CFTRI M.Sc. (Food Technology) Agriculture and Dairy Technology Syllabus

What is soil erosion and its two principal natural agents?

Soil erosion is the detachment and transport of soil particles from one place to another; the two principal agents are water and wind.

Name the sequential forms of water erosion from least to most severe.

Splash (raindrop) erosion → sheet erosion → rill erosion → gully erosion → ravine/stream-bank erosion.

What is contour farming?

Contour farming is carrying out tillage, sowing and other operations across the slope along contour lines to reduce runoff velocity and check soil erosion.

What is contour bunding versus graded bunding?

Contour bunding constructs earthen embankments along contours to retain water in low-rainfall areas; graded bunding has a slight gradient to safely drain excess water in high-rainfall areas.

What is strip cropping?

Strip cropping is growing erosion-permitting crops (e.g. row crops) in alternate strips with erosion-resisting close-growing crops (e.g. grasses, legumes) across the slope to check erosion.

What is terracing in soil conservation?

Terracing is constructing benches or ridges across a slope to reduce land slope length and gradient, slowing runoff and controlling erosion on steep lands.

What are shelterbelts/windbreaks?

Shelterbelts are rows of trees and shrubs planted at right angles to prevailing winds to reduce wind velocity and control wind erosion.

Define soil fertility versus soil productivity.

Soil fertility is the inherent capacity of soil to supply nutrients in adequate amounts and balance; soil productivity is the soil's ability to produce crop yields under a specified management system.

List the essential macronutrients required by plants.

Primary macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K); secondary macronutrients: calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulphur (S).

List the essential plant micronutrients.

Iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), boron (B), molybdenum (Mo), chlorine (Cl) and nickel (Ni).

State Liebig's Law of the Minimum.

Crop growth is controlled not by the total resources available but by the scarcest resource (limiting factor); yield is limited by the nutrient that is most deficient relative to need.

What is the optimum soil pH range for most crops, and what do acidic and alkaline mean?

Most crops grow best at pH 6.0–7.5 (slightly acidic to neutral); below 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline.

What is the nitrogen content of urea and why is it a popular fertilizer?

Urea contains about 46% nitrogen, the highest N concentration among solid nitrogenous fertilizers, making it economical to transport and apply.

Give the nutrient grade of DAP (di-ammonium phosphate).

DAP is 18-46-0, i.e. 18% nitrogen and 46% phosphorus as P2O5, with no potassium.

What does a fertilizer grade such as 'N-P2O5-K2O 10-26-26' mean?

It states the guaranteed percentages by weight of available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (as P2O5) and potassium (as K2O) in the fertilizer — 10% N, 26% P2O5, 26% K2O.

What is biological nitrogen fixation and name a key symbiotic genus.

It is the conversion of atmospheric N2 into ammonia by microorganisms; Rhizobium fixes nitrogen symbiotically in the root nodules of legumes.

What is green manuring?

Green manuring is growing a quick-growing crop (e.g. Sesbania/dhaincha, Sunhemp) and ploughing it into the soil while green to improve soil organic matter and nitrogen.

Differentiate broadcasting, band placement and foliar application of fertilizers.

Broadcasting spreads fertilizer uniformly over the field; band placement puts it in bands near the seed/root zone; foliar application sprays dilute nutrient solution onto leaves for quick uptake.

Define cropping pattern and cropping system.

Cropping pattern is the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops on a given area; cropping system is the cropping pattern plus its management to derive benefits from a given resource base.

What is crop rotation and one key benefit?

Crop rotation is growing different crops in a planned sequence on the same field over seasons/years; it improves soil fertility (especially via legumes) and breaks pest, disease and weed cycles.

Define intercropping versus mixed cropping.

Intercropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously in a definite row arrangement; mixed cropping is growing them together without any distinct row pattern.

What is multiple cropping and name two types.

Multiple cropping is growing two or more crops on the same field in one year; types include sequential (double/triple) cropping and intercropping.

What is relay cropping?

Relay cropping is sowing the succeeding crop into a standing (maturing) crop before it is harvested, to better utilise the growing season.

What is the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER)?

LER is the relative land area needed under sole cropping to produce the yields achieved by intercropping; LER greater than 1 indicates an intercrop yield advantage.

Define a weed and the term 'critical period of crop-weed competition'.

A weed is any unwanted plant growing where it is not desired; the critical period is the crop growth stage (often early, ~15–45 days) during which weed competition most reduces yield and weeds must be controlled.

Classify weeds based on life cycle.

Annuals (complete life cycle in one season, e.g. Phalaris minor), biennials (two seasons, e.g. wild carrot) and perennials (live more than two years, e.g. Cyperus rotundus).

Differentiate selective and non-selective herbicides with an example each.

Selective herbicides kill target weeds without harming the crop (e.g. 2,4-D in cereals); non-selective herbicides kill all green plants (e.g. glyphosate, paraquat).

What is the difference between pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides?

Pre-emergence herbicides are applied before crop/weed seedlings emerge (e.g. pendimethalin); post-emergence herbicides are applied after weeds have emerged (e.g. 2,4-D).

Name the disease and pathogen type of rice blast and wheat rusts.

Rice blast is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (Pyricularia oryzae); wheat rusts (black/brown/yellow) are caused by Puccinia species — both are fungal diseases.

Give one example each of a bacterial, viral and fungal crop disease.

Bacterial blight of rice (Xanthomonas oryzae) is bacterial; Tobacco mosaic / leaf curl is viral; late blight of potato (Phytophthora infestans) is fungal.

What are plant-parasitic nematodes and name one important species with its crop.

Nematodes are microscopic roundworms that parasitise plants, often roots; the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) causes galls on roots of tomato, brinjal and many vegetables.

What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?

IPM is an ecological approach that combines cultural, mechanical, biological and judicious chemical methods to keep pest populations below the economic threshold while minimising hazards to humans and the environment.