UPHESC Assistant Professor Horticulture 2025 PYQs

Concept: Tamil Nadu gets most of its rain in Oct–Dec (retreating/north-east monsoon) from depressions and cyclones formed over the Bay of Bengal.

1. The NE winds pick up moisture over the Bay; tropical depressions and cyclones crossing the Coromandel coast give heavy rain → cyclonic rainfall.
2. Anticyclones bring dry, stable weather, not rain; convectional rain is typical of hot summer afternoons/equatorial areas.

Short trick: Coromandel coast winter rain = Bay of Bengal cyclones.

Concept: Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta in 1815 (forerunner of the Brahmo Sabha, 1828).

1. Vivekananda – Ramakrishna Mission (1897); Dayananda – Arya Samaj (1875).
2. Radha Kant Dev – orthodox leader of the Dharma Sabha (1830), which opposed Roy.

Short trick: Roy: Atmiya Sabha 1815 → Brahmo Sabha 1828.

Concept: Bose was elected Congress President at Haripura (1938), re-elected at Tripuri (1939) defeating Pattabhi Sitaramayya, and resigned in April 1939 after differences with Gandhi; Dr. Rajendra Prasad was then elected President.

1. Bose did not resign in 1938, so the event the question asks about (an election after a 1938 resignation) never happened.
2. Dr. Rajendra Prasad (option D) fits only if the printed year is changed to 1939; Patel, Nehru and Annie Besant do not fit at all.
3. As printed, therefore, no option is correct and the question is treated as a bonus. The fact to remember: Bose resigned in April 1939 → Rajendra Prasad became President.

Short trick: Haripura 1938 (Bose elected) → Tripuri 1939 (re-elected, then resigned) → Rajendra Prasad.

Concept: Match each leader with the movement he led.

1. Tilak – a leader of the Swadeshi movement (1905–07) → III.
2. Shaukat Ali – with Mohammad Ali, led the Khilafat movement → I.
3. Gandhi – Non-Cooperation movement (1920–22) → IV; Bahadur Shah Zafar – nominal leader of the 1857 revolt → II.

Short trick: Tilak-Swadeshi, Ali-Khilafat, Gandhi-NCM, Zafar-1857 → III-I-IV-II.

Concept: The Election Commission of India (Art. 324) is a permanent, independent constitutional body set up on 25 January 1950.

1. (B) Wrong – CEC and ECs are appointed by the President (on the recommendation of a selection committee under the 2023 Act).
2. (C) Wrong as a general power – disqualification of members is decided by the President/Governor on the EC’s opinion; the EC only advises (Art. 103/192).
3. (D) Wrong – it functions all the time (rolls, party recognition, symbols, etc.).

Short trick: ECI = permanent constitutional body (Art. 324), not a seasonal one.

Concept: The core feature of the parliamentary system is the collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature.

1. In India, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Art. 75(3)) and stays in office only while it enjoys its confidence.
2. The judiciary is independent and not responsible to either organ.

Short trick: Parliamentary = executive answerable to Parliament; Presidential = fixed-term executive.

Concept: The Estimates Committee has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha, elected by proportional representation.

1. Rajya Sabha has no representation on it (unlike the PAC: 15 LS + 7 RS, and the CoPU: 15 LS + 7 RS).
2. A minister cannot be a member; it is called the ‘continuous economy committee’.

Short trick: Estimates = 30, all Lok Sabha.

Concept: Classic economics books and their authors.

1. Adam Smith – The Wealth of Nations (1776) → I.
2. Thomas Malthus – An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) → IV.
3. W. Arthur Lewis – The Theory of Economic Growth (1955) → II; Samir Amin – Imperialism and Unequal Development (1977) → III.

Short trick: Smith-Wealth, Malthus-Population, Lewis-Growth, Amin-Imperialism → I-IV-II-III.

Concept: Budget 2025-26 (1 Feb 2025) announced a Makhana Board in Bihar to improve production, processing, value addition and marketing of makhana (fox nut).

1. Bihar (Mithilanchal – Darbhanga, Madhubani, Purnia) produces about 85–90% of India’s makhana.
2. Mithila Makhana has a GI tag (2022).

Short trick: Makhana = Mithila = Bihar.

Concept: ‘Rupee comes from’ (BE 2025-26): borrowings & other liabilities 24 paise, income tax 22, GST 18, corporation tax 17, non-tax revenue 9, union excise 5, customs 4, non-debt capital receipts 1.

1. Among the given options income tax (22 paise) is the largest.
2. GST is 18 paise; excise (5) and customs (4) are much smaller.

Short trick: 2025-26 order: Borrowing 24 > Income tax 22 > GST 18 > Corporate 17.

Concept: Michal, Tamar and Vered are low-chill apple cultivars bred in Israel for warm winters.

1. Normal apples need 1000–1500 chilling hours; these Israeli cultivars need only about 300–500.
2. Other well-known low-chill apples: Anna, Ein Shemer, Dorsett Golden.
3. In India such cultivars suit lower hills and the subtropical plains.

Short trick: Israeli names (Michal, Tamar, Vered, Anna, Ein Shemer) → low-chill apple.

Concept: Highgate is a dwarf mutant of Gros Michel; Krishna Vazhai is likewise listed among banana mutants.

1. Highgate arose by mutation in Gros Michel (Jamaica) – short stature, same fruit quality.
2. Such somatic mutants are classed under mutation breeding in banana improvement.
3. Hybridization is difficult in triploid bananas, so mutation/selection is the common route.

Short trick: Highgate = dwarf mutant of Gros Michel → mutation.

Concept: Shoot-tip grafting (micrografting) was developed in Citrus by Murashige et al. (1972) and refined by Navarro (1975).

1. Purpose: obtain virus/viroid-free citrus plants (tristeza, exocortis, psorosis).
2. A 0.1–0.2 mm shoot tip is grafted on an in vitro grown seedling rootstock.
3. Later extended to apple, peach etc., but citrus was first.

Short trick: STG + virus-free citrus = Murashige 1972.

Concept: Sphagnum moss is a highly acidic, light, sterile medium with pH about 3.5–4.0.

1. It holds 10–20 times its weight of water and has fungistatic properties.
2. Used in air layering, seed germination and orchid/potting mixes.
3. pH 1–2 is impossible for a medium; 6–10 is neutral–alkaline (not moss).

Short trick: Sphagnum = sour moss → pH 3.5–4.

Concept: Synthetic growth retardants (anti-gibberellins) include B-995 (daminozide/Alar), AMO-1618, CCC (cycocel), phosfon-D and paclobutrazol.

1. a (B-995) and d (AMO-1618) are the true growth retardants.
2. Kinetin (c) is a cytokinin – a growth promoter, so options B and C are wrong.
3. Ethylene (b) is a natural hormone/inhibitor, not counted among the synthetic growth retardants; yet every option contains b. The correct set ‘a and d only’ is not offered, and options A and D each contain only one of the two retardants – so no option is correct as printed (bonus).

Short trick: Retardants = anti-GA chemicals: B-9/B-995, CCC, AMO-1618, Phosfon-D, PP333.

Concept: Recalcitrant seeds lose viability when dried below a high moisture level and cannot be stored long; orthodox seeds tolerate drying.

1. Jackfruit, cocoa, rubber, mango, litchi, coconut – recalcitrant.
2. Onion seed is orthodox (dry storage possible), though short-lived in open storage.
3. So onion is the odd one out.

Short trick: Big fleshy tropical tree seeds = recalcitrant; small vegetable seeds = orthodox.

Concept: Japan pioneered commercial F₁ hybrids in vegetables; the first brinjal F₁ hybrid was released there (1924).

1. Japan also produced early hybrids in cucurbits and tomato.
2. India's first brinjal hybrids (e.g. Arka Navneet, Pusa Hybrid series) came much later.
3. China and Taiwan (AVRDC) were not the first.

Short trick: First vegetable hybrids → Japan (brinjal 1924).

Concept: Year of establishment decides the oldest board.

1. Coffee Board – 1942 (Coffee Act 1942).
2. Rubber Board – 1947; Tea Board – 1954 (Tea Act 1953).
3. Coconut Development Board – 1981.

Short trick: Order: Coffee 42 → Rubber 47 → Tea 54 → Coconut 81.

Concept: Under the PFA/FSS rules, tomato puree and paste may contain benzoic acid up to 750 ppm.

1. Tomato ketchup/sauces – also 750 ppm benzoic acid.
2. Squash/cordial: 600 ppm benzoic acid or 350 ppm SO₂; RTS: 100 ppm.
3. Jam/jelly: 40 ppm SO₂ or 200 ppm benzoic acid.

Short trick: Tomato products (puree, paste, ketchup) → 750 ppm benzoate.

Concept: In cucurbits, ethephon, MH (maleic hydrazide), NAA, CCC and TIBA increase female flowers; GA₃ and silver nitrate increase male flowers.

1. MH (50–150 ppm) at 2–4 leaf stage is a standard sex-modifying chemical.
2. 2,4-D is a herbicide/fruit-set auxin; IBA is a rooting hormone; IPA is not used for sex expression.
3. Hence maleic hydrazide.

Short trick: Female ↑: Ethrel, MH, NAA, CCC, TIBA; Male ↑: GA, AgNO₃.