Semester 1

Agriculture scope; Importance of agriculture and agricultural resources available in India; Origin of
agriculture- branches of agriculture- agricultural systems in the world-Crop significance and classifications; Green revolution and its impact- National agriculture setup in India; ICAR and SAUs-
Current scenario of Indian agriculture; Indian agricultural concerns and future prospects-CGAIR and
international institutions.
Introduction of Indian agricultural heritage; Ancient agricultural practices, Relevance of heritage to
present day agriculture; Past and present status of agriculture and farmers in society; Journey of
Indian agriculture and its development from past to modern era; Natural calamities and famines- Plant
production and protection through indigenous traditional knowledge; Crop voyage in India and world;
Introduction to gender perspectives in agriculture- gender concepts- multiples roles of women-
Women in agriculture- multifaceted roles and tasks of farm women- gender, poverty and
livelihoods.Gender equity and strategies for rural women’s empowerment- self- help groups. Farm
mechanization and women- Occupational health hazards- Women friendly agricultural technology-
Ergonomical approaches- Technological options

Listening Comprehension: Listening to short talks lectures, speeches (scientific, commercial and
general in nature). Oral Communication: Phonetics, stress and intonation, Conversation practice.
Conversation: rate of speech, clarity of voice, speaking and Listening, politeness &Reading skills:
reading dialogues, rapid reading, intensive reading, improving reading skills. Mock Interviews: testing
initiative, team spirit, leadership, intellectual ability. Group Discussions.

Agronomy and its scope, seeds and sowing, tillage and tilth, crop density and geometry. Growth and
development of crops, factors affecting growth and development, plant ideotypes, crop rotation and its
principles, adaptation and distribution of crops. Crop nutrition, manures and fertilizers, nutrient use
efficiency.Weeds – importance, classification, crop weed competition, concepts of weed management
– principles and methods, herbicides – classification, selectivity and resistance, allelopathy.

Pre and Post Mendelian concepts of heredity, Mendelian principles of heredity, Cell division –
mitosis, meiosis, Probability and Chi-square. Dominance relationships, gene interaction. Multiple
alleles, pleiotropism and pseudoalleles, Sex determination and sex linkage, sex limited and sex
influenced traits, Blood group genetics, Linkage and its estimation, crossing over mechanisms,
chromosome mapping. Structural changes in chromosome, Mutation, classification, Methods of
inducing mutation & CIB technique, mutagenic agents and induction of mutation. Qualitative &
Quantitative traits, Polygenes and continuous variations, multiple factor hypothesis, Epistatic
interactions with examples. Cytoplasmic inheritance. Genetic disorders,. Nature, structure &
replication of genetic material. Protein synthesis, Transcription and translational mechanism of
genetic material, Gene concept: Gene structure, function and regulation, Lac and Trp operons.

Horticulture - definition, evolution, art, science, vocation, hobby, etc - importance, divisions,
classification of crops; Commercial orchards, garden and plantations – selection of site for crops -
climate, soil, socio-economic factors; Orchard planning, layout, peg marking, planting systems,
spacing, digging pits, age of planting materials, after care, inter cropping, mixed cropping, etc; Tree
forms and functions training and pruning in horticultural crops, principles and methods. Techniques of
training and pruning – root pruning, girdling, ringing, notching, smudging, and bending, thinning -
chemical and mechanical; Phases of growth and development - vegetative/ reproductive balance;
flowering, bearing habit and its classification; Fruit set - carbon nitrogen relation, structure and
process in relation to set and drop, factors affecting and measures to overcome drop; Problems of
unfruitfulness - internal factors, external factors – measures to overcome; seedlessness in horticultural
crops - significance and induction; Plant growth regulators in horticulture - natural and synthetic
regulators - preparation and methods of application, Plant propagation - definition and basic concepts,
types - advantages and disadvantages, Potting and repotting - objectives and uses, containers and
potting media/ mixture - kinds, qualities, pre-planting treatments; Propagation by seed - seed qualities,
seed testing, seed germination - types of seed dormancy, pre-sowing treatments – factors affecting
germination. Asexual propagation - apomixis, polyembryony, plant modifications for vegetative
propagation - bud sports, chimeras; Propagation by cuttings - types of cuttings - factors affecting
rooting of cuttings; Propagation by layering - advantages and disadvantages -types of layering;
Propagation by grafting - advantages and disadvantages, stock - scion relationships, incompatibility;
Grafting and budding - methods - advantages and disadvantages - separation and after care; Plant
propagating structures - green house/ glass house, hot bed, cold frame, lath house, net house, mist
chamber; Nursery - site selection, lay-out, components, progeny orchards, sales unit, display area,
management, maintenance, commercial propagation of selected horticultural plants; Micro
propagation of horticultural plants - definition, principles, methods, advantages and disadvantages,
field of application in horticultural crops.

Biochemistry – Introduction scope, importance in Agriculture – Bio molecules –general groups –
classification – important sugars - poly saccharides – structure properties stereochemistry – carbo
hydrates – metabolism. Proteins and amino acids – classification – reactions – functions – properties
plant proteins – nutritional significance protein metabolism – bio synthesis. Lipids – definition.
Classification – saturated unsaturated fatty acids – biological importance – degradation & bio
synthesis of fatty acids. Enzymes – definition, nomenclature – functions factors affecting enzyme
activity. Vitamins – definition – classification source – function. Nucleic acids – general. Secondary
metabolites – Alkaloids phenolic compounds - importance .

Plant pathology- Importance of plant diseases- Definition, Scope - Objectives- History of Plant
Pathology-Term and concepts in Plant Pathology- Classification of plant diseases. Important plant
pathogenic organisms- Fungi, bacteria, fastidious vascular bacteria, virus,viroids, phytoplasma,
spiroplasma, algae, protozoa, nematodes, phanerogamic parasiteswith examples of disease caused by
them.Diseases due to abiotic causes. Causes/ factors affecting disease development: disease triangle
and tetrahedron.Fungi- definition, characters, somatic structures, nomenclature, classification, key to
divisions, sub divisions, orders and classes, reproduction, dispersal. Bacteria, Viruses and mollicutes-
Morphology, classification, reproduction, transmission, dispersal and survival. Parasitism, Variability
of plant pathogens.Defense mechanism in plants.Pathogenesis. Role in disease development-
Enzymes, Toxins, Growth regulators.

Soil-Pedological and edaphological concepts -origin of the earth - earth’s crust - composition. Rocks
and minerals. Weathering - soil formation - factors and processes - soil profile. Soil physical
properties - soil texture - textural classes - particle size analysis. Soil structure Classification - soil
aggregates – significance. Soil consistency - soil crusting. Bulk density and particle density of soils
and porosity - their significance and manipulation. Soil compaction - soil Colour. Elementary
knowledge of soil classification. Soils of India - geological formations – characterization of soils of
Kerala.Soil water - retention and potentials - soil moisture constants - movement of soil water –
infiltration – percolation – permeability – drainage - methods of determination of soil moisture.
Thermal properties of soils - soil temperature - soil air - gaseous exchange - influence of soil
temperature and air on plant growth.
Soil colloids – properties – nature - types and significance. Layer silicate clays - their genesis and
sources of charges. Adsorption of ions - ion exchange - CEC and AEC - factors influencing ion
exchange and its significance. Concept of pH - soil acidity - brief overview of saline, sodic and
calcareous soils. Soil organic matter – composition – decomposability – humus - fractionation of
organic matter. Carbon cycle - C: N ratio. Soil biology – biomass - soil organisms and their beneficial
and harmful roles.

Values and Human values, meaning and importance in the field of agriculture and daily life.
Definitions related to ethics and human values,mores, norms, folkways, beliefs, trust, perseverance,
accuracy and discernment,agriculture and human values, Self explorations, its content and process,
Natural acceptance and experiential validation. Understanding happiness and prosperity- a critical
analysis of different philosophers. Morals and ethics, Values, Virtues, Plagiarism, Means to live
peacefully in the world, Basic human aspiration, Challenges in the work place, Employer-employee
reasons for unethical behaviours, Competence in professional ethics, Ethics in communication.

Meaning and scope of agricultural meteorology; Earth atmosphere- its composition, extent and
structure; Atmospheric weather variables; Atmospheric pressure, its variation with height; Wind,
types of wind, daily and seasonal variation of wind speed, cyclone, anticyclone, land breeze and sea
breeze; Nature and properties of solar radiation, solar constant, depletion of solar radiation, short
wave, longwave and thermal radiation, net radiation, albedo; Atmospheric temperature, temperature
inversion, lapse rate, daily and seasonal variations of temperature, vertical profile of temperature,
Energy balance of earth; Atmospheric humidity, concept of saturation, vapor pressure, process of
condensation, formation of dew, fog, mist, frost, cloud; Precipitation, process of precipitation, types
of precipitation such as rain, snow, sleet, and hail, cloud formation and classification; Artificial
rainmaking. Monsoon- mechanism and importance in Indian agriculture, Weather hazards - drought,
floods, frost, tropical cyclones and extreme weather conditions such as heat-wave and cold-wave.
Agriculture and weather relations; Modifications of crop microclimate, climatic normals for crop and
livestock production. Weather forecasting- types of weather forecast and their uses. Climate change,
climatic variability, global warming, causes of climate change and its impact on regional and national
Agriculture.

Course aims at evoking social consciousness among students through various activities viz., working
together, constructive and creative social work, to be skilful in executing democratic leadership,
developing skill in programme development to be able for self employment, reducing gap between
educated and uneducated, increasing awareness and desire to help sections of society.

Sociology and Rural sociology: Definition and scope, its significance in agricultural extension, Social
ecology, Rural society, Social groups, Social stratification, culture concept, Social institution, Social
change & development. Educational psychology: meaning & its importance in agricultural extension.
Behaviour: Cognitive, affective, psychomotor domain, Personality, Learning, Motivation, Theories of
Motivation, Intelligence