Complete UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus

Ecosystem concept & structure Biotic & abiotic components Food chains & food webs Energy flow through ecosystems Biogeochemical cycles (N C P S Water) Ecological succession Biomes of India & world Biodiversity — types hotspots threats Conservation strategies — in-situ ex-situ Wildlife Protection Act & Forest Conservation Act

Cropping patterns as environmental indicators Agroclimatic zones of India (15 zones) Environmental pollution effects on crops Industrial effluents & heavy metal toxicity Pesticide contamination of soil & water

Greenhouse gases (CO2 CH4 N2O) Global warming & agriculture impact Paris Agreement Kyoto Protocol COP summits key decisions Carbon sequestration in agriculture Climate-smart agriculture strategies

RS principles & crop area estimation GIS for land use planning RESOURCESAT satellite applications Precision farming using GIS & GPS

Tillage — types objectives conservation tillage Crop stand establishment Seed bed preparation Sowing methods & plant geometry Crop density & plant population Crop growth analysis — CGR RGR NAR LAI

Cropping patterns in agroclimatic zones Multiple cropping — relay inter mixed sequence Cropping system intensification Farming systems — integrated & diversified Organic farming — principles & certification Sustainable agriculture & conservation agriculture

Rice — varieties agronomy water management Maize — hybrid production agronomy Sorghum Bajra — dryland agronomy Pulses — Urd Moong Arhar Soybean Oilseeds — Groundnut Sesame Castor Cotton — varieties spacing nutrition Sugarcane — planting methods ratoon management Jute — retting & fibre quality

Wheat — varieties agronomy irrigation Barley Oats — dual purpose Mustard — varieties & agronomy Chickpea Lentil Pea — pulse agronomy Potato — seed production agronomy Tobacco — types curing Fodder crops — Berseem Lucerne Napier Oats

Essential plant nutrients — functions deficiency symptoms Manures & fertilizers — types & application Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) Biofertilizers — Rhizobium Azotobacter PSB Fertilizer use efficiency & methods of application Soil testing & fertilizer recommendations

Irrigation scheduling — IW/CPE ratio Methods of irrigation — surface drip sprinkler Water use efficiency & water productivity Waterlogging — causes & remedial measures Drainage — surface & sub-surface Conjunctive use of water

Dryland vs rainfed — concepts Moisture conservation techniques — mulching contour bunding Contingent crop planning Watershed management — principles & planning In-situ & ex-situ moisture conservation Dry farming technologies

Weed classification — narrow-leaved broad-leaved sedges Biology of important weeds — Cyperus Phalaris Echinochloa Parthenium Crop-weed competition — critical period of crop-weed competition Weed indices — WCI WI Allelopathy & its applications Weed seed bank & dormancy

Cultural methods — crop rotation intercropping stale seed bed Mechanical methods — hand weeding hoeing Chemical weed control — pre & post emergence herbicides Herbicide classification & mode of action Herbicide selectivity & resistance Integrated Weed Management (IWM) Biological weed control Herbicide residues in soil & crops

Agrisilviculture — trees with crops Silvopastoral — trees with pasture Agrisilvopastoral — trees crops pasture Home gardens — multi-tier systems Alley cropping — hedgerow intercropping Taungya system — shifting cultivation alternative Trees outside forests (TOF)

Social forestry — objectives & programmes Farm forestry — scope & importance Forest policy of India — 1894 1952 1988 National Forest Policy 1988 Joint Forest Management (JFM) Community forestry Van Panchayats CAMPA & Green India Mission

Important timber species — Teak Sal Shisham Eucalyptus MPTs — Subabul Neem Gliricidia Casuarina Nursery techniques — seed treatment containers Silvicultural systems — coppice selection shelterwood Wasteland development & afforestation Forest mensuration basics

Soil texture — sand silt clay classification Soil structure — types & management Bulk density & particle density Porosity & pore size distribution Soil consistency & Atterberg limits Soil colour & Munsell notation Soil temperature & thermal properties Soil air — aeration & gaseous exchange

Soil colloids — types properties charge Clay minerals — kaolinite montmorillonite illite Cation exchange capacity (CEC) Anion exchange capacity (AEC) Soil pH — acidic alkaline saline sodic Base saturation & buffering capacity Soil organic matter — humus formation C:N ratio & decomposition

Soil profile — horizons A B C R Soil forming factors — Jenny equation Soil classification — USDA taxonomy orders Soil survey — methods mapping Major soil types of India — Alluvial Black Red Laterite Problem soils — saline sodic acid Soil health cards & soil testing

Soil erosion — types agents factors Water erosion — sheet rill gully Wind erosion — saltation suspension creep Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) Contour bunding & terracing Grassed waterways & check dams Strip cropping & shelter belts Reclamation of eroded lands

Watershed — concept & delineation Watershed development programmes — IWMP PMKSY Micro-watershed planning Rainwater harvesting — farm ponds percolation tanks Water budgeting & water balance Command area development Participatory approach in watershed management

Saline soils — characteristics & management Sodic/Alkali soils — gypsum requirement reclamation Acid soils — liming & management Waterlogged soils — drainage Soil amendments — organic & inorganic Salt-tolerant crop varieties

Farm planning & budgeting Cost concepts — A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 C3 Farm efficiency measures Production function — Cobb-Douglas Factor-product factor-factor product-product relationships Returns to scale Risk & uncertainty in agriculture

Agricultural marketing — functions channels Market structure — perfect & imperfect competition Price determination — demand & supply Agricultural price policy — MSP FRP APMC & e-NAM Contract farming & FPOs WTO & Agreement on Agriculture Food processing & value addition

Agricultural credit — institutional & non-institutional NABARD & cooperative credit structure Crop insurance — PMFBY Land reforms & tenancy Agricultural taxation Five Year Plans & agriculture National Agricultural Policy Doubling Farmers Income — strategies

Extension education — meaning philosophy principles Communication process — models elements barriers Teaching & learning process Extension teaching methods — individual group mass Audio-visual aids in extension Adoption & diffusion of innovations — Rogers model Adopter categories — innovators laggards

T&V system — Training & Visit ATMA — Agricultural Technology Management Agency KVK — Krishi Vigyan Kendra — role & functions ICAR-SAU extension system Farmers Field School (FFS) ICT in agricultural extension Digital agriculture & e-extension PRA & RRA — Participatory Rural Appraisal

Rural sociology — social structure & institutions Programme planning — steps & evaluation Leadership & group dynamics Community organization NGOs in agricultural development Gender mainstreaming in agriculture