For Paper I:-
1 Ecology and its relevance to man,
natural resources, their sustainable management and conservation.
Physical and social environment as factors of crop distribution and
production. Agro ecology; cropping pattern as indicators of
environments. Environmental pollution and associated hazards to crops,
animals and humans. Climate change – International conventions and
global initiatives. Greenhouse effect and global warming. Advance tools
for ecosystem analysis – Remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information
Systems (GIS).
Cropping patterns in different
agro-climatic zones of the country. Impact of high yielding and
short-duration varieties.
Concepts of various
cropping and farming systems. Organic and Precision farming. Package of
practices for production of important cereals, pulses, oil seeds,
fibers, sugar, commercial and fodder crops.
Important features and scope of various
types of forestry plantations such as social forestry, agro-forestry,
and natural forests. Propagation of forest plants. Forest products. Agro
forestry and value addition. Conservation of forest flora and fauna.
Weeds, their characteristics,
dissemination and association with various crops; their multiplications;
cultural, biological, and chemical control of weeds.
Soil- physical, chemical and biological
properties. Processes and factors of soil formation. Soils of India.
Mineral and organic constituents of soils and their role in maintaining
soil productivity. Essential plant nutrients and other beneficial
elements in soils and plants. Principles of soil fertility, soil testing
and fertilizer recommendations, integrated nutrient management.
Bio fertilizers. Losses of nitrogen in soil, nitrogen-use efficiency in submerged rice soils, nitrogen fixation in soils. Efficient phosphorus and potassium use. Problem soils and their reclamation. Soil factors affecting greenhouse gas emission.
Soil conservation, integrated watershed management. Soil erosion and
its management. Dry land agriculture and its problems. Technology for
stabilizing agriculture production in rain fed areas.Bio fertilizers. Losses of nitrogen in soil, nitrogen-use efficiency in submerged rice soils, nitrogen fixation in soils. Efficient phosphorus and potassium use. Problem soils and their reclamation. Soil factors affecting greenhouse gas emission.
Water-use efficiency in relation to crop production, criteria for scheduling irrigations, ways and means of reducing runoff losses of irrigation water. Rainwater harvesting. Drip and sprinkler irrigation.
Drainage of waterlogged soils, quality of irrigation water, effect of industrial effluents on soil and water pollution. Irrigation projects in India.
Farm management, scope, importance and characteristics, farm planning.
Optimum resource use and budgeting.
Economics of different types of farming
systems. Marketing management – strategies for development, market
intelligence. Price fluctuations and their cost; role of co-operatives
in agricultural economy; types and systems of farming and factors
affecting them. Agricultural price policy. Crop Insurance.
Agricultural extension, its importance and role, methods of
evaluation of extension programs, socio-economic survey and status of
big, small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural laborers.Training programs for extension workers. Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVK) in dissemination of Agricultural technologies. Nongovernment Organization (NGO) and self-help group approach for rural development.
For Paper – II
Cell structure, function and cell cycle.
Synthesis, structure and function of genetic material. Laws of
heredity. Chromosome structure, chromosomal aberrations, linkage and
cross-over, and their significance in recombination breeding.
Polyploidy, euploids and aneuploids. Mutations – and their role in crop
improvement. Heritability, sterility and incompatibility, classification
and their application in crop improvement. Cytoplasmic inheritance,
sex-linked, sex-influenced and sex-limited characters.
History of plant breeding. Modes of
reproduction, selfing and crossing techniques. Origin, evolution and
domestication of crop plants, center of origin, law of homologous
series, crop genetic resources conservation and utilization. Application
of principles of plant breeding, improvement of crop plants. Molecular
markers and their application in plant improvement. Pure-line selection,
pedigree, mass and recurrent selections, combining ability, its
significance in plant breeding. Heterosis and its exploitation. Somatic
hybridization. Breeding for disease and pest resistance. Role of
interspecific and intergeneric hybridization. Role of genetic
engineering and biotechnology in crop improvement. Genetically modified
crop plants.
Seed production and processing
technologies. Seed certification, seed testing and storage. DNA finger
printing and seed registration. Role of public and private sectors in
seed production and marketing. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
issues, WTO issues and its impact on Agriculture.
Principles of Plant Physiology with
reference to plant nutrition, absorption, translocation and metabolism
of nutrients. Soil – water- plant relationship.
Enzymes and plant pigments;
photosynthesis- modern concepts and factors affecting the process,
aerobic and anaerobic respiration; C3, C4 and CAM mechanisms.
Carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. Growth and development;
photoperiodism and vernalization. Plant growth substances and their role
in crop production. Physiology of seed development and germination;
dormancy. Stress physiology – draught, salt and water stress.
Major fruits, plantation crops,
vegetables, spices and flower crops. Package practices of major
horticultural crops. Protected cultivation and high tech horticulture.
Postharvest technology and value addition of fruits and vegetables.
Landscaping and commercial floriculture. Medicinal and aromatic plants.
Role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition. Diagnosis of pests and
diseases of field crops, vegetables, orchard and plantation crops and
their economic importance. Classification of pests and diseases and
their management. Integrated pest and disease management. Storage pests
and their management. Biological control of pests and diseases.
Epidemiology and forecasting of major crop pests and diseases. Plant
quarantine measures. Pesticides, their formulation and modes of action.
Food production and consumption trends
in India. Food security and growing population – vision 2020. Reasons
for grain surplus. National and international food policies. Production,
procurement, distribution constraints. Availability of food grains, per
capita expenditure on food. Trends in poverty, Public Distribution
System and Below Poverty Line population, Targeted Public Distribution
System (PDS), policy implementation in context to globalization.
Processing constraints. Relation of food production to National Dietary
Guidelines and food consumption pattern. Food based dietary approaches
to eliminate hunger. Nutrient deficiency – Micro nutrient deficiency :
Protein Energy Malnutrition or Protein Calorie Malnutrition (PEM or
PCM), Micro nutrient deficiency and HRD in context of work capacity of
women and children. Food grain productivity and food security.