Syllabus for ICAR PG JRF - AGRONOMY

SYLLABI FOR ICAR’S ALL INDIA ENTRANCE EXAMINATION FOR ADMISSION TO MASTER DEGREE PROGRAMMES AND ICAR-PG SCHOLARSHIP/NTS (PGS)
Syllabus for ICAR PG JRF - AGRONOMY 
Code 08: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP - AGRONOMY (Sub-Subjects: 5.1: Agronomy 5.2: Tea Husbandry & Technology): 

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UNIT-I:

1. Importance of Agriculture in national economy
2. Basic principles of crop production
3. Cultivation of rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, potato
4. Major soils of India and role of NPK with deficiency symptoms
5. Structure and function of cell organelles
6. Mitosis and meiosis
7. Mendelian genetics
8. Elementary knowledge of photosynthesis, respiration, photorespiration, and transpiration
9. Structure and functions of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes, and vitamins
10. Major pests and diseases of rice, wheat, cotton, chickpea, and sugarcane and their management
11. Important rural development programs in India
12. Organizational setup of agricultural research, education, and extension in India
13. Elements of statistics

UNIT-II:

1. Principles of Agronomy
2. Crop ecology and geography
3. Agricultural Meteorology
4. Agroclimatic zones of India
5. Tillage, crop stand establishment, and planting geometry
6. Physiological limits of crop yield and ecological optima
7. Organic farming
8. Precision farming
9. Integrated farming systems
10. Principles of field experimentation
11. Crop ecology and crop adaptation
12. Climate shift and ecological implications
13. Agro-ecological regions in India
14. Geographical distribution of crop plants
15. Greenhouse effect
16. Climatic factors and their effect on plant processes and crop productivity
17. Role of GIS and GPS in agriculture
18. Weather & climate, Earth’s atmosphere, Solar radiation, Atmospheric temperature, and global warming
19. Crops and atmospheric humidity
20. Weather forecasting

UNIT-III:

1. Field crops: Origin, distribution, economic importance, soil and climatic requirements, varieties, and cultural practices
2. Cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fiber crops, sugar crops, fodder & forage crops, medicinal & aromatic plants, and commercial crops

UNIT-IV:

1. Weed management principles
2. Classification, biology, and ecology of weeds
3. Crop-weed competition and allelopathy
4. Concepts and methods of weed control
5. Integrated weed management
6. Classification, formulations, selectivity, and resistance of herbicides
7. Herbicide persistence in soil and plants
8. Application methods and equipment
9. Weed flora shifts in cropping systems
10. Special and problematic weeds and their management

UNIT-V:

1. Water management principles
2. Water resources and irrigation development in India
3. Water and irrigation requirements
4. Concepts and approaches of irrigation scheduling
5. Methods of irrigation
6. Measurement of irrigation water
7. Application, distribution, and use efficiencies
8. Conjunctive use of water
9. Irrigation water quality and its management
10. Water management in major field crops
11. Agricultural drainage

UNIT-VI:

1. Soil fertility and fertilizer use
2. Essential plant nutrients and deficiency symptoms
3. Concept of essentiality of plant nutrients
4. Indicators of soil fertility and productivity
5. Fertilizer materials and their availability to plants
6. Slow-release fertilizers
7. Nitrification inhibitors
8. Principles and methods of fertilizer application
9. Integrated nutrient management
10. Site-specific nutrient management

UNIT-VII:

1. Dryland Agronomy characteristics
2. Dryland farming and delineation of Dryland tracts
3. Constraints of Dryland farming in India
4. Types of drought and their management
5. Contingency crop planning and mid-season corrections
6. Watershed management

UNIT-VIII:

1. Problem soils
2. Problem soils and their distribution in India
3. Characteristics and reclamation of these soils
4. Crop production techniques in problem soils

UNIT-IX:

1. Sustainable land use systems
2. Sustainable agriculture parameters and indicators
3. Conservation agriculture
4. Safe disposal of agri-industrial waste for crop production
5. Agro-forestry systems
6. Shifting cultivation
7. Alternate land use systems
8. Wastelands and their remediation for crop production