Agriculture Optional

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

Green house effect and global warming

Advance tools for ecosystem analysis

• Remote Sensing (RS)

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Cropping patterns in different agro-climatic zones of the country

Impact of high-yielding and short-duration varieties on shifts in cropping patterns

Concepts of various cropping and farming systems

Organic and precision farming

Package of practices for production of important crops

• Cereals

• Pulses

• Oil seeds

• Fibres

• Sugar crops

• Commercial crops

• Fodder crops

Important features, scope and propagation of various types of forestry plantations

• Social forestry

• Agro-forestry

• 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

Multiplication of weeds

Cultural control of weeds

Biological control of weeds

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

Biofertilizers

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 stabilising agriculture production in rain fed areas

Water-use efficiency in relation to crop production

Criteria for scheduling irrigations

Ways and means of reducing run-off 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 programmes

Socio-economic survey and status of big, small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers

Training programmes for extension workers

Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) in dissemination of agricultural technologies

Non Government Organisation (NGO) and self-help group approach for rural development

Cell structure, function and cell cycle

Synthesis, structure and function of genetic material

Laws of heredity

Chromosome structure, chromosomal aberrations, linkage and cross-over

• 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

Centre 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 — drought, 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

Post harvest 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 (TPDS)

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

• 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