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UPSC Syllabus for Agriculture Optional

Agriculture is one among the 48 optional subject list provided by the UPSC. Agriculture optional paper focuses on examining the ability of the candidates to understand the subject as science and apply their knowledge to solve problems faced by people in the real world. The agriculture optional paper for the civil service examination consists of two papers with 250 marks each. The total marks awarded for this paper will be 500. 

 

Agriculture Syllabus for UPSC

 

The candidates who opt for agriculture optional subject in the UPSC Civil Service Examination opinion that the syllabus is interesting and relevant to the issues faced by the farmers in the country. When compared to other optional subjects, this subject is easy, especially the UPSC candidates who are coming from remote areas. This is because of an understanding of traditional knowledge and proper apprehension regarding the issues faced by the farmers in the country. 

 

Syllabus for UPSC Agriculture Optional Paper I

 

  • Ecology and its relevance to human, and natural resources, their sustainable management and conservation. 
    • Physical and social environment as elements for crop distribution and production. 
    • Agroecology, cropping pattern as indicators of environments. Environmental pollution and related hazards to crops, animals and humans. 
    • Change in Climate- international conventions and global initiatives. Greenhouse effect and global warming. Innovative tools for ecosystem analysis including Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

 

  • Cropping Patterns that prevailed in different agro-climatic zones of the country. Influence of high-yielding and short-duration varieties of crops transfer in the cropping patterns. Conceptualisation of different cropping and farming systems. 
    • Organic and Precision farming. 
    • Packages for exercising the production of main cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fibres, sugar, commercial and fodder crops.

 

  • Crucial features and scope of various types of forestry plantations including social forestry, agroforestry, and natural forest. Transmission of forest plants. Forest products. Agroforestry and value addition. Conservation of the forest flora and fauna. 

 

  • Weeds, their characteristics, dissemination and association with various crops, their multiplication, Cultural biology, as well as their chemical control. 
    • Soil- physical, chemical and biological properties. Processes and factors of soil formation. Indian soils, minerals and organic constitution of soils and their role in maintaining the productivity in soil. 
    • Essential plant nutrients and other beneficial elements present in soils and plants. 
    • Fundamentals of soil fertility, soil testing and fertilizer recommendations, integrated nutrient management. 
    • Biofertilizers, losses of nitrogen in the soil, efficiency of nitrogen use in submerged rice soils, fixation of nitrogen 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. 
    • Dryland agriculture and its problems. 
    • Technology for balancing agricultural production in non-irrigated areas. 
    • Water-use efficiency about crop production, criteria for scheduling irrigation, ways and means of reducing runoff losses of irrigation water. 
    • Rainwater harvesting. Drip and sprinkler irrigation. Drainage of waterlogged soils, quality of water irrigation, effects 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. Benefits of different types of farming systems. 
    • Marketing management – strategies for development, market intelligence. Price fluctuations and their cost; 
    • Role of cooperatives in agricultural economy;
    • Types and systems of farming and factors affecting them. 
    • Agricultural price policy. Crop insurance. 

 

  • Extension of Agriculture, 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 distributing Agricultural technologies. 
    • Approach of Non-Government Organisation (NGO) and self-help group for rural development.

 

Syllabus for UPSC Agriculture Optional Paper II

 

  • The structure of the Cell, its function and the cell cycle. 
    • Synthesis, structure and function of genetic material. 
    • Laws of heredity
    • Structure of chromosomes, chromosomal aberration, relationship and cross-over and their importance in recombination breeding
    • Polyploids, euploids and aneuploids
    • Mutations and their role in crop improvement
    • Heritability, sterility and incompatibility; their categorisation and implementation 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 and their center of origin, the law of homologous series, crop genetic resources conservation and utilisation.
    • Application of principles in plant breeding and improvement of crop plants
    • Molecular markers and their application in the improvement of plant
    • Pure-line selection, pedigree, mass and recurrent selections, combining ability and its importance in the breeding of plants
    • Heterosis and its Exploitation
    • Somatic hybridization
    • Breeding for resisting disease and pest
    • 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, testing and storage
    • DNA fingerprint and seed registration
    • Function of public and private sectors in the production of seed and its marketing
    • Problems related to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and WTO and their influence on Agriculture.

 

  • Principles of Plant Physiology based on plant nutrition, absorption, translocation and metabolism of nutrients
    • Relationship between soil, water and plant

 

  • Enzymes and plant pigments
    • Photosynthesis: latest concepts and factors affecting the process, aerobic and anaerobic respiration; C3, C4 and CAM mechanisms.
    • Metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fat
    • Growth and development of photoperiodism and vernalisation
    • Plant growth substances and their function in the production of crop
    • Physiology of seed development and germination, dormancy
    • Stress physiology: draught, salt and water stress

 

  • Important fruits, plantation crops, vegetables, spices and flower crops. 
    • Package practices of important horticulture crops
    • Protected cultivation and high-tech horticulture
    • Post-harvest technology and value addition of horticulture including fruits and vegetables
    • Landscaping 
    • Commercial floriculture
    • Plants that fall under the medicine and aromatic categories
    • Role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition

 

  • Diagnosis of pests and diseases in field crops, vegetables, orchard and plantation crops and their economic relevance
    • Classification of pests, diseases and their management
    • Integrated pest and disease management
    • Storage pests and their management
    • Biological control of pests and diseases
    • Epidemiology and prediction of important crop pests and diseases
    • Measures for plant quarantine
    • Pesticides, their formulation and modes of action

 

  • Trends of Food production and consumption in India
    • Vision 2020: Food security and growing population
    • Causes for grain surplus
    • National and International food policies
    • Constraints on production, procurement, distribution 
    • Accessibility of food grains (Per Capita expenditure on food)
    • Trends in Poverty
    • Public Distribution System
    • Below Poverty Line Population
    • Targeted Public Distribution System (PDS)
    • Policy implementation in the context of globalisation
    • Constraints in processing
    • Relation between food production to National dietary guidelines and food consumption pattern
    • Dietary approaches based on food to eradicate hunger
    • Nutrient and Micronutrient Deficiency: Protein Energy Malnutrition or Protein Calorie Malnutrition (PEM or PCM)
    • Micronutrient deficiency and HRD (for Women and Children)
    • Food Grain Production and Food Security