IBPS AGRICULTURAL FIELD OFFICER SYLLABUS

Dear Students

IBPS has released the notification of Agricultural field officer scale I 2017, so in this article you will get the detailed syllabus for the professional knowledge of agricultural field officer scale I exam. generally the whole syllabus of your graduation covers the syllabus of IBPS AGRICULTURAL FIELD OFFICER SCALE I. following is the detailed syllabus for  IBPS AGRICULTURAL FIELD OFFICER SCALE I.

AGRICULTURE CURRENT AFFAIRS
Current affairs of last 3-4 months are very important for IBPS AGRICULTURAL FIELD OFFICER SCALE I exam.

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 

Principles of agricultural economics: Economics and agricultural economics: law of diminishing marginal utility: consumer's surplus; demand and supply; law of demand and supply, elasticity of demand and supply, factors influencing the elasticity of demand and supply, national income, inflation and deflation, kinds of inflation, basic concepts of economic growth and development.

Agricultural finance and co-operation : Agricultural finance; nature and scope, compounding and discounting; agricultural credit, credit analysis; Banking system in India and Institutions related, crop insurance and assessment of crop losses; Agricultural cooperation, pre-independence and post independence era, history of Indian Cooperative movement.

Agricultural marketing, trade and prices: Agricultural marketing: definition, scope and subject matter; market and marketing: definitions, dimensions and components of a market; market structure; conduct and performance, marketing functions, market functionaries or agencies; producer's surplus, types and factors effecting marketable surplus; marketing channels, definition, types of channels for different products; market integration: meaning and type; marketing efficiency; meaning, definition, marketing costs, margins and price spread, factors affecting the cost of marketing; GATT, WTO, AOA, market access; cooperative marketing: meaning and types; AGMARK, characteristics of agricultural products; agricultural prices: meaning, role and types, need for agricultural price policy; risk in marketing: meaning, types of risk in marketing; speculations and hedging.

Production economics and farm management: Production economics: meaning, definition, nature and scope of agricultural production economics; basic concepts and terms; concepts of production; production function: meaning, definition, types; farm management: meaning, definition, importance; economic principles applied to the organizations of farm business; types and systems of farming, farm planning and budgeting, risk and uncertainty, principles of farm management.

Fundamentals of agribusiness management: Agribusiness: meaning, definition and importance, agribusiness management - distinctive features of agribusiness; importance of financial statements, balance sheet, profit and loss statement, agro-based industries: importance and need, classification, marketing management: meaning, definitions, 7Ps of marketing, market segmentation and targeting; product life cycle; project, project cycle, and steps involved. Appraisal and evaluation techniques: NPV, BCR, IRR; characteristics of agricultural projects.

AGRICULTURE METEOROLOGY

Definition, aim and scope of agricultural meteorology; atmosphere, brief description of weather elements, impact of weather elements on crop and livestock production, crop microclimate and its modification, weather forecasting and agriculture, climate of Haryana and India, concept of climate change, remote sensing and GIS.

AGRONOMY

Introductory agriculture: Art, science, business & basic elements of crop production and factors affecting it; history of agricultural development in India; Indian agriculture: soil groups, marine, livestock and water; liabilities: soil & weather factors, economic ecology, dry & irrigated agriculture, farming system approach, value addition; women in agriculture: roles & tasks, stress factors, nutritional & rural life standards, house hold design making, drudgery reduction, women friendly agricultural technology; women empowerment: group dynamics, rural women; the nucleus of agricultural extension and training.

Principles of agronomy: Meaning & scope of agriculture, its development in India/Haryana: agricultural research institutes in India; agronomy: definition, history, relation with other sciences; classification of crops; characteristics of good seed, types of seed & seed multiplication; crop growth and factors affecting it, agronomic principles; tillage: objectives, and optimum requirement; soil fertility, productivity; application of manures & fertilizers, cropping pattern(s), cropping and farming systems.

Irrigation water management: Importance of water and forms of soil moisture in crop production; irrigation and its source, water resources & irrigation development in India/ Haryana; soil plant water relationship, energy concept, components of water potentials; evapotranspiration, crop water requirement, effective rainfall; scheduling & methods of irrigation including micro/pressure irrigation/rain gun; irrigation & water use efficiency and factors affecting them; conjunctive use of water; irrigation water quality & its management; water management of field crops; drainage and its methods; prevention of water losses; effect of water logging & water stress: irrigation strategies under limited water conditions.

Field crops - i (kharif crops): Origin, distribution, economic importance, soil & climatic requirement, varieties, manuring, water management, constraints and cultivation of rice, maize, sorghum, pearlmillet, pigeonpea, green gram, black gram, groundnut, sesamurn, soybean, cotton, sorghum, cowpea and napier.

Field crops - ii (rabi crops): Origin, distribution, economic importance, soil & climatic requirements, varieties, cultural practices, manuring, water management, constraints & cultivation of wheat, barley, chickpea, lentil, peas, frenchbean, rapeseed & mustard, sunflower; sugarcane, tobacco, berseem, lucerne and oat.

Weed management: Weeds: harmful & beneficial effects, classification, propagation, dissemination, biology & ecology, crop weed association & competition, allelopathy; concepts of weed management, methods of weed control: herbicides: advantages, limitations, classification, formulations, method of application; adjuvants & their uses: selectivity & compatibility of herbicides with other agro-chemicals; weed management: major field & horticultural crops; shift of weed flora, aquatic & problematic weeds and their control.

Production technology of spices, medicinal, aromatic & plantation crops: Importance & cultivation technology of spices: ginger, turmeric, pepper, cardamom, coriander, cumin, fenugreek; medicinal plants: diascoria, rauvolfia, opium, ocimum, periwinkle, aloe, guggal, aonla, isabgol,senna, stevia, coleus, acorus; aromatic plants: lemon grass, citronella, palmarose, vetiver, geranium, dawana; plantation crops: coconut, betel vine, cashew, cocoa, coffee, oil palm.

Rainfed agriculture: Rainfed farming: characteristics, rainfall distribution in the state/India, problems of crop production, land shaping & planting methods, management of rainfed crops: critical stages of life saving irrigations, constraints & package of practices for rainfed crops of Haryana; mulches and anti-transpirants; water harvesting, moisture conservation; principles of intercropping, cropping systems/intercropping; choice of crops & varieties; contingent crop planning for aberrant weather; watershed management: principals & practices; agro-horticultural,agro-forestry & silvi-pasture in dry land agriculture.

Organic farming: Introduction, concepts, relevance; organic production requirements; biological nutrient management-organic & bio-fertilizers: soil improvement & amendments; integrated diseases & pest management, use of bio-control agents, bio-pesticides, pherornones, trap crops, bird perches; water & weed management; quality considerations, certification, labelling, accreditation, marketing, exports.

Farming systems and sustainable agriculture: Sustainable agriculture: introduction, definition, goal, current concepts; land degradation, conservation of natural resources, low & high external input agriculture; waste land & their development; organic farming & farming systems: definition principle & components; IFS models for wet land, irrigated dryland and drylands; problems & prospects of present day agriculture.

ENTOMOLOGY

Insect morphology and systematic: The external features and morphological characters of the insect body; modification of antennae, legs, wings and mouth parts. Different anatomical systems in the insects and classification of class Insecta up to Orders and Families.

Insect ecology and integrated pest management including beneficial insects: Basic knowledge of biotic and abiotic factors of environment affecting the insect population. Concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and recent methods of pest control. Insecticides and their symptoms of poisoning. Acquaintance with non-insect pests and micro-organisms.

Crop and stored grain pests and their management: Distribution, biology, nature and symptoms of damage and management strategies of insect and non-insect pests of cereal crops, cash crops, vegetables, fruits, plantation and ornamental crops. Stored grain pests and their control.

EXTENSION EDUCATION

Dimensions of agricultural extension: Meaning and concepts of Extension Education; Rural development and its different programmes from pre-independence era till today.

Extension methodologies for transfer of agricultural technology: Communication process along with its different models; Adoption process, Extension teaching methods; Programme planning; ICT tools in Agriculture; Capacity building of extension and farmers through training etc.

Entrepreneurship development and communication skills: Entrepreneurship development: concept, entrepreneurial and managerial characteristics; Different entrepreneurship development programmes; Govt. policy on small and medium enterprises; Export policies relevant to agriculture sector; Contact farming; Public-private partnership etc.

FORESTRY

Forests in India, forest policy and law; Principles of silviculture; Social forestry: need, objectives and scope; watershed management; nurseries practices; Afforestation on different problematic sites; Energy plantations; Farm forestry: objectives and role; Principles and practices of Agroforestry; Forest products, their processing and use.

GENETICS & PLANT BREEDING

Fundamentals of genetics: Ultra structure of cell and cell organelles and their functions: mitosis and meiosis, their significance and differences between them; Mendel's laws of inheritance and exceptions to the laws; types of gene interaction, multiple alleles, law of population equilibrium, quantitative traits, qualitative traits; multiple factor hypothesis; cytoplasmic inheritance, it's characteristic features; mutation and it's characteristic features; methods of inducing mutations; linkage, types of linkage and estimation of linkage; crossing over and factors affecting it; mechanism of crossing over and cytological proof of crossing over; DNA and it's structure, function, types, modes of replication and repair; RNA and its structure, function and types; transcription, translation, genetic code and outline of protein synthesis; gene expression and differential gene activation; lac operon and fine structure of gene; numerical and structural chromosomal aberrations.

Principles of plant breeding: Floral biology, emasculation and pollination techniques in cereals, millets, pulses, oil seeds, fibers, plantation crops etc; modes of reproduction, sexual, asexual, apomixis and their classification; modes of pollination, differences between self and cross pollinated crops; methods of breeding: introduction and acclimatization; selection, mass selection, johannson's pure line theory, genetic basis, pure line selection; hybridization, types of hybridization; methods of handling of segregating generations, pedigree method, bulk method, back cross method and various modified methods; incompatibility and male sterility; heterosis, inbreeding depression, various theories of heterosis, single cross and double cross hybrids; recurrent selection, synthetics and composites; mutation breeding; ploidy breeding; wide hybridization.

Breeding of field crops: Breeding objectives and important concepts of breeding self pollinated, cross pollinated and vegetatively propagated crops; Study of origin, distribution of species, wild relatives and forms, cereals, (rice, wheat, maize, millets, sorghum, bajra); pulses (redgram, greengram, blackgram, soybean); oilseeds (groundnut, sesame, sunflower, castor, mustard) etc. fibers (cotton) etc.; major breeding procedures for development of hybrids / varieties of various crops; plant genetic resources their conservation and utilization in crop improvement; ideotype concept in crop improvement (with examples of wheat, rice, maize, sunflower etc.); breeding for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses; introduction to IPR and its related issues.

Principles of plant biotechnology: Concepts of plant biotechnology; totipotency and morphogenesis, nutritional requirements of in-vitro cultures; micro propagation, anther culture, pollen culture, ovule culture, embryo culture, test tube fertilization, endosperm culture, somaclonal variation, types, reasons: somatic embryogenesis and synthetic seed production technology; protoplast isolation, culture, manipulation and fusion; products of somatic hybrids and cybrids, genetic engineering; restriction enzymes; vectors for gene transfer, gene cloning, direct and indirect method of gene transfer, transgenic plants and their applications; PCR, blotting techniques (southern, northern, and eastern); DNA finger printing using, DNA markers – RAPD, RFLP, AFLP, SSR, SNP.

HORTICULTURE

Production technology of fruit crops: Horticulture: importance and status; fruit zones; classification of fruits; dormancy, chilling requirement, heat units, juvenility; physiology of flowering and fruit-bud-differentiation; parthenocarpy, C/N ratio, problems of unfruitfulness, fruit development and maturity; protection from abiotic stresses; modern propagation structures and greenhouses;Planning and Layout of orchard; orchard management practices; Cultivation of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical fruits, viz. apple, pear, peach, plum, almond, loquat, mango, citrus, grapes, guava, sapota, litchi, ber, phalsa, pomegranate, aonla, jamun, date-palm, papaya, banana and pineapple.

Post-harvest management of fruits and vegetables: Importance and scope of post-harvest technology of horticultural crops; post-harvest classification of fruits and vegetables; maturity indices; changes during maturity and ripening; harvesting and post-harvest operations; cold chain storage systems; causes of post-harvest losses and their control measures; principles and methods of preservation of fruits and vegetables

Ornamental horticulture: Importance and scope of floriculture in the state and country; cultivation of annuals, shrubs, hedges, climbers, bulbous plants, ornamental trees and roses; history, concept and styles of gardens and their salient features; aesthetic and bio-aesthetic planning; Preparation and maintenance of lawns, rock gardens, hedges, edges topiary, water gardens and indoor plants.

NEMATOLOGY

Types and habitats of nematodes; history, economic importance, gross morphology, biology, ecology, nature of damage and general symptomatology of plant parasitic nematodes. Principles and practices of nematode management. Diagnosis, hosts, distribution, biology, symptoms and management of important plant parasitic nematodes in India.

PLANT PATHOLOGY

Economic importance, symptoms, causes, epidemiology, disease cycle, integrated disease management of field crops, vegetables and horticultural crops; Principles of Plant Pathology; Importance of Plant Pathogens, their life cycles, viz., fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids, phytoplasma, spiroplasma, fastidious vascular bacteria, algae, protozoa and phenerogamic parasites; Principles of plant disease management, epidemiology including factors; Disease forecasting and application of biotechnology in plant disease management.

SEED TECHNOLOGY

Introduction to seed production; Deterioration of crop varieties; Maintenance of genetic purity during seed production; Seed quality; Different classes of seed, principles of seed production; Seed certification; Introduction to Seed Act & WTO; Varietal identification; Seed processing; Seed treatments; Seed storage and marketing.

SOIL SCIENCE

Introduction to soil science: Soil formation, rocks and minerals, weathering, soil formation factors and processes, soil profile, soil physical properties, soil water, soil temperature, soil air, ion exchange, soil reaction, soil organic matter and soil organisms.

Soil fertility, soil chemistry and nutrient management: Soil fertility, essential nutrients, their functions and deficiency symptoms; C, N and S cycles in soils; problem soils, their types and management; irrigation water quality and its use in agriculture; soil fertility evaluation and nutrient recommendations to crops; nutrient use efficiency in respect of N, P, K, S and Zn fertilizers; nutrient application and scheduling for different soils and crops.

Manures, fertilizers and agro-chemicals: Manures, their types and properties, composting; fertilizers: history and their classification; manufacturing process, properties and reaction in soil of major N, P and K fertilizers; secondary and micronutrient fertilizers; fertilizer control order; soil pollution and agrochemicals, remediation of soil contaminated with agrochemicals.

VEGETABLE SCIENCE

Role of vegetables in human nutrition; fundamentals of vegetable production; types of vegetable gardening; varieties, sowing time, seed rate and cultural practices of potato, tomato, brinjal, chilli, cauliflower, peas, cowpea, cluster bean, onion, garlic, carrot, radish, okra, sweet potato, watermelon, muskmelon, bottle gourd, beet leaf and fenugreek.