INDIAN BANKING RADAR (IBR) - IBPS AFO MAINS INTELLIGENCE MOCK

🔥 PLATINUM SERIES 2.0 | VOL. 196

📅 12 OCTOBER 2026 | MONDAY

🎯 TARGET: IBPS AFO • Agriculture Officer • NABARD • RRB

🧠 DIFFICULTY: Moderate to Difficult | Application-Based

⏱️ 20 QUESTIONS | SUGGESTED TIME: 20 MINUTES

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📌 INSTRUCTIONS

• Choose the single best answer for each question. • Attempt all questions before checking the answer key. • Focus on conceptual clarity, field application and numerical accuracy.

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Q1. A rice farmer follows safe Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD). Outside the flowering-sensitive period, the water level in the field tube falls to 15 cm below the soil surface. What should the farmer do?

A. Continue withholding irrigation until visible wilting occurs.

B. Maintain continuous flooding throughout the remaining season.

C. Irrigate and restore approximately 5 cm of standing water.

D. Drain the field completely and apply nitrogen immediately.

E. Allow the water level to fall to 30 cm below the soil surface before irrigating.

Q2. A soil test indicates pH 9.2, high exchangeable sodium and low electrical conductivity. Which intervention is most appropriate for planning soil reclamation?

A. Apply additional nitrogen alone.

B. Apply lime without assessing soil characteristics.

C. Increase irrigation intervals to encourage salt accumulation.

D. Apply muriate of potash as the sole corrective measure.

E. Determine the gypsum requirement from soil analysis and apply it as recommended.

Q3. Groundnut plants show yellowing of younger leaves, and soil analysis confirms sulphur deficiency. Which intervention is most appropriate?

A. Apply a suitable sulphur source at the recommended dose, considering soil status and crop stage.

B. Apply only additional nitrogen, irrespective of the soil test.

C. Apply zinc sulphate as the sole corrective treatment.

D. Increase irrigation frequency without correcting the deficiency.

E. Apply lime irrespective of soil pH.

Q4. A farmer finds that a weed species survives repeated application of the same herbicide despite correct application. Which strategy best helps manage suspected herbicide resistance?

A. Increase the herbicide dose beyond the label recommendation.

B. Repeat the same herbicide more frequently.

C. Apply the same herbicide at a different time without changing the management strategy.

D. Integrate crop rotation, suitable herbicide modes of action and non-chemical weed control.

E. Stop all weed management until the next season.

Q5. In hybrid maize seed production, why are designated female rows detasselled before pollen shed?

A. To increase the protein content of harvested grain.

B. To prevent self-pollination of female parent plants and facilitate controlled cross-pollination.

C. To eliminate the need for isolation distance.

D. To accelerate grain drying after harvest.

E. To increase biological nitrogen fixation.

Q6. Potato plants develop water-soaked lesions that rapidly turn brown during cool, humid weather. White fungal growth appears on the underside of leaf lesions. What is the most likely diagnosis?

A. Early blight caused by Alternaria solani.

B. Potato leaf roll virus.

C. Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans.

D. Potato cyst nematode.

E. Common scab caused by Streptomyces species.

Q7. During pest scouting, an agriculture officer finds a pest population approaching the locally recommended economic threshold, while beneficial insects are abundant. What is the best advice?

A. Apply a broad-spectrum insecticide immediately in every case.

B. Eliminate all beneficial insects to prevent competition.

C. Stop scouting until visible crop loss occurs.

D. Apply a pesticide at twice the recommended dose.

E. Continue monitoring and follow threshold-based integrated pest management.

Q8. A mango nursery requires plants that retain the desirable characteristics of a selected mother tree and generally bear earlier than seedling trees. Which propagation method is most appropriate?

A. Grafting using suitable scion and rootstock material.

B. Raising plants exclusively from open-pollinated seed.

C. Propagation through untreated field soil.

D. Random selection of naturally germinated seedlings.

E. Direct sowing of dried fruit pulp.

Q9. Why should newborn calves receive adequate quantities of good-quality colostrum promptly after birth?

A. It permanently eliminates the need for vaccination.

B. It prevents every infectious disease throughout life.

C. It replaces clean housing and hygienic management.

D. It provides immunoglobulins that support passive immunity.

E. It eliminates the need for balanced nutrition after weaning.

Q10. Foot-and-mouth disease is suspected in a dairy herd. Which immediate response best supports disease containment?

A. Move apparently healthy animals to another village without precautions.

B. Isolate affected animals, restrict animal movement and promptly inform the veterinary authority.

C. Sell milk and animals without following veterinary advice.

D. Introduce new animals to determine whether the disease spreads.

E. Use antibiotics as a substitute for veterinary assessment and disease-control measures.

Q11. Fish are gasping at the water surface around dawn after several cloudy days in a heavily stocked pond. Which problem should be suspected first?

A. Excess dissolved oxygen.

B. Excessive water transparency alone.

C. Complete absence of plankton.

D. Excess calcium hardness as the only possible cause.

E. Low dissolved oxygen, requiring urgent assessment and appropriate aeration.

Q12. Which practice provides a strong foundation for poultry farm biosecurity?

A. Allow unrestricted visitor and vehicle movement.

B. Mix birds of different ages without separation.

C. Control entry, maintain sanitation and follow appropriate isolation and disinfection protocols.

D. Reuse contaminated litter without treatment.

E. Introduce new birds without health checks or quarantine measures.

Q13. Which practice is essential for producing good-quality silage?

A. Compact chopped fodder appropriately and seal it airtight to promote desirable anaerobic fermentation.

B. Leave chopped fodder exposed to rain during storage.

C. Keep the silo open to continuous air circulation.

D. Add soil indiscriminately to every layer.

E. Store excessively wet fodder without assessing fermentation risks.

Q14. A farm enterprise has fixed costs of ₹60,000. The selling price is ₹2,000 per tonne and variable cost is ₹1,200 per tonne. What is the break-even output?

A. 30 tonnes

B. 50 tonnes

C. 60 tonnes

D. 75 tonnes

E. 100 tonnes

Q15. An agricultural project generates ₹4.80 lakh annually for debt servicing against annual principal and interest obligations of ₹4 lakh. What is its Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)?

A. 0.80

B. 1.20

C. 1.50

D. 2.00

E. 4.80

Q16. A dairy farmer requires finance for recurring expenditure on feed, fodder, veterinary care and other eligible animal-husbandry activities. Which facility is most relevant, subject to applicable eligibility and bank norms?

A. A term loan intended exclusively for land purchase.

B. A housing loan.

C. A loan intended exclusively for purchasing agricultural land.

D. A long-term warehouse construction loan without working-capital assessment.

E. Eligible Kisan Credit Card working-capital finance for animal husbandry.

Q17. A bank is appraising a proposed farm-processing unit exposed to uncertain raw-material supply and fluctuating output prices. Which approach provides the strongest basis for appraisal?

A. Approve the project solely because the promoter owns land.

B. Assess only the proposed machinery's purchase price.

C. Evaluate projected cash flows, repayment capacity and sensitivity to key risks.

D. Assume full capacity utilisation from the first month.

E. Ignore working-capital requirements if a term loan is sanctioned.

Q18. Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), what should a banker check before advising a farmer about the applicable crop-insurance enrolment deadline?

A. The applicable season-specific State/UT notification and notified cut-off date.

B. One fixed enrolment date assumed to apply to every crop and state.

C. The previous year's deadline without checking the current notification.

D. The harvest date alone.

E. The date on which the farmer first opened a bank account.

Q19. A farmer is choosing between selling produce at the farm gate and using another market channel offering a higher quoted price but involving additional transport, handling and marketing expenses. Which comparison is most useful?

A. Compare only the highest quoted price.

B. Select the channel located farthest from the farm.

C. Ignore quality deductions and post-harvest losses.

D. Compare net realisation after relevant costs, losses, deductions and payment conditions.

E. Assume every alternative market guarantees immediate payment.

Q20. An FPO can sell produce locally for ₹2,300 per unit. An alternative buyer offers ₹2,400 per unit but involves additional marketing costs of ₹180 per unit. Ignoring all other differences, which option gives the higher net realisation?

A. Alternative buyer, by ₹100 per unit.

B. Local sale, by ₹80 per unit.

C. Both options yield the same net realisation.

D. Alternative buyer, by ₹180 per unit.

E. Local sale, by ₹100 per unit.

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🔐 ANSWER KEY

Q1. C

Q2. E

Q3. A

Q4. D

Q5. B

Q6. C

Q7. E

Q8. A

Q9. D

Q10. B

Q11. E

Q12. C

Q13. A

Q14. D

Q15. B

Q16. E

Q17. C

Q18. A

Q19. D

Q20. B

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📚 QUICK REVISION CAPSULE

Agronomy and soil science

Safe AWD: outside the flowering-sensitive period, irrigate when the field-tube water level reaches about 15 cm below the soil surface; restore approximately 5 cm of standing water.

Keep rice fields flooded from one week before to one week after flowering under the standard safe-AWD guidance.

Sodic-soil reclamation requires soil-test-based assessment and an appropriate amendment, commonly gypsum where indicated.

Correct confirmed sulphur deficiency using a suitable sulphur source at the recommended dose.

Crop protection and seed production

Suspected herbicide resistance calls for integrated weed management and appropriate rotation of herbicide modes of action.

Potato late blight is caused by Phytophthora infestans.

Detasselling female parent rows helps prevent self-pollination in hybrid maize seed production.

Economic-threshold-based IPM helps avoid unnecessary pesticide applications and conserve beneficial organisms.

Animal husbandry and fisheries

Colostrum supplies immunoglobulins needed for passive immunity in newborn calves.

Suspected FMD requires isolation, movement restrictions and prompt veterinary reporting.

Dawn-time fish gasping after cloudy weather may indicate low dissolved oxygen; assess conditions and take urgent corrective action.

Poultry biosecurity relies on controlled entry, sanitation, isolation and appropriate disinfection.

Good silage production requires suitable fodder moisture, proper compaction and airtight sealing.

Agricultural finance and marketing

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🎯 POST-MOCK PERFORMANCE CHECK

17–20 correct: Strong performance. Review every error and strengthen technical precision.

13–16 correct: Good foundation. Revisit calculations, crop diagnosis and scheme implementation.

9–12 correct: Focus on core concepts and application-based questions.

Below 9: Revise fundamentals topic-wise before attempting another timed mock.

These are practice benchmarks, not official IBPS cut-offs.

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Disclaimer: This is an independent practice mock, not an official IBPS question paper. Technical recommendations and scheme conditions should be checked against applicable official guidelines and local recommendations.