Which of the following represents the correct sequence of agricultural practices?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Soil preparation – Sowing – Irrigation – Harvesting. Crop production follows a fixed dependency chain: the field is first ploughed/tilled into a fine, weed-free tilth (soil preparation); seed is then placed into this prepared soil (sowing); the sown field is watered to support germination and growth (irrigation); and only once the crop has matured is it cut and gathered (harvesting).

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Irrigation is placed before sowing here, but in the standard taught cycle a field is irrigated after the seed is sown, to support germination — not as a step that comes before sowing.  (c) This reverses almost the entire cycle — harvesting a crop that hasn't yet been irrigated or grown, and preparing the soil last, are both impossible in practice.  (d) Harvesting is placed before sowing, which cannot happen — a crop must be sown and allowed to grow before it can be harvested.

Concept: Agricultural operations follow a fixed order because each step is a physical precondition for the next: soil must be worked before seed can be placed in it, seed must be sown before the field needs watering for germination and growth, and the crop must grow to maturity before it can be cut and gathered. This basic four-step cycle — soil preparation, sowing, irrigation, harvesting — underlies most crop-production questions in GS.

State PCS 2023 Q1 — Economy PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q1 — Economy PYQ with Answer