop and
the months.

Middle part
It gives information regarding normal weather condition required for active crop growth. It is divided
into different sections according to rainfall, rainy days, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, pan
evaporation and sunshine hours.

Top part
It gives information related to the weather abnormalities or to take precautionary measures.
Crop Weather modelling is a representation of a crop through mathematical equations explaining the crops interaction
with both above ground and below ground environment.

Crop-weather modelling, firstly used by BAIER in 1979, refers to the techniques that can be used to determine the likely
effects of weather on crop, its growth and production.

It is not wrong to say that they are computer programs that mimic the growth and development of crops.

CERES (Crop Environment Resource Synthesis model): It is a series of crop simulation models on crops, e.g. Rice, Maize,
Sorghum, Wheat etc. running in different regions of India.

DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agro technology Transfer): It was used for assessing the impact of climate change
on rice and developing adaptation strategies to sustain rice production in western zone of Tamil Nadu.

PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies): PRECIS generates high-resolution climate change
information and can be applied in any region of the world.

InfoCrop-RICE model: Since rice is sensitive to high temperatures, a simulation analysis was carried out to quantify the
impact of increased temperatures and elevated CO2 alone and in combination on the yield.

CROPGRO-Groundnut model was used to quantify the impact of climate change on the productivity of groundnut, running
in Anantapur, Mahboobnagar and Junagadh.
 QUESTION 21

Q. In India, according to India Meteorological Department, meteorological drought

over an area is defined as a situation when the seasonal rainfall received over the area
is ____________ of its long-term average value?
[1] less than 25%
[2] less than 75%
[3] less than 40%
[4] less than 60%
[5] None of the above
Answer - [2] less than 75%
 QUESTION 21

▪ It is further classified as "moderate drought" if the rainfall deficit is between 26-50% and "severe
drought" when the deficit exceeds 50% of the normal.

▪ Meteorological drought, if prolonged, results in hydrological drought - marked depletion of surface water
and consequent drying up of inland water bodies.

▪ Agricultural Drought occurs when soil moisture and rainfall are inadequate to support crop growth to
maturity and cause extreme crop stress leading to the loss of yield, leading to extreme stress and wilting
in the plants.

▪ Socio-Economic Drought -Abnormal water shortage affects all aspects of established economy of a region.
Meteorological, hydrological and agricultural drought often lead to what is termed as ‘Socio-economic
Drought ‘.
 QUESTION 22

Q. As per the Aridity Index method, Agricultural drought intensity can be measured.
The concept was first given by?
[1] Thornthwaite
[2] Luke Howard
[3] Decandole
[4] William Harvey
[5] All of the above
Answer – [1] Thornthwaite
 QUESTION 22
▪ Aridity is the Thornthwaite’s concept to describe water deficiency experienced by plants.
▪ Thornthwaite gave the following formula for computing aridity index (AI):
▪ PE denotes the water need of the plants (which is called potential evapotranspiration).
▪ AE denotes the actual evapotranspiration and (PE-AE) denotes the water deficit.
▪ The Aridity Index is worked out on weekly/biweekly basis.
▪ It refers to the water stress suffered by a growing plant due to shortage of available moisture (both rainfall and
soil moisture).
▪ The difference between the actual aridity for the week and the normal aridity (Actual-Normal) i.e. the anomaly
is obtained.
▪ A negative or a zero value of this anomaly would imply that as compared to the normal, the place had
experienced less arid/drought conditions
 QUESTION 23

Q. ________________ involves adding salt particles (sodium, magnesium and calcium

chlorides), which attract water into or just below the base of suitable clouds to
enhance the growth of cloud droplets by coalescence.
[1] Warm cloud seeding
[2] Hygroscopic seeding
[3] Cold cloud seeding
[4] Both 1 and 2
[5] Both 2 and 3
Answer : [4] Both 1 and 2
 QUESTION 23

Cold cloud seeding (glaciogenic seeding) involves

adding particles such as silver iodide crystals or dry ice
pellets to the super-cooled (below freezing point) water
already present in clouds to promote the formation of
ice crystals. The ice crystals grow, fall and melt to below
the freezing level to become raindrops.
Warm cloud seeding (hygroscopic seeding) involves
adding salt particles (sodium, magnesium and calcium
chlorides), which attract water into or just below the
base of suitable clouds to enhance the growth of cloud
droplets by coalescence.
 QUESTION 24

Q. High soil temperature causes stem scorches at the ground level, for example in
cotton, called as ______________?
[1] Scorching
[2] Heaving
[3] Stem girdling
[4] Suffocation
[5] None of the above
Answer : [3] Stem girdling
 Low temperature affects several aspects of crop growth viz., survival, cell division,
photosynthesis, water transport, growth and finally yield.

If the plants grown in hot temperature are exposed to low temperature, they will be
Chilling
killed (or) severely injured. When the night temperature is below 15°C field crops may
injury
show yellowing symptoms (eg) Tropical annuals.
When the plants are exposed to how temperature, water freezes into ice crystals in the
Freezing intercellular spaces.
injury (eg) Cell dehydration
Temperate crops (potato, tea etc.,)
Formation of thick cover of ice/snow on the soil surface presents the entry of oxygen
Suffocation and crop suffers. This presents the respiration and lead to accumulation of harmful
substances.
Lifting of plants along with soil from its actual position by ice, crystals. This is a
Heaving
mechanical lifting.
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