ICAR JRF Syllabus

 

Code 01: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

Subjects:

1.1: Plant Biochemistry/ Bio. Chem.
1.2: Plant Biotechnology & Molecular Biology/Biotechnology,
1.3: Plant Physiology/Crop Physiology

UNIT-I: Basic Sciences & General Agriculture: Importance of agriculture in national economy; basic principlesof crop production; cultivation of rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, andmango. Major soils of India; role of NPK and their deficiency symptoms. General structure and function of cell organelles; mitosis and meiosis; Mendelian genetics. Elementary knowledge of growth, development,photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration; Elements of economic botany. General structure and functionof carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes and vitamins. Major pests and diseases of rice, wheat,cotton, chickpea, sugarcane and their management. Organic farming; biofertilizers; biopesticides.Recombinant DNA technology; transgenic crops. Important rural development programmes in India;organizational set up of agricultural research, education and extension in India. Elements of statistics.

UNIT-II: Plant Biochemistry: Importance of biochemistry in agriculture. Acid-base concept and buffers; pH.Classification, structure and metabolic functions of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Structure andfunction of nucleic acids. Enzymes: structure, nomenclature, mechanism of action; vitamins and mineralsas coenzymes and cofactors. Metabolic pathways: glycolysis, TCA cycle, fatty acid oxidation, triglyceridebiosynthesis. Electron transport chain; ATP formation. Photosynthesis: C-3, C-4 and CAM pathways. Nitrate assimilation; biological nitrogen fixation. Colorimetric and chromatographic techniques

UNIT-III: Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology/Biotechnology: Characteristics of prokaryotic andeukaryotic organisms; differences between fungi, bacteria, mycoplasms and viruses. Physical and chemicalbasis of heredity; chromosome structure. DNA replication, transcription and translation; genetic code;operon concept. Genetic engineering; restriction enzymes; vectors; gene cloning; gene transfer. Plantcell and tissue culture; micro-propagation; somaclonal variation. Transformation; recombination; Heterosis.General application of biotechnology. Molecular and immunological techniques. Concept of bioinformatics,genomics and proteomics.

UNIT-IV: Plant Physiology/ Crop Physiology: Plant physiology– importance in agriculture. Seed germination,viability and vigour. Photosynthesis- significance of C-3, C-4 and CAM pathway; photorespiration and itsimplications. Translocation of assimilates; dry matter partitioning; Harvest index of crops. Growth anddevelopment; growth analysis; crop-water relationship. Plant nutrients and their functions. Phytohormonesand their physiological role. Photo-periodism, vernalisation; pollination/ fertilization in flowering plants.Post-harvest physiology and its significance.

Code 02: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – PLANT SCIENCES
Subjects:

2.1: Plant Breeding & Genetics,
2.2: Plant Pathology,
2.3: Agricultural Microbiology/Microbiology,
2.4: Seed Science & Technology,
2.5: Plant Genetic Resources

UNIT-I: Importance of Agriculture in national economy; basic principles of crop production; cultivation of rice,wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, potato and mango. Major soils of India,role of NPK and their deficiency symptoms.

UNIT-II: Structure and function of cell organelles; mitosis and meiosis; Mendelian genetics; elementary knowledgeof photosynthesis; respiration, and transpiration; structure and functions of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleicacids, enzymes and vitamins. Major pests and diseases of rice, wheat, cotton, chickpea, sugarcane andtheir management.

UNIT-III: Characteristics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, differences between fungi, bacteria, mycoplasmasand viruses; physical and chemical basis of heredity; chromosome structure; genes/operon concept;protein biosynthesis; transformation, recombination, Heterosis; Elements of economic botany; integrated diseases management; sterilisation, disinfection and pasteurization; Koch’s postulates; etiological agents of rusts, smuts, powdery/downy mildews, wilts, yellows, mosaic, necrosis, enations, blights and witchesbroom; pH, buffer, vitamins, role of plant hormones in seed germination and dormancy; pollination/
fertilization in flowering plants; methods of seed testing; breeders, foundation and certified seeds; seed production in self and cross pollinated crops, nitrate assimilation; biological nitrogen fixation and otheruses of microorganisms in agriculture.

UNIT-IV: Food and industry; composting and biogas production. Important rural development programmes in India;organizational set up of agricultural research, education and extension in India.

Check Out these Books for JRF preparation -->> click HERE

Code 03: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Subjects:

3.1: Agricultural Meteorology/ Agrometero
3.2: Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry/ SoilConservation and Water Management/ SWC/ Irrigation and Water Management, 3.3: Agricultural Physics,
3.4: Agricultural Chemicals,
3.5: Environmental Science

UNIT-I: Importance of Agriculture in national perspective; basic principles of crop production, diversification,diversification of Agriculture, principle of nutrient and water management, package of practices for rice,wheat sorghum, maize, chickpea, pigeon pea, potato, sugarcane, groundnut, major vegetable crops.Role of essential plant nutrients, their deficiency symptoms and management options. Structure andfunction of plant cells, cell division, Basic concept of plant physiology relating to crop production Biochemical compounds viz, carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, fats, liquid vitamins and their function,developmental programmes relating to rural upliftment and livelihood security; organisational set up ofagricultural education research and extension and future strategies for up gradation.

UNIT-II: Volumetric and gravimetric analysis including complexmetric methods, periodic classification of element,Basic principle of instrumental analysis including spectro-photometry (Absorption and emissionspectrography), Atomic structure –elementary concept of radioactivity, element and compound commonion effect, solubility product—hydrolysis of salts, buffer solution indicates equivalent weights and standardsolution.Elementary concepts of organic compounds- nomenclature and classifications including hydrocarbons,alcohol, aldehydes, acids and esters, carbohydrates, fats and liquids, amino acids, nucleic acids. Pesticides,their classification and uses; biopesticides and botanical pesticides.

UNIT-III: Soil as a medium for plant growth, composition of earth’s crust, weathering of rocks and minerals,components of soil- their importance, soil profile, soil partials- physical mineralogical and chemical nature.Mechanical analysis, Stokes law, assumptions, limitations and applications. Soil, physical properties density, porosity, texture, soil structure and their brief descriptions. Rheological properties in soils,calculations of porosity and bulk density. Soil air-Aeration, causes of poor aeration, factors affecting
aeration, importance for plant growth. Soil temperature – sources and losses of soil heat. Factors affectingsoil temperature, its importance in plant growth. Soil water- structure of water, soil-water-energyrelationship, classifications, surface tension and movement in soil. Soil colloids- properties, structure ofsilicate clay minerals, sources of negative charges, properties, kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite andvermiculite clay minerals, milli-equivalent concept , cation exchange capacity, anion exchange capacity,
buffering of soils. Problem soils- acid, saline, sodic and acid sulphate soils – their characteristics, formation,problems and management. Irrigation, water quality and its evaluation. Waterlogged soils- basic features,distinction with upland soils.

UNIT-IV: Essential plant nutrients- criteria of essentiality, functions for plant growth, mechanisms for movement anduptake of ions in soils and plants, Forms of nutrients in soils, deficiency symptoms on plants, luxury consumption, nutrient interactions and chelated micronutrients. Soil fertility, evaluation and management for plant growth, soil testing and fertilizer recommendations. Soil classifications- diagnostic surface and sub-surface horizons, soil survey- types, objectives, uses, land capability classifications. Remote sensing and its application in agriculture, SIS, GIS and GPS- basic features and uses in agriculture, Elementary concepts of radio isotopes and uses in agriculture. Soil micro-organisms, Classifications and their roles.Organic matter- decomposition, C:N ratios, mineralization and immobilization processes, humus, role oforganic matter in soil quality. Soil erosion, types and control measures. Fertilizers and manures- classifications,NPK fertilizers, their reactions in soils, green manuring, recycling of organic wastes, composting. Soil and water pollution- sources, brief idea about different pollutants in soils and their managements.

Code 04: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – ENTOMOLOGY AND NEMATOLOGY
Subjects:

4.1: Agricultural/ Horticultural Entomology,
4.2: Nematology,
4.3: Apiculture,
4.4: Sericulture,
4.5: Plant Protection.

UNIT-I: Importance of Agriculture in national economy; basic principles of crop production; cultivation of rice,wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, cole crops, mango, grapes, banana, oilseedsother than groundnut, soybean and mustard. Major soils of India, role of NPK and their deficiency symptoms. Mendelian genetics; elementary knowledge of photosynthesis; respiration, and transpiration;Major cropping systems (rice-wheat cropping, crop rotations, mixed cropping); soil degradation-soil salinity and acidity and management; some aspects of post-harvest technology; varietal improvement; importance of Heterosis in crop production; crop protection principles in field and storage. Major insect pests and diseases of agricultural crops like rice, cotton, pulses, oilseed crops like groundnut, soybean and mustard,vegetables like tomato, cole crops; fruit crops like mango and banana and their management principles.Transgenic crops. Important rural development programmes in India; organizational set up of agricultural research, education and extension in India; Elements of statistics.

UNIT-II: Classification of animal kingdom up to class; distinguishing characters up to orders in class Insecta;general organization of an insect external morphology with special reference to lepidopteran larvae,coleopteran adults; and honeybee; metamorphosis and moulting; different physiological systems; insectplant relationship; insect pests of agricultural and horticultural crops, and their stored/processed products,insect vectors of plant diseases- identification, biology, nature of damage, and their management tactics; and pests of household, medical and veterinary importance and their control; useful and beneficial insectslike honeybee, lac insect, silkworm and pollinators; Nematode taxonomy, biology of important plant parasiticnematodes and their control; entomopathogenic nematodes, basic principles of insect and nematodepest management-cultural, biological, insecticidal, quarantine, and regulatory aspects; insecticide classification and insecticide resistance management; and insect protective transgenic crops.

Code 05: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – AGRONOMY
Subjects:

5.1: Agronomy/Forage Production/
5.2: Tea Husbandry

UNIT-I: General: Importance of Agriculture in national economy; basic principles of crop production; cultivation ofrice, wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, potato. Major soils ofIndia, role of NPK and their deficiency symptoms. Structure and function of cell organelles; mitosis andmeiosis; Mendelian genetics: elementary knowledge of photosynthesis; respiration, photorespiration and transpiration; structure and functions of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes and vitamins.Major pests and diseases of rice, wheat, cotton, chickpea, sugarcane and their management. Important rural development programmes in India; organisational set up of agricultural research, education and extension in India; Elements of statistics.

UNIT-II: Principles of Agronomy, Crop ecology and geography and Agricultural Meteorology: Agronomy –meaning and scope, National & International agricultural research institutes in India, Agro climatic zones of India,Tillage, crop stand establishment and planting geometry and their effect on crop, Physiological limits of crop yield and variability in relation to ecological optima, organic farming, Precision farming, Integrated farming systems, Principles of field experimentation. Principles of crop ecology and crop adaptation,climate shift and its ecological implications, Agro-ecological regions in India, Geographical distribution ofcrop plants, Greenhouse effect, Climatic factors and their effect on plant processes and crop productivity,Role of GIS and GPS in agriculture. Weather & climate, Earth’s atmosphere, Solar radiation, Atmospherictemperature and global warming. Crops and atmospheric humidity, Weather forecasting.

UNIT-III: Field crops: Origin, distribution, economic importance, soil and climatic requirement, varieties, culturalpractices and yield of cereals ( rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, minor millets, barley), pulses(chickpea, lentil, peas, Pigeon pea, mungbean, urdbean), oilseeds (groundnut, sesame, soybean,rapeseed & mustard, sunflower, safflower, linseed), fiber crops (cotton, jute, sun hemp), sugarcrops(sugarcane), fodder & forage crops (sorghum, maize, napier, berseem, Lucerne, oats), medicinal &aromatic plants (menthe, lemon grass and isabgol) and commercial crops(potato, tobacco).

UNIT-IV: Weed management: Principles of weed management, Classification, biology and ecology of weeds, cropweed competition and allelopathy, concepts and methods of weed control, Integrated weed management,Classification, formulations, selectivity and resistance of herbicides, Herbicide persistence in soil andplants, Application methods and equipments, Weed flora shifts in cropping systems, Special and problematic weeds and their management in cropped and non-cropped situations, Weed managementin field crops.

UNIT-V: Water management: Principles of irrigation, Water resources and irrigation development in India, Water and irrigation requirements, Concepts and approaches of irrigation scheduling, Methods of irrigation,Measurement of irrigation water, application, distribution and use efficiencies, Conjunctive use of water,Irrigation water quality and its management, water management in major field, crops (rice, wheat, maize,groundnut, sugarcane) Agricultural drainage.

UNIT-VI: Soil fertility and fertilizer use: Essential plant nutrients and their deficiency symptoms, concept of essentialit of plant nutrients, Indicators of soil fertility and productivity, Fertilizer materials and their availability toplants, slow release fertilizers, Nitrification inhibitors, Principles and methods of fertilizer application,Integrated nutrient management, site specific nutrient management.

UNIT-VII: Dryland Agronomy: Characteristics of Dryland farming and delineation of Dryland tracts, constraints ofDryland farming in India, Types of drought and their management, contingency crop planning and midseason corrections for aberrant weather and its recycling. Watershed management.

UNIT-VIII: Problem soils : Problem soils and their distribution in India, Characteristics and reclamation of these soils, Crop production techniques in problem soils.

UNIT-IX: Sustainable land use systems: Sustainable agriculture: parameters and indicators, Conservation agriculture,safe disposal of agri-industrial waste for crop production, Agro-forestry systems, shifting cultivation,Alternate land use systems, Wastelands and their remediation for crop production.

Code 06: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – SOCIAL SCIENCES
Subjects:

6.1: Agricultural Economics,
6.2: Agriculture Extension Education/ Communication Development,
6.3: Dairy Economics,
6.4: Dairy Extension Education

UNIT-I: Importance of Agriculture in national economy; basic principles of crop production; cultivation of rice,wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato and mango. Major soils of India, role ofNPK and their deficiency symptoms. Structure and function of cell organelles, mitosis and meiosis;Mendelian genetics; elementary knowledge of photosynthesis; respiration, and transpiration; structureand functions of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes and vitamins. Major pests and diseases
of rice, wheat, cotton, chickpea, sugarcane and their management. Important rural developmentprogrammes in India; organisational set up of agricultural research, education and extension in India;Elements of statistics. Measures of central tendency and dispersion, regression and correlation; conceptof probability, sampling techniques and tests of significance.

UNIT-II: Theory of consumer behaviour, theory of demand, elasticity of demand, indifference curve analysis,theory of firm, cost curves, theory of supply, price determination, market classification, concept ofmacroeconomics, money and banking, national income. Agricultural marketing—role, practice, institutions,problems and reforms, role of capital and credit in agriculture, crop insurance, credit institutions,cooperatives, capital formation in agriculture, agrarian reforms, globalization, WTO & its impact on Indianagriculture.

UNIT-III: Basic principles of farm management, concept of farming system and economics of farming systems,agricultural production economics-scope and analysis, factor-product relationship, marginal cost and marginal revenue, farm planning and budgeting, Agricultural finance: nature and scope. Time value of money, Compounding and discounting. Agricultural credit: meaning, definition, need, classification. Credit analysis: 4R’s, 5C’s and 7 P’s of credit, repayment plans. History of financing agriculture in India. Commercial banks, nationalization of commercial banks. Lead bank scheme, regional rural banks, scale of finance. Higher financing agencies, RBI, NABARD, AFC, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, role of capital and credit in agriculture; credit institutions, co-operatives and agrarian reforms in India.

UNIT-IV: Extension Education- concept, meaning, principles, philosophy, scope and importance; Extension programme planning and evaluation- steps and principles, models of organizing agricultural extension;historical development of extension in USA, Japan and India. Rural development, meaning, importanceand problems; Rural development programmes in India- Pre-independence era to recent ones; Extensionteaching methods, definition and concept of sociology, differences between rural & urban communities,social stratification., social groups, social organization and social change. Rural leadership, educationalpsychology- learning and teaching, role of personality in agricultural extension Indian rural system- itscharacteristics; value system, cost and class; structure and customs; rural group organization and adulteducation.

UNIT-V: Communication, principles, concepts, process, elements and barriers in teaching methods. Differenkinds of communication methods and media and AV aids/materials. Media mix, Campaign, Cyber extensioninternet, cybercafé, Kisan Call Centers, teleconferencing, agriculture journalism, diffusion and adoptionof innovations- adopter categories, capacity building of extension personnel and farmers- training tofarmers, women and rural youth.

Code 07: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – STATISTICAL SCIENCES
Subjects:

7.1: Agricultural Statistics,
7.2: Statistics,
7.3: Computer Application,
7.4: Bioinformatics

UNIT-I: Agriculture: Importance of Agriculture/Forestry/Livestock in national economy. Basic principles of cropproduction. Major diseases and pests of crops. Elementary principles of economics and agri-extension.Important rural development programmes in India. Organizational set up of Agricultural research, educationand extension in India.

UNIT-II: Mathematics: Real and complex numbers; polynomial and roots; de Moivre’s theorem and its applications.Elements of set theory- De Morgan’s laws; vector space, linear independence, orthogonality; matricesaddition and multiplication, rank of a matrix, determinants, inverse of a matrix, solution of a system oflinear equations, characteristic roots and vectors; convergence of infinite sequences and infinite seriestests for convergence, absolute convergence; co-ordinate geometry in two dimensions – line, circle,
parabola, ellipse and hyperbola.Differential calculus: limits, differentiation of function of a single variable; Taylor’s and Maclaurin’s theorems,mean-value theorem; maxima and minima; indeterminate form; curvature, asymptotes, tracing of curves,function of two or more independent variables, partial differentiation, homogeneous functions and Euler’stheorem, composite functions, total derivatives, derivative of an implicit function, change of variables,Jacobians. Integral calculus: integration by simple methods, standard forms, simple definite integrals,double integrals, change of order of integration, Gamma and Beta functions, application of double integralsto find area. Ordinary differential equations: differential equations of first order, Exact and Bernoulli’sdifferential equations, equations reducible to exact form by integrating factors, equations of first orderand higher degree, Clairaut’s equation, methods of finding complementary functions and particularintegrals.Calculus of finite differences, interpolation; numerical differentiation and integration, difference equations;solution of simple non-linear equations by numerical methods like Newton- Raphson method.

UNIT-III: Introduction: Statistics – definition, use and limitations; Frequency Distribution and Curves; Measures of Central Tendency: Arithmetic mean; Geometric mean, Harmonic mean, Median, Mode; Measures ofDispersion: Range, Mean deviation, Quartile deviation, Variance and Coefficient of Variation; Probability efinition and concepts, law of addition and multiplication, conditional probability, Bayes’ theorem; Binomial,multinomial, Poisson and normal distribution; Introduction to Sampling: Random Sampling; StandardError; Tests of Significance – Types of Errors, Null Hypothesis, Level of Significance, Testing of hypothesis;Large Sample Test- SND test for Means, Single Sample and Two Samples; Student’s t-test for SingleSample, Two Samples and Paired t test. F test; Chi-Square Test for goodness of fit and independence ofattributes; Correlation and Regression and associated tests of significance. Experimental Designs: basicprinciples, Analysis of variance, Completely Randomized Design (CRD), Randomized Block Design (RBD).

UNIT-IV: Computers: input, output devices, memory, hardware, software; Classification, booting computer. Viruses,worms and antivirus. Operating System- some DOS commands, FORMAT, DIR, COPY, PATH, MD, CDand DELTREE. Types of files. WINDOWS: Desktop and its elements, WINDOWS Explorer, working withfiles and folders; setting time and date. Anatomy of WINDOWS. Applications – MSWORD: Word processingfeatures- Creating, Editing, Formatting and Saving; MSEXCEL: Electronic spreadsheets, concept,packages. Creating, editing and saving a spreadsheet. In-built statistical and other functions. Excel dataanalysis tools, Correlation and regression, t-test for two-samples and ANOVA with one-way classification.Creating graphs. MS Power Point and its features. MSACCESS: Concept of Database, creating database;Computer programming: Flow charts and Algorithms, Programming languages- BASIC, FORTRAN andC. Internet: World Wide Web (WWW), Concepts, web browsing and electronic mail. Bioinformatics - NCBI Genebank sequence database- primary and secondary database.

Code 08: MAJOR SUBJECT GROUP – HORTICULTURE
Subjects:

8.1: Horticulture,
8.2: Vegetable Crops/ Sci, Olericulture,
8.3: Pomology Fruit Sc., Fruit and Orchard Crops, Management of Plantation Crops, Fruit Breeding
8.4: Post-harvest Technology of Horticultural Crops/ PHM,
8.5: Floriculture & Landscaping,
8.6: Spices and Plantation Crops/Medicinal and Aromatic Plants)

UNIT-I: Importance of Agriculture in national economy; basic principles of crop production; cultivation of rice,wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato and mango. Major soils of India, role ofNPK and their deficiency symptoms. Structure and function of cell organelles; mitosis and meiosis;Mendelian genetics; elementary knowledge of photosynthesis; respiration, and transpiration; structureand functions of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes and vitamins. Major pests and diseases
of rice, wheat, cotton, chickpea, sugarcane and their management. Important rural developmentprogrammes in India; organizational set up of agricultural research, education and extension in India;Elements of statistics.

UNIT-II: Layout and establishment of orchards; pruning and training; propagation, climatic requirement and cultivation of fruits like mango, banana, citrus, guava, grape, pineapple, papaya, apple, pear, peach and plum; cultivation of plantation crops like coconut and cashew nut and spices like black pepper, coriander,turmeric, important physiological disorders; major vegetable crops of tropical, subtropical and temperateregions ‘like cole crops (cauliflower, cabbage and knol khol), cucurbits (pumpkin, bottlegourd, bittergourd,
luffa, muskmelon and watermelon, cucumber), root crops (radish, tapioca sweet potato and potato), leafyvegetables (fenugreek and spinach); solanaceous crops (tomato, chillies and brinjal); techniques forraising the nursery; nutritive value of fruits and vegetables and their role in human nutrition; basic physiologyof ripening in fruits and vegetables and their products; type of fruits and vegetable products and control of fungal and bacterial diseases; major floricultural crops grown in India for commercial purposes like rose,
carnation, chrysanthemum, marigold, tuberose, gladiolus, orchids; establishment and maintenance of lawns, trees, shrubs, creepers, hedges and annuals; type of gardens, methods of crop improvement;male sterility and incompatibility; pure line and pedigree selection; backcross, mass selection; heterosis;plant nutrients, deficiency symptoms of nutrients, manures and fertilisers, systems of irrigation,management of important pests and diseases of fruits and vegetables.