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Subjects · Leaving Cert Agricultural Science

Leaving Cert Agricultural Science: Cereal & food crop production

How often Cereal & food crop production comes up on the Agricultural Science papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2023. most years

OL Asked on 3 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

Cereal & food crop production, Higher Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Cereal & food crop production.

(a)Spring barley grown in Ireland is mainly used for...
  1. Bread-making flour
  2. Animal feed and malting
  3. Sugar production
(b)Commercial potato crops are grown from...
  1. Root cuttings
  2. True seed from berries
  3. Seed tubers
(c)What is the main reason for rotating crops?
  1. It breaks pest and disease cycles
  2. It makes the soil more acidic
  3. It lets one crop get more fertiliser
Show the answers

(a) Animal feed and malting

(b) Seed tubers

(c) It breaks pest and disease cycles

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Cereal & food crop production.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2023. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Not asked
2023Q2, Q14, Q15
2022Q17c
2021Q18

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Cereal & food crop production questions

Cereal & food crop production, 3 marks

Why is grain moisture checked at harvest?

  1. Dry grain cannot be sold to the merchant at all
  2. Moisture content shows the protein % of the grain
  3. Wet grain must be dried to store without heating or mould
Show the answer

Wet grain must be dried to store without heating or mould

Grain stored too wet heats and goes mouldy. It is dried to a safe moisture before storage, and buyers deduct for extra moisture.

Cereal & food crop production, 2 marks

What is lodging in a cereal crop?

  1. Roots rotting in wet soil
  2. Stems bending over and lying flat
  3. Grain sprouting in the ear
Show the answer

Stems bending over and lying flat

Lodging is caused by wind, rain, weak stems or too much nitrogen. Lodged crops are hard to harvest and lose yield and quality.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 3 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Q17
2023Q14
2022Not asked
2021Q18

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Cereal & food crop production questions

Cereal & food crop production, 2 marks

Potatoes are usually grown by planting?

  1. True seeds from the berries
  2. Leaf cuttings
  3. Seed tubers
Show the answer

Seed tubers

A tuber is a swollen underground stem. Planting certified seed tubers gives a crop true to the variety and free of major disease.

Cereal & food crop production, 3 marks

Why are potato drills earthed up?

  1. To kill blight spores on the potato leaves
  2. To stop tubers turning green in light
  3. To speed up flowering of the plants
Show the answer

To stop tubers turning green in light

Light turns tubers green and they make solanine, which is toxic. Earthing up also gives loose, deep soil for the tubers to swell.

Cereal & food crop production, 2 marks

Which cereal is grown in Ireland for malting and brewing?

  1. Barley
  2. Maize
  3. Rice
Show the answer

Barley

Malting barley needs a low grain protein. Barley is Ireland's main cereal and is also used to feed cattle and pigs.

Other Agricultural Science topics

All of Leaving Cert Agricultural Science