The question paper of General Agriculture for the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi Examination for Admission to Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics Programme is as given below:


1. Who is the present Chairman of Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Right Authority (PPV&FRA)?
a) Dr. R.R. Hanchinal
b) Dr. P.L. Gautam
c) Dr. S. Nagarajan
d) Dr. Swapan K. Datta

2. Which among the following is another name for vitamin B12?
a) Niacin
b) Pyridoxal phosphate
c) Cobalamin
d) Riboflavin

3. The largest share in India's farm export earning in the year 2011-12 was from
a) Basmati rice
b) Non-basmati rice
c) Sugar
d) Guar gum

4. The National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects was established by ICAR in ________, was earlier known as _______.
a) Bangalore; PDBC
b) New Delhi; National Pusa Collection
c) Ranchi; Indian Lac Research Institute
d) New Delhi; NCIPM

5. The most important sucking pests of cotton and rice are respectively
a) Nilaparvata lugens and Aphis gossypii
b) Aphis gossypii and Thrips oryzae
c) Amrasca biguttula biguttula and Scirtothrips dorsalis
d) Thrips gossypii and Orseolia oryzae

6. Which of the following microorganism causes fatal poisoning in canned fruits and vegetables?
a) Aspergillus flavus
b) Penicillium digitatum
c) Clostridium botulinum
d) Rhizoctonia solani

7. The cause of the great Bengal Famine was
a) Blast of rice
b) Brown spot of rice
c) Rust of wheat
d) Karnal bunt of wheat

8. Actinomycetes belong to
a) The fungi
b) Eukaryote
c) Mycelia sterilia
d) None of the above

9. A virus-free clone from a virus infected plant
can be obtained by
a) Cotyledonary leaf culture
b) Axenic culture
c) Stem culture
d) Meristem tip culture

10. Which of the following is not an objective of the National Food Security Mission?
a) Sustainable increase in production of rice,
b) Restoring soil fertility and productivity at individual farm level
c) Promoting use of bio-pesticides and organic fertilizers
d) Creation of employment opportunities

11. Agmarknet, a portal for the dissemination of agricultural marketing information, is a joint endeavour of
a) DMI and NIC
b) DMI and Ministry of Agriculture
c) NIC and Ministry of Agriculture
d) DMI and Directorate of Economics and Statistics

12. The share of agriculture and allied activities in India's GDP at constant prices in 2011-12 was
a) 14.1%
b) 14.7%
c) 15.6%
d) 17.0%

13. The average size of land holding in India according to Agricultural Census 2005-06 is
a) 0.38 ha
b) 1.23 ha
c) 1.49 ha
d) 1.70 ha

14. 'Farmers First' concept was proposed by
a) Paul Leagans
b) Neils Rolling
c) Robert Chamber
d) Indira Gandhi

15. In the year 2012, GM crops were cultivated in an area of
a) 150 million hectare in 18 countries
b) 170 million hectare in 28 countries
c) 200 million hectare in 18 countries
d) 1.70 million hectare in 28 countries

16. The broad-spectrum systematic herbicide glyphosate kills the weeds by inhibiting the biosynthesis of
a) Phenylalanine
b) Alanine
c) Glutamine
d) Cysteine

17. At harvest, the above ground straw (leaf, sheath and stem) weight and grain weight of paddy crop are 5.5 and 4.5 tonnes per hectare, respectively. What is the harvest index of paddy?
a) 45%
b) 50%
c) 55%
d) 100%

18. Crossing over between non-sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes takes place during
a) Leptotene
b) Pachytene
c) Diplotene
d) Zygotene

19. The term 'Heterosis' was coined by
a) G.H. Shull
b) W. Bateson
c) T.H. Morgan
d) E.M. East

20. When a transgenic plant is crossed with a non-transgenic, what would be the zygosity status of the F1 plant?
a) Homozygous
b) Heterozygous
c) Hemizygous
d) Nullizygous