The Rajasthan Pre PG 2024 is a state-level agriculture entrance exam held by state agricultural universities for admission to various post-graduate programmes such as M.Sc. Agriculture, M.Sc. Horticulture, M.Sc. and Home Science/Community Science courses are available at the state’s agricultural universities, including SKRAU Bikaner, MPUAT Udaipur, SKNAU Jobner, AU Jodhpur, and AU Kota. The Agriculture University Jodhpur will conduct the Rajasthan Pre PG 2024 Entrance Exam. Graduate students are eligible to apply for the Rajasthan Pre PG Exam 2024.
Rajasthan Pre PG Horticulture Syllabus 2024
1. Fruit Science (Question 24)
Scope and importance of Horticulture, classification of horticultural crops, area and production, exports and imports of fruits, soil and climatic requirements of horticultural crops, vegetable gardens, planting systems, pruning and training of fruit crops, types and use of growth regulators in horticulture, water management, fruitfulness and unfruitfulness, rejuvenation of old orchards.
Propagation, sexual and asexual methods of propagation, graft incompatibility, seed dormancy and methods to overcome dormancy, phytotrons nursery, micro grafting, meristem culture, callus culture, anther culture, organogenesis, somaclonal variation, hardening of plants in nurseries, nursery registration act.
Tropical, sub-tropical and temperate horticultural systems, crop models and crop regulation in relation to fruit orchards, climate aberrations and mitigation measures of fruit crops.
Production technologies of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate fruits, nuts and plantation crops.
Weeds- Introduction, harmful and beneficial effects, weed management in major horticultural crops, the shift of weed flora in cropping systems, aquatic and problematic weeds and their control.
Genetic basis of plant breeding, pollination, incompatibility and sterility, breeding strategies, selection, hybridization, heterosis, heterobeltiosis, GCA, SCA, inbreeding depression, heritability and genetic advance, breeding for resistance of biotic and abiotic stresses. The physical basis of heredity, cell reproduction, mitosis, meiosis and its significance, mendelian genetics, chromosome theory of inheritance, the chemical basis of heredity, the structure of DNA and its replication. Domestication and adaptation of commercially important fruits, breeding methods, bud mutations, mutagenesis and its application in crop improvement, ploidy manipulations, and in-vitro breeding tools in important fruit and plantation crops.
Definition, importance, limitation and management of dry land horticulture, watershed development, soil and water conservation methods, impounding of run-off water, water harvesting methods, water use efficiency, characters and special adaptation of dryland horticultural crops.
2. Vegetable Science (Question 17)
Origin, distribution of species, wild relatives, Area, production, economic importance and export potential of vegetable, tuber and spice crops. Description of varieties and hybrids, climate, soil requirements, seed rate, field preparation, nursery practices, sowing/transplanting, spacing, planting systems, mulching, water requirement, weed management; nutrient management, PGRs, physiological disorders, harvesting, postharvest handling, economics and marketing of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate vegetables and tuber and spice crops. Role of spice board and pepper, export promotion council, institutions and research centres in R&D.
Breeding objectives and important concept of breeding self-pollinated, cross-pollinated and vegetatively propagated vegetable crops. Plant genetic resources, their conservation and utilization in crop improvement, breeding for biotic (insect, diseases) and abiotic resistance. Male sterility, incompatibility and their utilization in the development of hybrids. Breeding procedures for the development of hybrids and varieties in self and cross-pollinated vegetables. Genetic basis of adaptability and stability.
Introduction and history of the seed industry in India, types of seed. Principles of vegetable seed production. Role of temperature, humidity and light in vegetable seed production. Land requirement, climate, season, planting time, nursery management, seed rate, isolation distance, rouging, seed extraction and storage of vegetable crops. Field and seed standards. Seed drying and extraction. Seed legislation.
Precision farming, greenhouse technology, passive solar greenhouse, hot air greenhouse, heating systems, greenhouse drying. Choice of crops for cultivation under greenhouse. Problems/constraints of greenhouse cultivation and future strategies. Growing media, nutrient film technique (NFT) of hydroponics. Cost estimation and economic analysis.
3. Floriculture and Landscaping Architecture (Question 12)
Historical importance of Indian and ancient world gardens, Styles of the garden, Use of Auto-CAD and ArchCAD in designing gardens. Principles and elements of landscape gardens. Bio-aesthetic planning. Planning and designing of home gardens, colonies, country planning, urban landscape, institutional gardens, planning and planting of avenues, beautifying schools, railway lines & railway stations, factories, bus stands, airports, corporate buildings, dams, hydroelectric stations, river banks, playgrounds, gardens for places of religious importance, features of English, Japanese, Mughal, French, Persian, Italian, Hindu and Buddhist gardens, Xeriscaping. Propagation techniques for bulbous plants, History importance and scope, classification and general cultivation aspects of ornamental plants viz. annuals, biennales, herbaceous perennials, grasses and bulbous ornamentals, shrubs, climbers, trees, indoor plants, palms and cycads, ferns and selaginellas, cacti and succulents, garden features/components; garden adornments. Lawn, flower arrangement, vertical garden, bottle garden and terrarium, Bonsai.
Scope and importance of commercial floriculture in India. Production technologies of commercial loose and cut flower crops, foliage and filler materials in open and protected conditions, Postharvest technology of commercial cut and loose flower crops. Dehydration techniques for drying flowers. History, scope, cultivation and marketing of medicinal and aromatic plants, chemical composition, extraction and therapeutic and pharmaceutical uses of important medicinal and aromatic plants, Storage techniques of essential oils.
History of improvement of ornamental plants, centres of origin of flower and ornamental crops, objectives and techniques in ornamental plant breeding. Introduction, selection, hybridization, mutation and biotechnological techniques for improvement of ornamental and flower crops, breeding for disease resistance. Role of heterosis and its exploitation. Production of F1 hybrids and open-pollinated seed, utilization of male sterility, Harvesting, processing and storage of seed.
4. Post-Harvest Technology (Question 7)
Food and its function, physicochemical properties of foods, and food preparation techniques. Nutrition, the relation of nutrition to good health. Role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition. Energy: definition, determination of energy requirements, food energy and total energy needs of the body. Functions, source, requirements, digestion, absorption and utilization of Carbohydrates, proteins, Lipids, Minerals and Vitamins and the effect of their deficiency on human health. Essential and non-essential amino acids, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Balanced diet: recommended dietary allowances for various age groups, common disorders due to malnutrition in the population, and assessment of the nutritional status of the population.
Importance & scope of post-harvest management and processing of horticultural crops in India. Maturity indices, harvesting, post-harvest handling operations and treatments for fresh horticultural produce including precooling, sorting, grading, pre-harvest sprays, curing, de-greening, waxing, fumigation, irradiations, VHT, etc. Pre and post-harvest factors affecting quality. Factors responsible for the deterioration of horticultural produce. Physiological and biochemical changes during ripening. Hastening and delaying the ripening process. Quality parameters and specifications. Structure of fruits, vegetables and cut flowers related to physiological changes after harvest. Different systems of storage including CA & MA storage, low-cost cooling structures for fresh produces. Packaging, prepackaging treatments, types of packages, types of cushioning materials, and recent advances in the packaging technology of horticultural crops. Transportation of fresh horticultural produce to the local and export markets. Food pipeline, unit operations in food processing.
General principles and methods of preservation of fruits and vegetables. Preservation by heat, pasteurization and sterilization, canning and bottling of fruits and vegetables. Preservation by chemical preservatives. Preparation and preservation of fermented and unfermented beverages. Preservation by sugar and preparation of Jam, jelly and marmalade, preserves, candies, crystallized fruits, etc. Preservation with salt, spices, oil and vinegar, pickling, chutneys and tomato products. Freezing, drying & dehydration of fruits & vegetables. Spoilage in processed foods, utilization and disposal of waste from processing unit, quality control of processed products, Govt. policy on import and export of processed fruits. Food laws. Principles and guidelines for the establishment of processing units.
Entomology- Animal kingdom- Classification and nomenclature. Economic importance of Arthropods, insects and mites in particular. A comparative account of external morphology, structure and function of insect anatomy especially grasshopper. Types of reproduction. Postembryonic development-exclusion, Metamorphosis, Types of egg larvae and pupa. Classification of insects up to orders, sub-order and families of economic importance and their distinguished characters. Plant mites– morphological features, important families with examples.
Economic classification of insects; Bio-ecology and insect-pest management with reference to fruit, plantation, medicinal, aromatic, vegetable, ornamental, spice crops and storage products. Management of mites in horticulture. Ecosystem and wildlife preservation. Insect dominance. Physical, mechanical, cultural, chemical, biological, legal and other modern approaches to insect pest management. Insecticide residue problems in fruit, plantation, medicinal, vegetable, ornamental and aromatic crops and their maximum residue limits (MRLs). Lac culture, sericulture and apiculture.
Plant Pathology- Importance of microbes and plant pathology in horticulture. Micro-organisms (fungi & bacteria) and their classification, nutrition, growth and reproduction. Host-pathogen relationship. Morphology, reproduction, nutrition and nomenclature of fungi. Parasitic causes of plant diseases (fungi, bacteria, viruses, phytoplasma, protozoa, algae and flowering parasitic plants), their characteristics and classification. Non-parasitic causes of plant diseases. Classification of plant pathogenic fungi. Symptomology, disease cycle. Fungicide classification is based on chemical nature, commonly used fungicides, bactericides and nematicides.
Etiology, symptoms, mode of spread, epidemiology and integrated management of the diseases and postharvest diseases of fruit, plantation, medicinal, aromatic, vegetable, ornamental and spice crops. Principles and integrated plant disease management.
Nematology- History and development of nematology- definition, economic importance. General characters of plant parasitic nematodes, their morphology, taxonomy, classification, biology, symptomatology and control of important plant parasitic nematodes of fruits, vegetables, ornamental, spice and plantation crops. Role of nematodes in plant disease complex. Integrated nematode management.
Soil Science– Composition of earth’s crust, soil as a natural body- major components. Soil forming rocks and minerals; weathering and processes of soil formation. Physical parameters; texture, structure, particle density, bulk density, Pore space, Soil colour, Soil consistency, plasticity, Atterberg’s constants, Soil air, Soil temperature and Soil water. Soil colloids, Ion exchange. Soil Classification–Taxonomy- soil orders & characteristics, land capability classification; soil of different eco-systems and their properties. Introduction to soil fertility and productivity- factors. Essential plant nutrient elements functions, deficiency symptoms, transformations and availability. Acid, calcareous and salt-affected soils – characteristics and management. NPK, Secondary and micronutrient fertilizers: composition and application methodology. Manures classification and Biofertilizer. Quality of irrigation water. Soil and Water pollution. Soil, water and plant analysis. Management of poor-quality irrigation water in crop management. Organic farming- Introduction, concept, relevance in the present context.
Agricultural Engineering – Available and unavailable soil moisture – water budgeting. lysimeter studies, pan evaporimeter, Irrigation scheduling & its different approaches. Sprinkler and drip irrigation, their suitability, merits and limitations, fertigation, and Layout of the underground pipeline system. Basic principles and operation of IC Engines, two-stroke and four-stroke engines, cooling, lubrication & power transmission system of tractors. Tillage- types, implements- indigenous ploughs, mould board ploughs, disc and rotary ploughs, harrows, levellers, ridges and bund formers. Seed drills, Crop harvesting equipment.
Agronomy- Cultivation practices of kharif and rabi crops. Farming and cropping systems – mono, sole and multiple cropping, relay, sequential and intercropping, green manuring, crop rotation. Integrated Nutrient Management. Weed control. Agricultural Meteorology, weather and climate- aspects involved in weather and climate, soil& atmospheric temperature, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, and humidity.
Environmental Studies- Multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies: Definition, scope and importance. Ecosystems, Structure and function of an ecosystem. Ecological succession. Food chains, food webs and ecological pyramids. Biodiversity and its conservation. Environmental Pollution: definition, cause, effects and control measures of Air, Water, Soil, Marine, Noise and Thermal pollution. Disaster Management.
Agro-forestry- Agroforestry definition, objectives and potential. Agroforestry system, sub-system and practice: shifting cultivation, taungya, home gardens, diagnosis & design methodology, multipurpose tree species and tree management practices in agroforestry.
7. Basic Science (Statistics + Biochemistry + Microbiology + Crop Physiology & Growth and Development + Biotechnology) (Question 7)
Statistics- Introduction to statistics, Basic concepts, data classification and their graphic representation, measures of location, Dispersion, basics of Probability, additive and multiplicative laws. Distributions, Sampling methods, Tests of Significance, different tests, Correlation, regression, Experimental designs, Computer application: Introduction to computers, Windows, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint preparation, Multi-media Internet.
Biochemistry- Structure, function and classification of Plant Biomolecules, and their metabolism. Water Relations in Plants, Drought, types of stresses & mechanism, Plant Nutrition, Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Photosynthesis, CO2 fixation, Photorespiration. Microbiology – History and Scope of Microbiology, the germ theory of diseases, Development of microbiology, Microscopy and Specimen Preparation, staining. Types of culture media and pre-culture techniques, growth curve, viruses, bacteriophages, Sterilization methods, Mushrooms culture, production and applications.
Crop Physiology and growth and development of horticultural crops– Photosynthesis, respiration, plant water relation, crop Growth and development of Horticultural crops, Plant bio-regulators, vernalization, photoperiodism, pruning and training, Physiology of seed development, seed dormancy, fruit setting, physiology of fruits under post-harvest storage.
Biotechnology – Basic concepts and application plant Biotechnology, Plant Tissue Culture and Plant Genetic Engineering; Techniques of In-vitro cultures, Micropropagation, Somaclonal Variation, Somatic embryogenesis and synthetic seed production technology, Basics of gene cloning, gene transfer, PCR and other molecular techniques, Mapping QTL and MAS, and its application in crop improvement. Nanotechnology, types of nano material and their synthesis, Tools and techniques to characterize the nanoparticles, Applications in agriculture and Nanotoxicology.
8. Social Science (Extension + Economics + Business Management) (Question 7)
Extension Education: meaning, definition, scope, objectives & principles. Motivation, Pre-independence & Post independence rural development programmes, TOT programmes, Communication, Audio-visual Aids, Adoption & diffusion, Teaching & Learning, Programme planning, Evaluation, PRA & RRA, Management & Administration, Human resource development, ICT, Entrepreneurship development process, Decision making, Business Communication, Management, Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, SWOT analysis, Institutes involved in EDP, Supply chain management, Note-taking & record maintenance, Communication skills, Personality Development, Abstracting, Individual & Group Presentation, Public speaking, Group discussion, Organizing seminar & conferences.
Economics and Marketing- Consumption – theory of consumer behaviour, laws of consumption, the law of diminishing marginal utility, the law of equi-marginal utility, indifference curve and its properties, consumer equilibrium. Demand schedule and curve. Price, income and cross elasticities, consumer’s surplus. factors of production – land and its characteristics, labour and division of labour, Capital and its characteristics – classification -Enterprises – forms of business organization – merits and demerits. Laws or return – law of
diminishing marginal return – cost concepts. Law of supply – supply schedule and curve elasticities. – Classification of markets Marketing of various channels – Price spread – Marketing Efficiency – Integration – Basic guidelines for the preparation of project reports
Horti-Business Management- Farm management principles and decision making, production function, technical relationships, cost concepts, curves and functions – factors, product, relationship – factors relationship, product relationship, Farming systems and types. Planning – meaning, steps and methods of planning, organizational principles, Direction – guiding, leading, motivating, supervising, coordination – meaning, methods of controlling – evaluation, control systems and devices. Budgeting as a tool for planning and control. Functional areas of management – operations management – physical facilities, Materials management – types of inventories, economic order quantity (EOQ). Personnel management – recruitment, selection and training, Marketing management – definitions, marketing mix and four P’s. Financial management – financial statements and ratios, capital budgeting. Project management – project preparation evaluation measures.
Four marks will be awarded for correct answers and one mark will be deducted for incorrect answers, with negative marking applied and no marks for unanswered questions.
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