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Master’s degree in Agriculture/ Soil Sciences/ Agricultural Chemistry/ Agricultural Physics with specialization in Soil Physics and Soil and Water Conservation/ Soil Fertility/Soil Microbiology/ Soil Chemistry/ Water Science and Technology.
"Two separate competitive written examinations (Computer Based Test + Written) followed by Viva-voce shall be conducted as per the following plan of examinations:-
Examination Max. Marks Duration
Preliminary-ARS 150 2 hours (Objective Type)
ARS – Main 240 3 hours (Descriptive Type)
Viva-voce 60 1/3 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer in ARS-2021 (Preliminary)
Examination (Objective Type). There will be no rounding off of fractions of marks. This is a qualifying examination and marks scored will not be counted for final selection. ARS-2021 (Mains) Examination Paper will have only one paper of 240 marks in the respective disciplines, to be attempted in 3 hours duration. The paper shall be divided in three parts A, B and C. Part ‘A’ will consist of 40 (forty) questions of 2 (two) marks each. In this 30 part, answers required will be of very short, not exceeding 10 (Ten) words at the most. Part ‘B’ will have 20 (twenty) questions of 5 (five) marks each requiring one or two paragraphs and/or graphic explanation. Part ‘C’ will have 6 (six) essay type or descriptive type questions. Each question will carry 10 (ten) marks and may have two or more parts. Answers are required to be written in the space provided below the question. In no case extra sheets will be provided. All questions in parts ‘A’ ‘B’ and ‘C’ will be compulsory. "
Unit 1: Pedology
Concept of land, soil and soil science. Composition of earth crust and its relationship with soils; Rocks, minerals and other soil forming materials; Weathering of rocks and minerals; Factors of soil formation; Pedogenic processes and their relationships with soil properties; Soil development; Pedon, polypedon, soil profile, horizons and their nomenclature. Soil Taxonomy - epipedons, diagnostic subsurface horizons and other diagnostic characteristics, soil moisture and temperature regimes, categories of the system and their criteria; Interpretation of soil survey data for land capability and crop suitability classifications, Macro-morphological study of soils.
Application and use of global positioning system for soil survey. Soil survey- types, techniques. Soil series- characterization and procedure for establishing soil series, benchmark soils and soil correlations. Study of base maps: cadastral maps, toposheets, aerial photographs and satellite imageries. Use of geographical information system for preparing thematic maps.
Unit 2: Soil Physics
Soil physical constraints affecting crop production. Soil texture - textural classes. Soil structure - classification, soil aggregation and significance, soil consistency, soil crusting, bulk density and particle density of soils and porosity, their significance and manipulation. Soil water- retention and potentials. Soil moisture constants. Movement of soil water - infiltration, percolation, permeability, drainage and methods of determination of soil moisture. Darcy’s law. Thermal properties of soils, soil temperature, Soil air- composition, gaseous exchange, influence of soil temperature and air on plant growth. Soil erosion by water- types, effects, mechanics. Rain erosivity and soil erodibility. Runoff - methods of measurement, factors and management, runoff farming. Soil conservation measures.
Characterization and evaluation of soil and land quality indicators; Causes of land degradation; Management of soil physical properties for prevention/restoration of land degradation; Identification, monitoring and management of waste lands; Land use- land cover mapping and land use planning using conventional and remote sensing techniques; Concept of watershed - its characterization and management.
Unit 3: Soil Chemistry
Chemical composition of soil; Soil colloids - structure, composition, constitution of clay minerals, amorphous clays and other non-crystalline silicate minerals, oxide and hydroxide minerals; Charge development on clays and organic matter; pH-charge relations; Buffer capacity of soils.
Elements of equilibrium thermodynamics, chemical equilibria , electrochemistry and chemical kinetics. Inorganic and organic colloids- surface charge characteristics, diffuse double layer theories, zeta potential stability, coagulation/ flocculation, peptization, electrometric and sorption properties of soil colloid. Soil organic matter¬fractionation, clay-organic interactions. Cation exchange- theories, adsorption isotherms, Donnan-membrane equilibrium concept, clay-membrane electrodes and ionic activity measurement, thermodynamics, anion and ligand exchange- inner sphere and outer-sphere surface complex formation, fixation of oxyanions , hysteresis in sorption-desorption of oxy-anions and anions. Nitrogen, potassium, phosphate and ammonium fixation in soils and management aspects. Chemistry of acid, salt-affected and submerged soils and management aspects.
Unit 4: Soil Fertility
Essential elements in plant nutrition; Nutrient cycles in soil; Transformation and transport of nutrients (Macro and micro nutrients) in soil; Manures and fertilizers; Fate and reactions of fertilizers in soils; Chemistry of production ol different fertilizers; Slow release fertilizers and nitrification retarders; Quality control of fertilizers.
Soil fertility evaluation - soil testing, plant and tissue tests and biological methods; Common soil test methods for fertilizer recommendation; Soil test-crop response correlations; Integrated nutrient management; Use of isotopic tracers in soil research; Nature, properties and development of acid, acid sulphate, saline and alkali and their management; Lime and gypsum requirements of soils; Irrigation water quality - EC, SAR, RSC and specifications. Fertility status of major soil groups of India.
Pollution: types, causes, methods of measurement, standards and management. Heavy metal toxicity and soil pollution; Chemical and bio-remediation of contaminated soils; Soil factors in emission of greenhouse gases; Carbon sequestration in mitigating greenhouse effect; Radio-active contamination of soil.
Unit 5: Soil Microbiology
Soil biota, soil microbial ecology, types of organisms. Soil microbial biomass, microbial interactions, unculturable 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 N, P, K, S, Fe and Zn in soil. Biochemical composition and biodegradation of soil organic matter and crop residues. Humus formation. Cycles of important organic nutrients. Biodegradation of pesticides, organic wastes and their use for production of biogas and manures. Biofertilizers - definition, classification, specifications, method of production and role in crop production.
Methods of soil analysis - particle size distribution, bulk and particle density, moisture constants, Modern methods of soil, plant and fertilizer analysis Flame photometry and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy; Spectrophotometry - visible, ultra-violet and infrared; Atomic absorption spectrophotometry; Potentiometry and conductimetry; X-ray diffractometry; Mass spectrometry.
Unit 6: Statistics
Experimental designs for pot culture and field experiments; Statistical measures of central tendency and dispersion; Correlation and regression; Tests of significance - t and F tests; Computer use in soil research.
