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RAS question

Rajasthan produces more than 80% of India's total output of guar (cluster bean). Which of the following best explains this dominance, AND correctly identifies how guar serves the livestock sector?

Correct answer: (B) Guar is suited to Rajasthan's arid, sandy, low-rainfall tracts due to its drought tolerance and nitrogen-fixing ability; its haulms (straw/stems) are a major source of dry fodder for livestock in the region..

Rajasthan dominates India's guar production because the crop is naturally suited to arid, sandy, low-rainfall tracts, and its post-harvest haulms provide important dry fodder for livestock.

  1. (A)

    Guar thrives in Rajasthan's heavy monsoon rainfall and clay soils; its seeds are used as the primary cattle feed grain replacing bajra.

  2. (B)

    Guar is suited to Rajasthan's arid, sandy, low-rainfall tracts due to its drought tolerance and nitrogen-fixing ability; its haulms (straw/stems) are a major source of dry fodder for livestock in the region.

  3. (C)

    Guar is grown in Rajasthan's irrigated canal belt; it is primarily used as green fodder and silage for high-yielding crossbred cattle.

  4. (D)

    Rajasthan dominates guar production due to government-mandated cultivation quotas; guar pods are fed directly to poultry as a protein supplement.

Explanation

Guar's Rajasthan dominance is best explained by agro-climatic fit, not by policy quotas or canal irrigation. The crop is an arid and semi-arid legume; Rajasthan alone accounts for around 80% of India's cluster bean area and production, and cluster bean is grown especially in India's arid regions. Western Rajasthan has the sandy, low-rainfall conditions suited to guar cultivation. Its drought tolerance and nitrogen-fixing root nodules make it practical on marginal dryland soils where many higher-water crops struggle. Guar seed does not replace bajra as a grain feed for livestock. After pod harvest, the dried stems and leaves, or haulms, become valuable dry roughage during lean fodder periods.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Guar is associated with arid, sandy, low-rainfall conditions, not heavy monsoon rainfall or clay soils, and its livestock value comes from haulms rather than seeds replacing bajra.
  • (C) Rajasthan's dominance comes from rainfed dryland suitability in arid tracts, while the livestock use is dry fodder from haulms, not mainly green fodder or silage.
  • (D) Rajasthan's advantage is agro-climatic rather than quota-driven, and feeding guar pods directly to poultry is not the main livestock role of guar in this context.

Concept

Rajasthan agriculture links crop ecology with the livestock economy. RAS often emphasizes arid-zone cropping, fodder security and regional specialisation because they are central to Rajasthan's geography.

Source

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