UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus – Paper 1 & Paper 2
UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus (Paper-1)
Ecology and Environmental Science
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).
Agronomy
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 cereals, pulses, oil seeds, fibres, sugar, commercial and fodder crops.
Forestry
Important features and scope
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.
Weed Science
Weeds – their characteristics.
Dissemination and association with various crops; their multiplications.
Cultural, biological, and chemical control of weeds.
Soil and Nutrient Management
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 Water Conservation
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.
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.
Agriculture Economics
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
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 Kendra’s (KVK) in dissemination of Agricultural technologies.
Non-Government Organization (NGO) and self-help group approach for rural development.
UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus (Paper-2)
Cell Biology & Genetics
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
Plant Breeding
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 Technology
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.
Plant Physiology
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
C3, C4 and CAM mechanisms.
Aerobic and anaerobic respiration; Factors affecting aerobic and anaerobic respiration
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.
Horticulture and Landscaping
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.
Plant Protection
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 Nutrition
Food production and consumption trends in India.
Food security and growing population – vision 2020, Food grain productivity and food security.
Reasons for grain surplus.
National and international food policies, Policy implementation in context to globalization.
Production, procurement, distribution constraints.Public Distribution System and Below Poverty Line population, Availability of food grains, per capita expenditure on food.
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.
