Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology (1) Udaipur Syllabus for the post of Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy) Unit 1: Weed Management Weeds: definition, losses caused, classification, biology, ecology and allelopathy; Crop weed interference and factors affecting; Principles and methods of weed control; Herbicide classifications, structures and formulations, modes of action, selectivity and resistance and its management; Persistence of herbicides in soils and plants; Herbicide application methods and equipments; Herbicide mixtures, interactions and rotations; Adjuvants and their role in herbicide formulations; Biological weed control, bio-herbicides; Integrated weed management; Parasitic weeds of India and their management; Weed management in major crops and cropping systems; Aquatic weeds and their control; Transgenic herbicide resistant crops and varieties. 7 Unit 2: Water Management Soil water relations, water retention by soil moisture racteristics, soil moisture constants; Soil irrigability, classifications, factors affecting profile water storage; Determination of soil water content, computation of soil water depletion, soil water potential and its components; Movement of soil water saturated and unsaturated water flow; Deep percolation, capillary rise; Evapotranspiration (ET), measures for reducing ET; Management of irrigation water; Major irrigation projects in India; Water resources development; Crop water requirements; Concepts of irrigation scheduling, Different approaches of irrigation scheduling; Soil water depletion plant indices and climatic parameters; Concept of critical stages of crop growth in relation to water supplies; Crop modeling, crop coefficients; Methods of irrigation viz surface methods, overhead methods, drip imrigation and air conditioning irrigation; Measurement of irrigation water, application and distribution efficiencies; Management of water resources (rain, canal and ground water) for agricultural production; Irrigation legislation; Water quality, conjunctive use of water, irrigation strategies under different situation of water availability, optimum crop plans and cropping patterns in canal command areas; Irrigation water distribution, Irrigation efficiencies; Design of irrigation canals, design of irrigation structures; Interaction between inrigation and fertilizers. Excess of soil water and plant growth; Water management in problem soils; Drainage requirement of crops and methods of field drainage, their layout and spacing. Unit 3: Soil Fertility and Fertilizer Use History of soil fertility and fertilizer use; Concept of essentiality of plant nutrients, Essential plant nutrients: their function and deficiency symptoms, critical concentrations in plants; ‘Nutrient interactions; Soil fertility & productivity and factors affecting; Transformations and dynamics of plant nutrients; Fertilizer materials including liquid fertilizers, their composition, vn Page 1 of 4 Tofessor & Head Jepartment of Agronomy ROA. Udaipur-313001mineralization, availability and reaction products in soils; water solubility of phosphate fertilizers, Slow release fertilizers, nitrification inhibitors; Principles and methods of fertilizer application; Integrated nutrient management; Bio-fertilizers; Nutrient management in crops and cropping systems; Agronomic and physiological efficiency and recovery of anphied nlant nutrients; Criteria for determining fertilizer schedules for cropping systems - direct, residual and cumulative effects, Fertilizer related environmental problems including ground water pollution; Precision farming tools for fertility management; Site-specific nutrient management; Classification and reclamation of saline and sodic soils; Nutrient management of saline and sodie soils. Unit 4: Agrometeorology and Crop Weather Forecasting Agrometeorology, weather and climate, micro-climate, weather elements; Earths’ atmosphere: composition and structure; solar radiation: nature, properties, depletion, solar constant and energy balance; Radiation distribution in plant canopies, radiation utilization by field crops; Photosynthesis and efficiency of radiation utilization by field crops; Energy budget of plant canopies; Atmospheric temperature: factors affecting, horizontal and vertical distribution variations; Temperature profile in air, soil, crop canopies; Soil and air temperature effects on plant process; Heat conductance and flow through soil; Environmental moisture and evaporation; Measures of atmospheric temperature and relative humidity, vapour pressure and their relationship; Evapotranspiration and meteorological factors determining evapotranspiration; Air pressure: variations; Wind: factors affecting cyclones and anticyclones and general circulation; Atmospheric humidity: vapor pressure and saturation, process of condensation, formation of dew, fog, mist, snow, rain and hail; Formation and classification of clouds; Introduction to monsoon: origin, characteristics of monsoon; onset, progress and withdrawal of monsoon; weather hazards, drought monitoring and planning for mitigation. Basics of weather forecasting; Benefits of weather services to agriculture, forecasting of destructive frosts, soil moisture forecast, phenological forecast & crop yield forecast; Remote sensing: application in agriculture and its present status in India; Climate change and global warming: its impact on agriculture; Climate resilient agriculture: mitigation and adaptation against climate change. Unit 5: Dryland Agronomy, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Concept of dryland farming; dryland farming vs rainfed farming; History, development, significance and constraints of dryland agriculture in India; Climate classification and delineation of dryland tracts; Characterization of agro-climatic environments of drylands; Types of drought, drought syndrome, effect on plant growth, Plant adaptation to drought: drought resistance, drought avoidance & tolerance: Drought management: Crop planning, including contingency planning, crop diversification, varieties, cropping systems, conservation cropping and mid-season corrections for aberrant weather conditions; Techniques of moisture conservation in-situ to reduce evapotranspiration, runoff and to increase infiltration; Antitranspirants; Soil and crop management practices in dryland agriculture; Rain water . Page 2 of x Telessor & Heat! Denarament of Agronomy ROR Udaipue 313004Bre harvesting and recycling concept, techniques and practices; aqua-fertigation; Soil consérv: definition; Land use capability classification; Alternate land use systems including agro- forestry and ley farming; Methods of soil conservation; agronomic measures - contour in, strip exopping, cover. crops; vegetative barlars; improved dey farming prasticssy mechanical measures - bunding, gully control, bench terracing; role of grasses and pastures in soil conservation; wind breaks and shelter belts. Watershed management: definition, objectives, concepts, approach, components, steps in implementation of watershed; development of cropping systems for watershed areas; Agronomic and mechanical measures in watershed management. Unit 6: Organic Farming Introduction, concept, relevance in present context and future prospects; Organic production requirements; Principles, objectives and components of organic farming; Biological intensive nutrient management-organic manures, composting, vermicomposting, green manuring, recycling of organic residues, Farming systems — crop rotations, multiple and relay cropping systems, intercropping in relation to maintenance of soil productivity; biofertilizers; Soil improvement and amendments; Integrated diseases and pest management ~ use of biocontrol agents, biopesticides, pheromones, trap crops, bird perches; Weed management; Integrated organic farming systems; Socio-economic impacts of organic farming; Quality considerations, certification, labeling and accreditation processes, marketing, exports.; Barriers in organic farming. Unit 7: Crop Production Origin, history, distribution, adaption, climate, soil season, modem varieties, fertilizer requirements, intercultural operations, water requirement, weed control, quality components, industrial use, economics and post harvest technology of cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds, legumes, fiber crops, sugar crops, tuber crops, tobacco, fodder & forage and medicinal crops (opium poppy and blond psyllium) Unit Sustainable Agriculture and Integrated Farming Systems Sustainable agriculture: Introduction, definition, goal and current concepts; Indices of sustainability; Emerging issues for present day technologies; Factors affecting ecological balance; Ameliorative measures and management practices for sustainable agriculture viz. soil, water sources, rain water and integrated pest management; Land degradation and conservation of natural resources; LEISA, LEIA & HEIA; Irrigation problems, waste lands and their development. Farming systems: definition, principles, scope and components; IFS models for wetland, irrigated, and dryland situations; Components of farming systems; Interactions among, components of different enterprises; Resource management under constrained situations; Low cost and non-monetary inputs particularly for wasteland and problematic soils; Production potential of different components of farming systems; interaction and mechanism of different production factors; stability in different systems through research; Eco-physiological Page 3 of fy