Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Geography

Chapter

India-People and Economy: Land resources and Agriculture

Question:

Read the given passage carefully and answer the following questions.

On the basis of the main source of moisture for crops, the farming can be classified as irrigated and rainfed (barani). There is a difference in the nature of irrigated farming, as well as based on the objective of irrigation, i.e., protective or productive. The objective of protective irrigation is to protect the crops from adverse effects of soil moisture deficiency, which often means that irrigation acts as a supplementary source of water over and above the rainfall. The strategy of this kind of irrigation is to provide soil moisture to the maximum possible area. Productive irrigation is meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the cropping season to achieve high productivity. In such irrigation, the water input per unit area of cultivated land is higher than protective irrigation. Rainfed farming is further classified on the basis of adequacy of soil moisture during the cropping season into dry- land and wetland farming. In India, dry-land farming is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm. These regions grow hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar (fodder crops) and practise various measures of soil moisture conservation and rain water harvesting. In wetland farming, the rainfall is in excess of the soil moisture requirement of plants during the rainy season. Such regions may face flood and soil erosion hazards. These areas grow various water intensive crops such as rice, jute and sugarcane and practise aquaculture in the fresh water bodies.

Identify the correct statement.

Options:

Wetland farming is characterized by the cultivation of less water intensive crops.

Dryland farming is characterized by the cultivation of water intensive crops.

The aim of productive irrigation is to provide soil moisture to the maximum possible area.

Drought resistant crops and rain water harvesting play important role in dryland farming regions.

Correct Answer:

Drought resistant crops and rain water harvesting play important role in dryland farming regions.

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (4) → Drought resistant crops and rain water harvesting play important role in dryland farming regions.

  • Wetland farming → involves cultivation of water intensive crops like rice, jute, sugarcane (so option 1 is incorrect).

  • Dryland farming → involves hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram, and guar, along with rainwater harvesting (so option 2 is incorrect).

  • Productive irrigation → aims to provide sufficient soil moisture for high productivity, not just covering maximum area (that is the aim of protective irrigation) (so option 3 is incorrect).