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CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD: 22131 Downloads so far )Agriculture Syllabus IFoS Main Exam, 2021, 2022, 2023
Paper I : Agriculture for IFoS Mains Exam
Max. Marks: 200
Duration: 3 hours
Ecology and its relevance to man, natural resources, their sustainable management and
conservation. Physical and social environment as factors of crop distribution and
production. Climatic elements as factors of crop growth, impact of changing
environment on cropping pattern as indicators of environments. Environmental
pollution and associated hazards to crops, animals, and humans.
Cropping pattern in different agro-climatic zones of the country. Impact of highyielding
and short-duration varieties on shifts in cropping pattern. Concepts of multiple
cropping, multistorey, relay and inter-cropping, and their importance in relation to food
production. Package of practices for production of important cereals, pulses, oil seeds,
fibres, sugar, commercial and fodder crops grown during Kharif and Rabi seasons in
different regions of the country.
Important features, scope and propagation of various types of forestry plantations such
as extension, social forestry, agro-forestry, and natural forests.
Weeds, their characteristics, dissemination and association with various crops; their
multiplication; cultural, biological and chemical control of weeds.
Soil-physical, chemical and biological properties. Processes and factors of soil
formation. Modern classification of Indian soils, 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 and its evaluation for
judicious fertilizer use, integrated nutrient management. Losses of nitrogen in soil,
nitrogen-use efficiency in submerged rice soils, nitrogen fixation in soils. Fixation of
phosphorus and potassium in soils and the scope for their efficient use. Problem soils
and their reclamation methods.
Soil conservation planning on watershed basis. Erosion and run-off management in
hilly, foot hills, and valley lands; processes and factors affecting them. Dry land
agriculture and its problems. Technology of stabilising agriculture production in rain
fed agriculture area.
Water-use efficiency in relation to crop production, criteria for scheduling irrigations,
ways and means of reducing run-off losses of irrigation water. Drip and sprinkler
irrigation. Drainage of water-logged soils, quality of irrigation water, effect of
industrial effluents on soil and water pollution.
Farm management, scope, important and characteristics, farm planning. Optimum
resources use and budgeting. Economics of different types of farming systems.
Marketing and pricing of agricultural inputs and outputs, price fluctuations and their
cost; role of co-operatives in agricultural economy; types and systems of farming and
factors affecting them.
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; farm mechanization and its role in agricultural
production and rural employment. Training programmes for extension workers; lab-toland
programmes.
Paper II : Agriculture for IFoS Mains Exam
Max. Marks: 200
Duration: 3 hours
Cell Theory, cell structure, cell organelles and their function, cell division, nucleic
acids-structure and function, gene structure and function. Laws of heredity, their
significance in plant breeding. Chromosome structure, chromosomal aberrations,
linkage and cross-over, and their significance in recombination breeding. Polyploidy,
euploid and an euploids. Mutation-micro and macro-and their role in crop
improvement. Variation, components of variation. 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 and evolution of crop plants, centre of origin, law of homologous series, crop
genetic resources-conservation and utilization. Application of principles of plant
breeding to the improvement of major field crops. Pure-line selection, pedigree, mass
and recurrent selections, combining ability, its significance in plant breeding. Hybrid
vigour and its exploitation, backcross method of breeding, breeding for disease and
pest resistance, role of interspecific and intergeneric hybridization. Role of
biotechnology in plant breeding. Improved varieties, hybrids, composites of various
crop plants.
Seed technology, its importance. Different kinds of seeds and their seed production and
processing techniques. Role of public and private sectors in seed production,
processing and marketing in India.
Physiology and its significance in agriculture. Imbibition, surface tension, diffusion
and osmosis. Absorption and translocation of water, transpiration and water economy.
Enzymes and plant pigments; photosynthesis-modern concepts and factors affecting the
process, aerobic and nonaerobic respiration; C, C and CAM mechanisms.
Carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism.
Growth and development; photoperiodism and vernalization. Auxins, hormones, and
other plant regulators and their mechanism of action and importance in agriculture.
Physiology of seed development and germination; dormancy.
Climatic requirements and cultivation of major fruits, plants, vegetable crops and
flower plants; the package of practices and their scientific basis. Handling and
marketing problems of fruit and vegetables. Principal methods of preservation of
important fruits and vegetable products, processing techniques and equipment. Role of
fruits and vegetables in human nutrition. Raising of ornamental plants, and design and
layout of lawns and gardens.
Diseases and pests of field vegetables, orchard and plantation crops of India. Causes
and classification of plant pests and diseases. Principles of control of plant pests and
diseases Biological control of pests and diseases. Integrated pest and disease
management. Epidemiology and forecasting.
Pesticides, their formulations and modes of action. Compatibility with rhizobial
inoculants. Microbial toxins.
Storage pests and diseases of cereals and pulses, and their control.
Food production and consumption trends in India. National and international food
policies. Production, procurement, distribution and processing constraints. Relation of
food production to national dietary pattern, major deficiencies of calorie and protein.
Recommended Textbooks:
Soil Science - D.K Das
Agronomy - Yellamananda Reddy
Plant Breeding - B.D. Singh
Genetics - B.D.Singh
Physiology - Pandey & Singha
Indroduction To Horticulture -Kumar
Handbook Of Agriculture - ICAR
Pathology - Singh
Entomology - Vasantha Raj & David
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