RPSC Agriculture Officer 2011

Analysis of agroforestry systems:

• Agri-silviculture: Combination of agricultural crops and forest/silvicultural trees.
• Silvi-pastoral: Integration of pasture grasses/legumes and trees with livestock grazing.
• Agri-horticulture: Growing agricultural crops along with fruit tree orchards.
• Agri-silvipastoral: Integration of agricultural crops + forest trees + pasture grasses + livestock animals on the same management unit.

Analysis of crop-associated weeds:

• Berseem: Cichorium intybus (Chicory / Kasani) is an obligate associated weed of berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum). Its seeds mimic berseem seeds and are separated by soaking in a 10% common salt solution (seeds of chicory float, berseem sinks).
• Wheat: Associated weeds include Phalaris minor and Avena ludoviciana.
• Oat: Infested by wild oats and broadleaves.
• Napier grass: Robust perennial grass rarely affected by chicory.

Analysis of essential plant nutrients:

• Nitrogen: Structural constituent of amino acids, proteins, and chlorophyll.
• Phosphorus: Energy transfer molecule (ATP, ADP) and component of nucleic acids.
• Potassium: Functions as a vital enzyme activator and stabilizer for over 60–80 different plant enzymes involved in photosynthesis, protein synthesis, and carbohydrate translocation.
• Sulphur: Component of sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine, cysteine, cystine).