ICAR AIEEA Syllabus 2023: Check Subject-wise Syllabus for ICAR AIEEA Postgraduate Exam

ICAR AIEEA Syllabus 2023: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) releases the ICAR AIEEA syllabus for the postgraduate entrance test on its official website. Candidates need an awareness of the syllabus to create an informed preparation strategy for themselves. The ICAR AIEEA PG syllabus consists of subjects and the topics covered under each subject.

Candidates can download the ICAR AIEEA PG syllabus in PDF format from the official website of ICAR. By going through the ICAR AIEEA exam pattern and syllabus, candidates will know which topics need to be studied during exam preparation. The subjects include plant biotechnology, plant sciences, entomology and nematology, horticulture, forestry, community science, and many others. 

The ICAR AIEEA PG exam is a Computer-Based Test consisting of 120 multiple-choice questions. There is a negative marking of 1 mark for each incorrect answer and 4 marks are awarded for each correct response. The duration of the ICAR AIEEA PG exam is 2 hours. The exam is conducted in English language only.

ICAR AIEEA Syllabus 2023 

Candidates can check the syllabus for different subjects covered in the ICAR AIEEA (PG) exam given below. 

Plant Biotechnology

Unit 1

• Importance of agriculture in the national economy
• Cultivation of wheat, rice, sugarcane, chickpea, tomato, pigeon-pea, groundnut,and mango
• Basic Principles of crop production
• Major soils of India
• The significance of NPK and its deficiency symptoms
• General structure and function of cell organelles
• Mendelian genetics
• Elementary knowledge of development, growth, photosynthesis, transpiration and respiration
• Mitosis and Meiosis
• General structure and function of proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, vitamins and enzymes
• Elements of economic botany
• Major pests and diseases of rice, wheat, cotton, chickpea, and sugarcane and their management
• Organic farming; bio-fertilizers; bio-pesticides
• Recombinant DNA technology; transgenic crops
• Important rural development programmes in India
• Organizational setup of agricultural research, education and extension in India
• Elements of statistics

Unit 2

• Importance of biochemistry in agriculture
• Acid-base concept and buffers
• pH
• Structure, classification and metabolic functions of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates
• Structure and function of nucleic acids
• Enzymes: structure, nomenclature, mechanism of action
• Vitamins and minerals as coenzymes and cofactors
• Metabolic pathways
• TCA cycle, Glycolysis, triglyceride biosynthesis, fatty acid oxidation
• Electron transport chain
• ATP formation
• Photosynthesis: C-3, C-4, and CAM pathways
• Nitrate assimilation
• Biological nitrogen fixation
• Colorimetric and chromatographic techniques

Unit 3 

• Characteristics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms
• Differences between fungi, bacteria, mycoplasms, and viruses
• Physical and Chemical Basis of Heredity
• Chromosome structure
• DNA replication
• Transcription and translation
• Genetic code
• Operon concept
• Genetic engineering
• Restriction enzymes
• Vectors
• Gene cloning
• Gene transfer
• Plant cell and tissue culture
• Micro-propagation 
• Somaclonal variation
• Transformation
• Recombination
• Heterosis
• General application of biotechnology
• Molecular and immunological techniques
• Concept of bioinformatics, genomics, and proteomics

Unit 4

• Plant physiology– importance in agriculture
• Seed germination, viability, and vigour
• Photosynthesis- the role of  CAM, C-3, and C-4 pathways
• Photorespiration and its implications
• Translocation of assimilates
• Dry matter partitioning
• Harvest index of crops
• Growth and development
• Growth analysis
• Crop-water relationship
• Plant nutrients and their functions
• Phytohormones and their physiological role
• Photo-periodism, vernalization
• Pollination/ fertilization in flowering plants
• Post-harvest physiology and its significance

Plant Sciences

Unit 1

• Importance of Agriculture in the national economy
• Basic Principles of crop production
• Cultivation of wheat, sugarcane, mango, rice, pigeon-pea, tomato, groundnut, potato and chickpea
• Major soils of India
• The significance of NPK and its deficiency symptoms

Unit 2

• Structure and function of cell organelles
• Mitosis and Meiosis
• Mendelian genetics
• Elementary knowledge of photosynthesis
• Respiration, and transpiration
• structure and functions of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids,
• Enzymes and vitamins
• Major pests and diseases of wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane, chickpea and their management

Unit 3

• Characteristics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms 
• Differences between fungi, bacteria, mycoplasmas, and viruses
• Physical and Chemical basis of heredity
• Chromosome structure
• Genes/operon concept
• Protein biosynthesis
• Transformation, recombination, Heterosis
• Elements of economic botany
• Integrated diseases management
• Sterilisation, disinfection, and pasteurization
• Koch’s postulates
• Etiological agents of rusts,smuts, powdery/downy mildews, wilts, yellows, mosaic, necrosis, enations, blights and witches- broom
• pH, buffer, vitamins, the significance of plant hormones in germination and dormancy of seeds
• Pollination/ fertilization in flowering plants
• Methods of seed testing
• Breeders, foundation and certified seeds
• Seed production in self and cross-pollinated crops
• Nitrate assimilation
• Biological nitrogen fixation and agricultural uses of microorganisms

Entomology And Nematology

Unit 1

• Importance of Agriculture in the national economy
• Basic Principles of crop production
• cultivation of wheat, chickpea, sugarcane, rice, pigeon-pea, mango, groundnut, tomato, cole crops, grapes, soybean, banana, oilseeds other than groundnut, and mustard
• Major soils of India
• The significance of NPK and its deficiency symptoms
• Mendelian genetics
• Elementary knowledge of Photosynthesis
• Respiration, and transpiration
• Major cropping systems (crop rotations,rice-wheat cropping,mixed cropping)
• Soil degradation-soil salinity and acidity and management
• Some aspects of post-harvest technology
• Varietal improvement
• The importance of Heterosis in crop production, crop protection principles in field and storage
• Major insect pests and diseases of agricultural crops like rice, cotton, pulses, oilseed crops like groundnut, soybean, and mustard, vegetables like tomato, and cole crops
•  Fruit crops and their management principles
• Transgenic crops
• Important rural development programmes in India
• Organizational set up of agricultural education, research and extension in India
• Elements of statistics

Unit 2

• Classification of animal kingdom up to class
• Distinguishing characters up to orders in class Insecta
• General organization of an insect external morphology with special reference to lepidopteran larvae, and coleopteran adults; and honeybee Metamorphosis and moulting
• Different physiological systems
• Insect-plant relationship
• Insect pests of agricultural and horticultural crops, and their stored/processed products, insect vectors of plant diseases-identification, biology, nature of the damage, and their management tactics; and pests of household
• Medical and veterinary importance and their control
• Useful and beneficial insects like honeybee, lac insect, silkworm and pollinators
• Nematode taxonomy, the biology of important plant parasitic nematodes and their control
• Entomopathogenic nematodes
• Fundamentals of nematode and insect pest management-cultural, quarantine, insecticidal,  biological, and regulatory aspects
• Insecticide classification and insecticide resistance management; and insect-protective transgenic crops

Horticulture

Unit 1

• Importance of Agriculture in the national economy
• Basic Principles of crop production
• Cultivation of wheat, rice, chickpea, sugarcane, piegon-pea, groundnut, mango and tomato
• Major soils of India
• The significance of NPK and its deficiency symptoms
• Structure and function of cell organelles
• Mitosis and meiosis
• Mendelian genetics
• Elementary knowledge of photosynthesis
• Respiration, and transpiration 
• Structure and functions of proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, vitamins and enzymes
• Major pests and diseases of wheat, rice, sugarcane , cotton, chickpea and their management
• Important rural development programmes in India
• Organizational set-up of agricultural education, research and extension in India
• Elements of statistics 

Unit 2

• Layout and establishment of orchards
• pruning and training
•  propagation, climatic requirement and cultivation of fruits
• cultivation of plantation
• crops like coconut and cashew nuts and spices
• Important physiological disorders
• major vegetable crops of tropical, subtropical and temperate regions solanaceous crops
• techniques for raising the nursery
• Nutritive value of fruits and vegetables and their role in human nutrition
• Basic physiology of ripening in fruits and vegetables and their products
• Type of fruits and vegetable products and control of fungal and bacterial diseases
• Major floricultural crops are grown in India for commercial purposes like rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, marigolds, tuberose, gladiolus, and orchids
• Establishment and maintenance of trees, lawns, creepers, shrubs, hedges and annuals; type of gardens, methods of crop improvement
• Male sterility and incompatibility
• Pure line and pedigree selection
• Backcross, mass selection
• Heterosis
• Plant nutrients, deficiency symptoms of nutrients
• Manures and fertilisers, systems of irrigation, management of important pests and diseases of fruits and vegetables