HARMONY COLLEGE OF SCIENCES
ADVANCED LEVEL; LOWER SIX
CROP SCIENCE TIME: 1 HOUR
PAPER 1
END OF TERM 2 TEST 2025
INSTRUTIONS TO STUDENTS
Answer ALL questions
Electronic calculators are allowed
The intended number of marks is given at the end of each question in brackets
1. A plant hormone which induces bud dormancy is
A. Cytokinins
B. Auxins
C. Abscisic acid
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D. Gibberellin
2. Why are soils located at the crest of a catena red in colour? They
contain
A. Stable iron oxides
B. Reduced iron oxides
C. A lot of organic matter
D. A mixture of reduced and oxidised iron oxides
3. Aluminosilicate clays in the smectite group have the highest cation
exchange capacity (CEC) because
A. They can be moulded
B. They resist swelling
C. There is high isomorphous substitution
D. They are strongly aggregated
4. Which conservation tillage practice involves the least disturbance of
the soil?
A. Pot holing
B. Direct seeding tillage
C. Stubble mulching
D. Ridge tillage
5. Certain plants can be productive while habouring pathogens
because they
A. Are tolerant to pathogens
B. Escape pathogen attack
C. Have genes in the nucleus which control pathogens
D. Have genes in the cytoplasm which control pathogens
6. Which one is the most appropriate sowing depth of a cereal in a
light textured soil compared to heavy textured soils?
A. Deeper
B. Shallower
C. At the same depth
D. Twice the diameter of the seed
7. A hybrid offspring whose parents are both single cross hybrids is a
A. Top cross
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B. Three-way
C. Double cross
D. Back cross
8. The codons which collectively code for the same amino acid are
called
A. Degenerative
B. Initiation
C. Termination
D. Triplet
9. Which of the following is a mechanism that makes weeds persistent
in arable lands?
A. Ability to survive in soils for years
B. Ability to germinate early after herbicide has weakened
C. Ability to produce a limited number of seed
D. All have one method of reproduction
10. Identify one principle of crop rotation from the following
A. Alternating crops of the same species year after year
B. Alternating crops with different input peak requirements
C. A crop should be repeatedly grown within four seasons
11. Select a benefit of strip till compared to no till
A. Reduced pest infestation
B. Increased pest infestation
C. Reduced soil warming
D. Increased soil warming
12. Which of the following practices is ideal for conservation
agriculture?
A. Plough the field to bury stover
B. Apply basal dressing at planting
C. Sow seeds directly into the drilled holes
D. After receiving effective rains plough to open furrows for sowing
seeds
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13. If an optimal population of 100 000 plants/ha is desired,
determine the in-row spacing if the interrow spacing is 50cm
A. 10 cm
B. 15cm
C. 20 cm
D. 25 cm
14. The diagram shows the structure of a chromosome
X and Y represent
X Y
A. Chromatid spindle fibre
B. Centromere chromomere
C. Chromomere centromere
D. Centromere chromatid
15. A soil pH below 4 leads to the
A. Fixation of trace elements
B. Increased microbial activities
C. Availability of major elements
D. Increase in soluble trace elements
16. Movement of nutrients with water in the soil is by
A. Diffusion
B. Mass flow
C. Active transport
D. Mass flow and diffusion
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17. Parthenocarpy is
A. A process in which the fruit forms without fertilization
B. The production of a new plant from the seed
C. The ability of a plant to produce many fruits
D. The production of fruits after fertilization has occurred
18. A farmer can promote growth of lateral buds of fruit trees by
A. Supplying adequate nutrients
B. Supplying adequate water
C. Removing apical shoots
D. Applying abscisic acid
19. The application of special cultures of bacteria at planting of a
legume crop is called
A. Nodulation
B. Inoculation
C. Nitrification
D. Nitrogen fixation
20. What is the role of soil air?
A. Medium for nutrient uptake
B. Source of plant nutrients
C. Dispersal of the soil particles
D. Respiration of roots and soil organisms
21. Plants under pathogen attack have
A. Decreased flaccidity
B. Decreased mineral assimilation
C. Increased mineral assimilation
D. Increased water absorption
22. Select a tool used for primary tillage in crop production
A. Rotavator
B. Chisel plough
C. Disc harrow
D. Rigid tine
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23. Leaf fall occurs at
A. Inflexion
B. Log phase
C. Senescence stage
D. Stationary phase
24. One of the aims of an agro-ecological survey is to
A. Upgrade agricultural facilities in an area
B. Introduce modern agricultural practices in different zones
C. Match the existing conditions to specific crops in an area
D. Introduce extension services to identified areas
25. A farmer used an interrow of 40 cm and an inrow of 10 cm to
plant a legume crop, calculate the expected plant population per
hectare
A. 165 000
B. 180 000
C. 250 000
D. 255 000
26. Identify a suitable cover crop from the list
A. Sorghum
B. Millet
C. Pigeon pea
D. Maize
27. What percentage of crop residue is left in stubble mulching
A. 30
B. 20
C. 15
D. 10
28. The best characteristics of a green manuring plant is
A. Low C/N ratio
B. High C/N ratio
C. Low canopy cover
D. High canopy cover
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29. Uneven seed germination is influenced by
A. Good seed soil contact
B. Poor imbibition
C. Pressure potential
D. Soil capping
30. ……. Is the force used by plants to pull water from roots up to
the leaves via the xylem
A. Root pressure
B. Turgor pressure
C. Osmotic pressure
D. Transpiration pull
31. Pairing of homologous chromosomes is also known as
A. Synapsis
B. Cytokinesis
C. Chiasmata
D. Crossing over
32. Which one is a fungal disease?
A. Cancer
B. Soft rot
C. Rosette
D. Powdery mildew
33. Which growth regulator reduces lodging in plants?
A. Gibberellins
B. Chlormequat chloride
C. Indole-acetic acid
D. Triidobenzoic acid
34. Eukaryotic cells are
A. Complex organism without a nucleus
B. Simpler structural organisms without a nucleus
C. Ribosomes occupied extensively by DNA
D. Characterized by numerous membrane bound organelles
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35. Mitotic divisions of the chromosomes without cytoplasmic
division is called
A. Cytokinesis
B. Karyokinesis
C. Microsporogenesis
D. Generative nucleogenesis
36. A mature embryo sac in ovule development is formed by
A. Degeneration of embryo cells
B. Repeated meiotic divisions
C. Repeated mitotic divisions
D. Nuclear fusion
37. The diagram shows an apical meristem
Which letter represents the leaf primordia?
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z
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38. The arrangement of leaves on the stem is called
A. Phyllotaxis
B. Plastochron
C. Phyllochron
D. Primordia
39. What is apoplastic pathway?
A. Water moves from the vacuole of one cell to another
B. Movement of water through non-living continuum
C. Movement of water through plasmodesmata
D. Water movement into the xylem
40. What is an aquatic weed?
A. Narrow broad-leaved weeds which complete life cycle in one
season
B. Weed which cannot complete their life cycle in high moisture
regime
C. Grow in waterlogged conditions
D. Require harsh conditions to grow
