UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus 2024 for CSE Mains Paper 1 & 2

Macro topic 

Micro Topics

Ecology

– Ecology and its relevance to man, natural resources, their sustainable management and conservation.

– Physical and social environment as factors of crop distribution and production.

– Agroecology, cropping patterns 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.

– Advanced 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, oilseeds, fibres, sugar, commercial and fodder crops.

Forestry

– Important features and scope of various types of forestry plantations, such as social forestry, agroforestry, and natural forests.

– Propagation of forest plants. Forest products.

– Agroforestry 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 science 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 fertiliser recommendations, integrated nutrient management.

– Biofertilizers.

– Losses of nitrogen in the soil, nitrogen-use efficiency in submerged rice soils, and nitrogen fixation in soils.

– Efficient phosphorus and potassium use.

– Problem soils and their reclamation.

– Soil factors affecting greenhouse gas emission.

Soil and water conservation

– Soil conservation, integrated watershed management.

– Soil erosion and its management.

– Dryland agriculture and its problems.

– Technology for stabilising agriculture production in rainfed 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, the effect of industrial effluents on soil and water pollution.

– Irrigation projects in India.

Agricultural 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 and 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.

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 the dissemination of Agricultural technologies.

– Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and self-help group approach for rural development.

Macro topic

Micro topics

Cell biology/ Plant 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, and improvement of crop plants.

– Molecular markers and their application in plant improvement.

– Pure-line selection, pedigree, mass and recurrent selections, combining ability, and 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 fingerprinting 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 the process, aerobic and anaerobic respiration; C3, C4 and CAM mechanisms.

– Carbohydrates, protein and fat metabolism.

– Growth and development; photoperiodism and vernalisation.

– Plant growth substances and their role in crop production.

– Physiology of seed development and germination; dormancy.

– Stress physiology – draught, 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 Management

– Food production and consumption trends in India.

– Food security and growing population – Vision 2020.

– Reasons for grain surplus.

– National and international food policies.

– Production, procurement, and distribution constraints.

– Availability of food grains, per capita expenditure on food.

– Trends in poverty, Public Distribution System and Below Poverty Line population, Targeted Public Distribution System (PDS), policy implementation in context to globalisation.

– Processing constraints.

– Relation of food production to National Dietary Guidelines and food consumption patterns.

– Food-based dietary approaches to eliminate hunger.

– Nutrient deficiency – Micronutrient deficiency: Protein Energy – – Malnutrition or Protein Calorie Malnutrition (PEM or PCM), Micro nutrient deficiency and HRD in the context of the work capacity of women and children.

– Food grain productivity and food security.