Agriculture Optional for ACF – Course Details

Duration : 4 Months

Course Target

Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) – Agriculture Optional

Course Coverage

PAPER – I

Macro Topic	Micro Topics
Ecology & Environment	• Ecology and its relevance to man. • Natural resources, their sustainable management and conservation. • Physical and social environment as factors of crop distribution and production. • Climatic elements as factors of crop growth. • Impact of changing environment on cropping pattern as indicators of environments. • Environmental pollution and associated hazards to crops, animals and humans. • Cropping pattern in different agro-climatic zones of the country.
Agronomy & Cropping Systems	• Impact of high-yielding and short-duration varieties on shifts in cropping pattern. • Concepts of multiple cropping, multi-storey, relay and intercropping and their importance in relation to food production. • Package of practices for production of important cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fibres, sugar, commercial and fodder crops grown during Kharif and Rabi seasons in different regions of the country.
Forestry & Agroforestry	• Important features, scope and propagation of various types of forestry plantations. • Extension forestry. • Social forestry. • Agroforestry. • Natural forests.
Weed Science	• Weeds and their characteristics. • Dissemination and association with various crops. • Multiplication of weeds. • Cultural control of weeds. • Biological control of weeds. • Chemical control of weeds.
Soil Science	• Soil—physical, chemical and biological properties. • Processes and factors of soil formation. • Modern classification of Indian soils. • Mineral and organic constituents of soils and their role in maintaining soil productivity.
Soil Fertility & Nutrient Management	• Essential plant nutrients and other beneficial elements in soils and plants. • Principles of soil fertility and its evaluation for judicious fertilizer use. • Integrated Nutrient Management. • Losses of nitrogen in soil. • Nitrogen-use efficiency in submerged rice soils. • Nitrogen fixation in soils. • Fixation of phosphorus and potassium in soils and scope for their efficient use.
Problem Soils & Reclamation	• Problem soils and their reclamation methods. • Soil conservation planning on watershed basis. • Erosion and runoff management in hilly, foot-hill, valley lands. • Processes and factors affecting them.
Dryland Agriculture	• Dryland agriculture and its problems. • Technology of stabilising agriculture production in rainfed agriculture.
Water Management & Irrigation	• Water-use efficiency in relation to crop production. • Criteria for scheduling irrigation. • Ways and means of reducing run-off losses of irrigation water. • Drip irrigation. • Sprinkler irrigation. • Drainage of waterlogged soils. • Quality of irrigation water. • Effect of industrial effluents on soil and water pollution.
Farm Management & Agricultural Economics	• Farm management—scope, importance and characteristics. • Farm planning. • Optimum resource use and budgeting. • Economics of different types of farming systems.
Agricultural Marketing & Price Policy	• Marketing and pricing of agricultural inputs and outputs. • Price fluctuations and their cost. • Role of cooperatives in agricultural economy. • Types and systems of farming and factors affecting them. • Agricultural extension and its importance and role.
Agricultural Extension & Rural Development	• Methods of evaluation of extension programmes. • Socio-economic survey and status of big, small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers. • Farm mechanization and its role in agricultural production and rural employment. • Training programmes for extension workers. • Lab-to-land programmes.

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PAPER – II

Macro Topic	Micro Topics
Cell Biology	• Cell theory. • Cell structure. • Cell organelles and their functions. • Cell division. • Nucleic acids—structure and function. • Gene structure and function.
Genetics	• Laws of heredity and their significance in plant breeding. • Chromosome structure. • Chromosomal aberrations. • Linkage and crossing-over and their significance in recombination breeding. • Polyploidy. • Euploids and aneuploids. • Mutation—micro and macro—and their role in crop improvement. • Variation and components of variation. • Heritability. • Sterility and incompatibility—classification and 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 and evolution of crop plants. • Centres of origin. • Law of homologous series. • Crop genetic resources—conservation and utilisation. • Application of principles of plant breeding to improvement of major field crops.
Plant Breeding Methods	• Pure-line selection. • Pedigree selection. • Mass selection. • Recurrent selection. • Combining ability and its significance in plant breeding. • Hybrid vigour and its exploitation. • Backcross method of breeding. • Breeding for disease resistance. • Breeding for pest resistance. • Role of inter-specific and inter-generic hybridisation. • Role of biotechnology in plant breeding. • Improved varieties, hybrids and composites of various crop plants.
Seed Technology	• Seed technology and its importance. • Different kinds of seeds. • Seed production techniques. • Seed processing techniques. • Role of public and private sectors in seed production, processing and marketing in India.
Plant Physiology	• Physiology and its significance in agriculture. • Imbibition. • Surface tension. • Diffusion and osmosis. • Absorption and translocation of water. • Transpiration and water economy. • Enzymes and plant pigments.
Photosynthesis & Respiration	• Photosynthesis—modern concepts and factors affecting the process. • Aerobic and non-aerobic respiration. • C3, C4 and CAM mechanisms. • Carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism.
Plant Growth & Development	• Growth and development. • Photoperiodism. • Vernalisation. • Auxins, hormones and other plant regulators. • Mechanism of action and importance of plant regulators in agriculture. • Physiology of seed development and germination. • Dormancy.
Horticulture – Fruit, Vegetable & Flower Crops	• Climatic requirements and cultivation of major fruit plants, vegetable crops and flower plants. • Package of practices and their scientific basis. • Handling and marketing problems of fruits and vegetables.
Post-Harvest Technology	• Principal methods of preservation of important fruits and vegetable products. • Processing techniques and equipment. • Role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition.
Ornamental Horticulture	• Raising of ornamental plants. • Design and layout of lawns and gardens.
Plant Pathology & Entomology	• Diseases and pests of field crops, vegetables, orchard and plantation crops of India. • Causes and classification of plant pests and diseases. • Principles of control of plant pests and diseases. • Biological control of pests and diseases.
Integrated Pest & Disease Management	• Integrated pest and disease management. • Epidemiology and forecasting. • Pesticides—their formulations and modes of action. • Compatibility with rhizobial inoculants. • Microbial toxins.
Storage Pest Management	• Storage pests and diseases of cereals and pulses and their control.
Food Production & Food Policy	• Food production and consumption trends in India. • National and international food policies. • Production constraints. • Procurement constraints. • Distribution constraints. • Processing constraints.
Food & Nutrition	• Relation of food production to national dietary pattern. • Major deficiencies of calorie and protein.

 

Course Learning Outcome

After completing the course, a student should be able to:

• Understand the complete Agriculture Optional syllabus for ACF in a structured manner.

• Connect agricultural concepts with forestry, environment and natural-resource management.

• Explain major agronomic, ecological and soil-science concepts using appropriate terminology.

• Analyse agricultural problems from both scientific and economic perspectives.

• Use relevant examples, diagrams, processes and case-based applications while answering questions.

• Revise the subject through clearly defined macro topics and micro topics rather than scattered sources.

• Prepare the optional subject specifically according to the requirements of the ACF examination.