Consider the following:
- 1.Cover crops
- 2.Fertigation
- 3.Hydroponics
- 4.Mixed farming
- 5.Polyculture
- 6.Vertical farming
Which of the above farming practices can be compatible with agroecology, as implied by the passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1, 4 and 5 only
Agroecology, as described, copies natural ecosystems: high biodiversity, nutrients returned to the soil, natural pest control and trees, crops and livestock integrated. Cover crops, mixed farming and polyculture fit these principles; fertigation, hydroponics and vertical farming depend on external inputs or soil-free, controlled systems.
- ✓ 1. Cover crops protect the soil and return nutrients to it — 'closing nutrient loops' and building soil fertility.
- ✗ 2. Fertigation feeds soluble fertiliser through irrigation water — an external input rather than recycling nutrients back to the soil.
- ✗ 3. Hydroponics grows plants without soil in nutrient solutions, so there is no soil nutrient loop or natural ecosystem to mimic.
- ✓ 4. Mixed farming combines crops with livestock, matching 'integrating trees with livestock and crops', and its manure returns nutrients to the soil.
- ✓ 5. Growing many crops together, like intercropping, mimics natural biodiversity and uses natural pest control.
- ✗ 6. Vertical farming is a controlled, often soil-less indoor system — far from mimicking the biodiversity and functioning of natural ecosystems.
Remember · Match each practice against the passage's defining principles (biodiversity, soil nutrient loops, integration); reject high-input or soil-free systems.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·