Harvesting & storage — Class 8 CBSE Science MCQs with Solutions
Free Class 8 CBSE Science Harvesting & storage MCQs with step-by-step solutions (12 questions). Part of Crop Production and Management. Practise online on Prepizo — no login needed.
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Questions with solutions
Q1 — Harvesting & storage · easy · theory
In farming, what does the practice called 'harvesting' mean?
A. Cutting the crop after it has matured ✓ Correct
B. Putting seeds into the prepared soil
C. Removing undesirable weeds from the field
D. Supplying water to the crop at regular intervals
Solution: Harvesting is the cutting of a mature crop, either by pulling it out or cutting it close to the ground. Sowing, weeding and irrigation are separate farming practices.
Q2 — Harvesting & storage · easy · theory
What is the process of 'threshing'?
A. Separating the grain seeds from the chaff ✓ Correct
B. Cutting the mature crop with a sickle
C. Loosening and turning the soil with a plough
D. Removing the weeds growing with the crop
Solution: Threshing is the process of separating grain seeds from the chaff, carried out after the crop has been harvested.
Q3 — Harvesting & storage · easy · theory
Which of the following is a harvest festival celebrated in India?
A. Baisakhi ✓ Correct
B. Kharif
C. Rabi
D. Rhizobium
Solution: Baisakhi is a harvest festival, along with Pongal, Holi, Diwali, Nabanya and Bihu. Kharif and Rabi are crop seasons, and Rhizobium is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium.
Q4 — Harvesting & storage · medium · theory
A farmer wants to harvest his crop manually using a hand tool. Which tool should he use?
A. Sickle ✓ Correct
B. Khurpi
C. Seed drill
D. Leveller
Solution: A crop is harvested by hand with a sickle. A khurpi is used for weeding, a seed drill for sowing, and a leveller for levelling the soil.
Q5 — Harvesting & storage · medium · theory
Where are grains kept when they need to be stored on a very large scale?
A. Silos and granaries ✓ Correct
B. Wells and tubewells
C. Nurseries
D. Moat and rahat
Solution: Large quantities of grain are stored in silos and granaries. Wells/tubewells and moat/rahat are used for irrigation, and a nursery is used to raise young seedlings.
Q6 — Harvesting & storage · medium · theory
About how long does a cereal crop usually take to grow and mature before it is ready for harvesting?
A. 3 to 4 months ✓ Correct
B. About 1 week
C. 8 to 10 months
D. About 2 years
Solution: A cereal crop generally takes about 3 to 4 months to mature, after which it is harvested.
Q7 — Harvesting & storage · medium · theory
Grains that are to be stored for a long time must be kept safe from which of the following?
A. Moisture, insects, rats and microorganisms ✓ Correct
B. Bright sunlight and dry air
C. Manure and humus present in the soil
D. Earthworms and friendly soil microbes
Solution: Stored grains must be protected from moisture, insects, rats and microorganisms, all of which can spoil them. Bright sunlight and dry air are in fact used to dry grains before storage, while manure, humus, earthworms and soil microbes belong to the field, not the store.
Q8 — Harvesting & storage · medium · theory
At home, which of the following is commonly used to protect a small store of grains from pests?
A. Dried neem leaves ✓ Correct
B. Chemical treatments
C. Urea fertiliser
D. Weedicides like 2,4-D
Solution: Dried neem leaves are used to keep home-stored grains safe from pests. Chemical treatments are used in big godowns, while urea and weedicides are meant for the growing crop, not for storage.
Q9 — Harvesting & storage · medium · theory
A household needs to store a small quantity of grains. Which containers are suitable for this?
A. Jute bags and metallic bins ✓ Correct
B. Silos and granaries
C. Wooden ploughs and hoes
D. Sprinklers and drip pipes
Solution: Small quantities of grain are stored in jute bags and metallic bins. Silos and granaries are for large-scale storage, while ploughs, hoes, sprinklers and drip pipes are farming and irrigation tools.
Q10 — Harvesting & storage · hard · theory
A farmer puts his freshly harvested wheat straight into a jute bag without any treatment. A few weeks later the grains are spoiled by fungi and insects. Which step did he skip that would have prevented this?
A. Drying the grains in the sun to remove their high moisture before storing ✓ Correct
B. Adding a spoon of urea to the grains before storing
C. Winnowing the grains a second time before storing
D. Harvesting the crop with a combine instead of a sickle
Solution: Freshly harvested grains hold a lot of moisture. If they are not dried in the sun first, this moisture lets insect pests, bacteria and fungi attack them during storage. Urea, extra winnowing, or the choice of harvesting machine would not stop this spoilage.
Q11 — Harvesting & storage · hard · theory
Some farmers burn the left-over stubble in the field after harvesting to clear it quickly. Why do scientists strongly advise against doing this?
A. It pollutes the air and the fire can spread out of control ✓ Correct
B. The ash left behind makes the soil permanently fertile
C. It burns away all the weeds so that weeding is never needed again
D. It dries the stored grains in the nearby godown more quickly
Solution: Burning the left-over stubble is discouraged because it pollutes the air and the fire may spread. It does not permanently fertilise the soil, does not remove weeds forever, and has nothing to do with drying stored grains.
Q12 — Harvesting & storage · hard · theory
A farmer with a very large field wants a single machine that will both cut the mature crop and separate the grain from the chaff in one operation. Which machine should he use?
A. A combine ✓ Correct
B. A harvester
C. A sickle
D. A seed drill
Solution: A combine is the right choice because it works as both a harvester and a thresher. A harvester only cuts the crop, a sickle cuts it manually, and a seed drill is used for sowing seeds.