Class 8 Science · Original EZT practice
Crop Production and Management (Class 8): original worked practice
A farming decision has several conditions behind it: the crop, soil, water and local season. Practise spotting which detail matters instead of treating a classroom example as a rule for every field.
6 original worked examples, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with explained answers. These are not copied textbook exercises, an official chapter index or a full answer key. No affiliation with NCERT is claimed.
Official sources for topic and edition context, checked 17 October 2026:
Choose, solve, check, then try a fresh question.
Before calculating, read the method prompt and name the condition that makes it useful. Write your own attempt. Open the steps only when you need them, and use the check to catch a wrong sign, unit or interpretation. Finish with the fresh question before reading its answer.
Ask which local conditions the label assumes
Choose the method: Kharif and rabi describe broad seasonal cropping patterns in India; local climate, variety and irrigation matter.
EZT practice question
A revision card says, "A crop named in a kharif example can never grow in another season." What is wrong with that inference?
Show the worked solution
- A broad textbook example describes a common seasonal pattern, not every possible cultivation calendar.
- Temperature, water availability, variety and regional conditions affect where and when a crop can grow.
Answer: The word "never" is unsupported. A common seasonal example is not a universal prohibition.
Check: The linked legacy chapter itself notes regional differences in temperature, rainfall and humidity.
Watch for this: Do not turn a typical national-season example into crop advice for a specific farm.
Now try it yourself
Two places have different rainfall calendars. Is copying the same sowing month automatically a fair comparison?
Check your answer
No.
The relevant growing conditions may differ. A month alone does not specify rainfall, irrigation or suitable temperature.
Explain what spacing changes
Choose the method: Plant spacing affects competition and access to light, water and nutrients. Appropriate spacing depends on the crop and conditions.
EZT practice question
Two fictional class diagrams show the same number of seedlings: one crowded into a corner and one spaced across the same bed. Name two resources the crowded plants may compete for.
Show the worked solution
- Close neighbours may shade one another, reducing access to light.
- Their roots may compete for water and mineral nutrients in the shared soil.
Answer: Light and water, or light and mineral nutrients, are valid pairs.
Check: The explanation links spacing to resources rather than promising an exact yield increase.
Watch for this: Wider is not always better without limit; an appropriate crop-specific spacing is not unlimited empty space.
Now try it yourself
A seed drill places seeds at a planned depth and covers them. Explain one benefit of each feature.
Check your answer
Planned depth supports suitable establishment; soil cover can reduce exposure to seed-eating birds.
Depth needs to suit the crop and soil. Cover is a protective benefit, not a guarantee that every seed will germinate.
Do not diagnose a field from colour alone
Choose the method: Mineral nutrients support growth, but water, light, pests and soil conditions can also limit plants.
EZT practice question
A student sees weak plants in one plot and recommends twice as much fertiliser without any other information. Give a better reasoning step.
Show the worked solution
- Weak growth can have more than one cause, so appearance alone does not establish a nutrient shortage.
- Ask for crop and soil information and an appropriate soil assessment before choosing a nutrient treatment.
Answer: First investigate the limiting conditions rather than prescribe more fertiliser from one observation.
Check: A nutrient recommendation needs evidence about what is missing and the crop's needs.
Watch for this: This is not a dosing guide. More fertiliser is not automatically more growth and can increase loss or pollution risks.
Now try it yourself
Why can adding decomposed organic manure change more than just the nutrient supply?
Check your answer
It can add organic matter that affects soil structure and water holding as well as nutrients.
This explains a possible soil benefit; it does not guarantee the same result in every soil or replace a site-specific plan.
Separate the water source from the delivery method
Choose the method: A source is where water comes from. A delivery method describes how it reaches the crop.
EZT practice question
A diagram shows a well supplying a pipe that releases water slowly near plant roots. Name the source and the delivery method.
Show the worked solution
- The well is the source.
- The near-root, drop-by-drop delivery is a drip system.
Answer: Source: well. Delivery: drip irrigation.
Check: The same well could supply another delivery method, so the two labels describe different parts of the system.
Watch for this: Drip can reduce some losses with suitable design and maintenance; "zero water waste" is not a safe universal claim.
Now try it yourself
A canal supplies a system that sprays water over a plot. Which part is the source, and which is the method?
Check your answer
The canal is the source; sprinkler irrigation is the method.
The source remains the canal even though the water is distributed through sprinklers.
Define a weed by its place in the crop
Choose the method: In a crop field, an unwanted plant can compete with the intended crop. "Weed" describes a management context, not an inherently bad plant species.
EZT practice question
A plant is wanted in one garden but grows unplanned among another crop. Can it be called a weed in the second setting? Explain.
Show the worked solution
- The term depends on whether the plant is wanted in that cultivation setting.
- Among another crop it may compete for light, water, space or nutrients.
Answer: Yes, in that setting it can be a weed even if it is useful elsewhere.
Check: The explanation identifies the relationship to the intended crop rather than labelling the species worthless.
Watch for this: Do not handle unknown plants or apply weed killers from a classroom answer. Chemical controls need trained, authorised guidance.
Now try it yourself
Why might preventing unwanted plants from producing seeds matter for later weed management?
Check your answer
It can reduce the addition of new weed seeds to the field.
This is a biological reason, not a guarantee that all future weeds disappear; existing seeds and incoming seeds may remain.
Match an operation to its purpose
Choose the method: Harvesting cuts or collects the mature crop. Threshing separates grain from the harvested plant material; winnowing separates lighter chaff from grain.
EZT practice question
A written record says: mature stalks are cut, grain is released from the stalks, then lighter chaff is separated. Label the three stages in order.
Show the worked solution
- Cutting or collecting the mature crop is harvesting.
- Releasing grain from harvested stalks is threshing.
- Separating the lighter chaff from grain is winnowing.
Answer: Harvesting, threshing, winnowing.
Check: Each label names a different purpose even when a machine combines operations.
Watch for this: Do not swap threshing and winnowing or infer that children should operate farm equipment.
Now try it yourself
A grain sample was dried before storage. Does that alone prove it will remain safe indefinitely?
Check your answer
No.
Drying reduces moisture-related spoilage risk, but suitable storage conditions, pest control and monitoring still matter. Do not taste suspect grain to judge safety.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. A legume has nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules. Does that prove all fixed nitrogen immediately becomes available to the next crop?
Show answer and reason
No.
Much of it is first used in the legume. The benefit to a following crop depends on residues and soil management.
2. Two plots receive equal total irrigation water, but one loses more beyond the root zone. Is total input enough to compare useful water supply?
Show answer and reason
No.
Delivery and losses affect how much reaches the roots. Equal input does not guarantee equal useful availability.
3. Why should a store record both drying and later signs of moisture or pests?
Show answer and reason
Drying is one step; storage conditions can change afterwards.
A one-time action is not evidence that later storage stayed suitable.
4. Can a seed that sinks in a simple water test be guaranteed to germinate?
Show answer and reason
No.
Density is not a complete test of viability, disease status or the conditions needed for germination.
Know the rule but lose track of the steps?
Bring your book edition, your school topic list and a question you attempted. Ask a tutor to explain the choice of method and test it with a different problem. Agree the lesson topics, schedule and fee before starting.
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Questions about this practice page
- Is this Curiosity Grade 8 Chapter 1?
- No. It is selected revision of the older Crop Production and Management topic. The linked current contents give a different opening chapter.
- Does this page prescribe farm treatments?
- No. The written scenarios explain concepts. Real nutrient, pest, irrigation and food-storage decisions need appropriate local expertise and evidence.
- Are a canal and a sprinkler the same type of answer?
- No. A canal can be a water source; a sprinkler is a delivery method.
- Does using drip remove every water loss?
- No. A suitable, maintained system can reduce some losses, but performance depends on its design and use.
- Are these the NCERT exercise questions?
- No. They are original reasoning questions with selected topic coverage, not a copied textbook key.