M. Sc. Agriculture (Agronomy)

M. Sc. Agriculture (Agronomy)

Course Semester System

Scheme of Studies & Examination

2016-17 & 2017-18

Semester-I

Sr. No. / Course Code / Subject / Hours per
Week / Theory / Practical / Grand Total
Theory / Practical / Internal Assessment* / External Assessment / Total
1 / AGRON 501* / MODERN CONCEPTS IN CROP PRODUCTION / 4 h / - / 25 / 75 / 100 / - / 100
2 / AGRON 502* / PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF SOIL FERTILITY AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
3 / AGRON 504* / PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF WATER MANAGEMENT / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
4 / Minor Soil
SS - 501 / SOIL BIOLOGY AND BIO CHEMISTRY / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
5 / Supporting: STAT 501 / STATISTICAL METHODS FOR RESEARCH WORKERS / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
6 / PGS 501 / LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES / 3h / -- / -- / -- / 50 / 50
6 / PGS 506 / DISASTER MANAGEMENT / 4h / - / 25 / 75 / 100 / - / 100
Total: / 24 h / 15 h / 150 / 450 / 600 / 500 / 850

*The breakup of marks for the internal assessment for theory will be as under:

Average of Two Mid Semester Tests / Internal Examinations / 10 Marks
Written Assignment/Project Work / 10 Marks
Attendance / 5 Marks

M. Sc. Agriculture (Agronomy)

Course Semester System

Scheme of Studies & Examination

2016-17 & 2017-18

Semester-II

Sr. No. / Course Code / Subject / Hours per
Week / Theory / Practical / Grand Total
Theory / Practical / Internal Assessment* / External Asesment / Total
1 / AGRON 503* / PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES WEED MANAGEMENT / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
2 / AGRON 507* / AGRONOMY OF OILSEED, FIBRE AND SUGAR CROPS / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
3 / AGRON 509 / AGRONOMY OF FODDER AND FORAGE CROPS / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
4 / Minor
Soil SS – 502 / SOIL FERTILITY AND FERTILIZER USE / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
5 / Supporting:
STAT 502 / EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS FOR RESEARCH WORKER / 4 h / 3 h / 25 / 75 / 100 / 50 / 150
7 / PGS 504 / BASIC CONCEPT IN LABORATORY TECHNIQUES / 3h / -- / -- / -- / 50 / 50
7 / PGS 502 / TECHNICAL WRITING AND COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS / -- / 3h / -- / -- / -- / 50 / 50
Total: / 20 h / 21 h / 125 / 375 / 500 / 350 / 850

*The breakup of marks for the internal assessment for theory will be as under:

Average of Two Mid Semester Tests / Internal Examinations / 10 Marks
Written Assignment/Project Work / 10 Marks
Attendance / 5 Marks

SEMESTER I

AGRON 501 MODERN CONCEPTS IN CROP PRODUCTION

Max. Marks: 75

Pass Marks: 27 Time Allowed: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTION TO THE CANDIDATE

The question paper will be divided into three Sections A, B and C. Section A and B will consist of four descriptive questions each of 12 marks each from Unit I and Unit II of syllabus, respectively. Candidates will be required to attempt any two questions from Section A and Section B. Section C will be compulsory consisting 18 short answer type questions from whole of the syllabus carrying 1.5 marks each.

UNIT I

Crop growth analysis in relation to environment; geo-ecological zones of India, Quantitative agro-biological principles and inverse yield nitrogen law; Mitscherlich yield equation, its interpretation and applicability; Baule unit; Effect of lodging in cereals; physiology of grain yield in cereals; optimization of plant population and planting geometry in relation to different resources, concept of ideal plant type and crop modeling for desired crop yield.

UNIT II

Scientific principles of crop production; crop response production functions;concept of soil plant relations; yield and environmental stress;Integrated farming systems, organic farming, and resource conservation technology including modern concept of tillage; dry farming; determining the nutrient needs for yield potentiality of crop plants, concept of balance nutrition and integrated nutrient management; precision agriculture.

SUGGESTED READINGS

Alvin, P.T. and Kozlowski, T.T. 1976. Ecophysiology of Tropical Crops. Academic Publications, New York
Balasubramaniyan, P. and Palaniappan, S.P. 2001. Principles and Practices of Agronomy. Agrobios, Jodhpur.
Fageria, N.K. 1992. Maximizing Crop Yields. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Gardner, P.P., Pearce, G.R. and Mitchell, R.L.1985. Physiology of Crop Plants. Scientific Pub., Jodhpur.
Havlin, J.L, Beaton, J.D., Tisdale, S.L. and Nelson, W.L. 2006. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers (7th Ed). Prentice Hall, New Delhi.
Lal, R. 1989. Conservation tillage for sustainable agriculture: Tropics versus temperate environments. Advances in Agronomy 42: .85-197
Paroda, R.S. 2003. Sustaining our Food Security. Konark Publishers, Ludhiana.
Reddy, S.R. 2000. Principles of Crop Production. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana.
Sankaran S. and Mudaliar T.V.S. 1997. Principles of Agronomy. The Bangalore Printing & Publishers, Bangalore.

AGRON 502: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF SOIL FERTILITY AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Max. Marks: 75

Pass Marks: 27 Time Allowed: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTION TO THE CANDIDATE

Practical – Question Paper will be set with the mutual consent of Internal and External Examiners on the spot.

UNIT I

Soil fertility and productivity - factors affecting; features of good soil management; problems of supply and availability of nutrients; relation between nutrient supply and crop growth; organic farming - basic concepts and definitions; Criteria of essentiality of nutrients; Essential plant nutrients - their functions, nutrient deficiency symptoms; transformation and dynamics of major plant nutrients; Preparation and use of farmyard manure, compost, green manures, vermicompost, biofertilizers and other organic concentrates their composition, availability and crop responses; recycling of organic wastes and residue management.

UNIT II

Commercial fertilizers; composition, relative fertilizer value and cost; crop response to different nutrients, residual effects and fertilizer use efficiency, fertilizer mixtures and grades; agronomic, chemical and physiological methods of increasing fertilizer use efficiency; nutrient interactions; Time and methods of manures and fertilizers application; foliar application and its concept; relative performance of organic and inorganic manures; economics of fertilizer use; integrated nutrient management; use of vermin-compost and residue wastes in crops.

AGRON 502: PRACTICAL

Max. Marks: 50

Pass Marks: 18 MarksTime Allowed: 3 Hours

Determination of soil pH, ECe, organic C, total N, available N, P and K in soils
Determination of total N, P and K in plants
Interpretation of interaction effects and computation of economic and yield optima

SUGGESTED READINGS

Brady, N. C and Weil, R.R 2002. The Nature and Properties of Soils (13th Ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall, New York
Fageria, N.K., Baligar, V.C. and Jones, C.A. 1991. Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Field Crops, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Havlin, J.L, Beaton, J.D., Tisdale, S.L. and Nelson, W.L. 2006. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers (7th Ed.) Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
Prasad, R. and Power, J. F. 1997. Soil Fertility Management for Sustainable Agriculture. CRC-Lewis, Boca Raton, Florida.

AGRON 504: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF WATER MANAGEMENT

Max. Marks: 75

Pass Marks: 27 Time Allowed: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTION TO THE CANDIDATE

Practical – Question Paper will be set with the mutual consent of Internal and External Examiners on the spot.

UNIT I

Water and its role in plants; water resources of India, major irrigation projects, extent of area and crops irrigated in India and different states; Soil water movement in soil and plants; transpiration; soil-water-plant relationships; water absorption by plants; plant response to water stress, crop plant adaptation to moisture stress condition; Soil, plant and meteorological factors determining water needs of crops; scheduling, depth and methods of irrigation; microirrigation system; fertigation.

UNIT II

Management of water in controlled environments and poly-houses,Water management of the crops and cropping systems; quality of irrigation water and management of saline water for irrigation; water use efficiency; 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.

AGRON 504: PRACTICAL

Max. Marks: 50

Pass Marks: 18 MarksTime Allowed: 3 Hours

Measurement of soil water potential by using tensiometer, and pressure plate and membrane apparatus
Soil-moisture characteristics curves
Water flow measurements using different devices
Determination of irrigation requirements
Calculation of irrigation efficiency
Determination of infiltration rate
Determination of saturated/unsaturated hydraulic conductivity

SUGGESTED READINGS

Hansen, V.E., Israelsen, O.W., and Stringham, G.E. 1979. Irrigation Principles and Practices (4th Ed.). John Wiley and Sons, New York
Lenka D.1999. Irrigation and Drainage. Kalyani publishing House, Ludhiana.
Michael, A.M. 1978. Irrigation: Theory and Practice. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi.
Mishra.R.D. and Ahamed, M.1993. Manual of Irrigation Agronomy. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi
Paliwal, K.V. 1972. Irrigation with Saline Water. WTC, IARI, New Delhi.
Panda, S. C. 2003. Principles and Practices of Water Management. Agrobios, Jodhpur.
Prihar, S. S. and Sandhu.B.S.1987. Irrigation of Field Crops - Principles and practices, ICAR, New Delhi.
Sankara Reddi, G.H. and Yellamanda Reddy, T. 2003 Efficient Use of Irrigation Water. Kalyani , Ludhiana.
Singh, P. and Maliwal, P. L. 2005. Technologies for Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture. Agrotech Publishing Academy, Udaipur.

(Minor) SS 501: SOIL BIOLOGY AND BIO CHEMISTRY

Max. Marks: 75

Pass Marks: 27 Time Allowed: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTION TO THE CANDIDATE

Practical – Question Paper will be set with the mutual consent of Internal and External Examiners on the spot.

UNIT I

Soil biota, soil microbial ecology, types of organisms in different soils; soil microbial biomass; microbial interactions; un-culturable soil biota.Microbiology and biochemistry of root-soil interface; phyllosphere; soil enzymes, origin, activities and importance; soil characteristics influencing growth and activity of microflora.Microbial transformations of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, iron and manganese in soil; biochemical composition and biodegradation of soil organic matter and crop residues, humus formation; cycles of important organic nutrients.

UNIT II

Biodegradation of pesticides, organic wastes and their use for production of biogas and manures; biotic factors in soil development; microbial toxins in the soil.Preparation and preservation of farmyard manure, animal manures, rural and urban composts and vermicompost. Biofertilizers – definition, classification, specifications, method of production and role in crop production.

SS 501: PRACTICAL

Max. Marks: 50

Pass Marks: 18 MarksTime Allowed: 3 Hours

Preparation and sterilization of media and other glasswares
Viable bacterial, fungi, Actinomycete counts in soil by serial dilution pour plate method
Total count of soil microorganisms by direct microscopic examination of soils
Study of compound microscope and use of stage and ocular micrometers
Decomposition of organic matter in soil by CO2 evolution method
Study of legume root nodules and isolation of Rhizobium from the nodules
Azotobector population in soil by serial dilution pour plate method
Isolation of Azospirillium from cereal roots and enumeration of Azospirillium from soil

SUGGESTED READINGS

Alexander M. 1977. Introduction to Soil Microbiology. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Burges A and Raw F. 1967. Soil Biology. Academic Press, New York.
McLaren AD and Peterson GH. 1967. Soil Biochemistry. Vol. XI. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
Metting FB. 1993. Soil Microbial Ecology – Applications in Agriculturaland Environmental Management. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
Paul E.A. and Ladd J.N. 1981. Soil Biochemistry. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
Reddy M.V. (Ed.). Soil Organisms and Litter in the Tropics. Oxford & IBH, New Delhi.
Russel RS. 1977. Plant Root System: Their Functions and Interaction withthe Soil. ELBS & McGraw Hill, New York.
Stotzky G and Bollag JM. 1993. Soil Biochemistry. Vol. VIII. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
Sylvia DN. 2005. Principles and Applications of Soil Microbiology. Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, US.
Wild A. 1993. Soil and the Environment - An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, London.

STAT 501: STATISTICAL METHODS FOR RESEARCH WORKERS

Max. Marks: 75

Pass Marks: 27 Time Allowed: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTION TO THE CANDIDATE

Practical – Question Paper will be set with the mutual consent of Internal and External Examiners on the spot.

UNIT-I

Probability and fitting of standard frequency distribution, sampling techniques, sampling distributions, mean and standard error, simple partial, multiple and intra- class correlation and multiple regressions.

UNIT-II

Tests of significance, students’-t, chi-square and large sample tests, confidence intervals, analysis of variance for one way and two way classification with equal cell frequencies, transformation of data.

STAT 501: PRACTICAL

Max. Marks: 50

Pass Marks: 18 MarksTime Allowed: 3 Hours

Fitting of distributions, samples and sampling distributions, correlation and regression, tests of significance and analysis of variance.

Note: Students shall be trained to use computer to analysis the data, using available softwares.However, during university examination students will use scientific calculators to analyse the data.

SUGGESTED READINGS

Black T.R. 1993. Evaluating Social Science Research - An Introduction. SAGE Publication, New Delhi.
Creswell J.W. 1999. Research Design - Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. SAGE Publication, New Delhi.
Dhondyal S.P. 1997. Research Methodology in Social Sciences and Essentials of Thesis Writing. Amman Publication House, New Delhi.
Kothari C.R. 2004. Research Methodology - Methods and Techniques. Wishwa Prakashan, Chennai.
Rao K.V. 1993. Research Methodology in Commerce and Management. Sterling Publ., New Delhi.
Singh A.K. 1993. Tests, Measurements and Research Methods in Behavioural Sciences. Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi.

PGS 501 LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES

PGS 501: PRACTICAL

Practical – Question Paper will be set with the mutual consent of Internal and External Examiners on the spot.

Max. Marks: 50

Pass Marks: 18 Marks Time Allowed: 3 Hours

Introduction to library and its services; Role of libraries in education, research and technology transfer; Classification systems and organization of library; Sources of information- Primary Sources, Secondary Sources and Tertiary Sources; Intricacies of abstracting and indexing services (Science Citation Index, Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts, CABI Abstracts, etc.); Tracing information from reference sources; Literature survey; Citation techniques/Preparation of bibliography; Use of CD-ROM Databases, Online Public Access Catalogue and other computerized library services; Use of Internet including search engines and its resources; e-resources access methods.

SUGGESTED READINGS

Gupta H.K.. 2003. Disaster Management. Indian National Science Academy. Orient Blackswan.
Hodgkinson P.E. & Stewart M. 1991. Coping with Catastrophe: A Handbook of Disaster Management. Routledge.
Sharma V.K. 2001. Disaster Management. National Centre for Disaster Management, India.

SEMESTER II

AGRON 503: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF WEED MANAGEMENT

Max. Marks: 75

Pass Marks: 27 Time Allowed: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTION TO THE CANDIDATE

Practical – Question Paper will be set with the mutual consent of Internal and External Examiners on the spot.

UNIT I

Weed biology and ecology, crop-weed competition including allelopathy; principles and methods of weed control and classification; weed indices; Herbicides introduction and history of their development; classification based on chemical, physiological application and selectivity; mode and mechanism of action of herbicides; Herbicide structure - activity relationship; factors affecting the efficiency of herbicides; herbicide formulations, herbicide mixtures; herbicide resistance and management.

UNIT II

Weed control through bio-herbicides, myco-herbicides and allelochemicals; Degradation of herbicides in soil and plants; herbicide resistance in weeds and crops; herbicide rotation. Weed management in major crops and cropping systems; parasitic weeds; weed shifts in cropping systems; aquatic and perennial weed control; Integrated weed management; cost : benefit analysis of weed management.