ICAR JRF Forestry, Agroforestry & Silviculture Syllabus 2026 — Code 09 Unit-wise Topics
Complete ICAR JRF Forestry, Agroforestry and Silviculture syllabus 2026 — Code 09 unit-wise topics for forest production, silviculture, agroforestry, resource management, wildlife, forest policies, and tree improvement.
ICAR JRF Forestry, Agroforestry & Silviculture Syllabus 2026 — Code 09
Major Subject Group: Forestry/Agroforestry & Silviculture
Sub-Subjects: 9.1 Forest Production & Utilization · 9.2 Silviculture & Agroforestry · 9.3 Forest Resource Management · 9.4 Forest Biology and Tree Improvement
This page turns the official Code 09 syllabus into a revision-friendly format for JRF preparation. The paper is broad, but most rank-making questions come from silviculture, agroforestry systems, forest resource management, forest products, and tree improvement basics.
Exam Snapshot
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Subject Code | 09 — Forestry/Agroforestry & Silviculture |
| Total Questions | 120 MCQs |
| Duration | 2 Hours |
| Marking Scheme | +4 per correct answer |
| Negative Marking | −1/3 per wrong answer |
| Question Type | Multiple Choice (Single correct) |
| Medium | English |
Latest Official Notification Details
| Parameter | 2026-27 Official Detail |
|---|---|
| Notice Date | 08 May 2026 |
| Application Window | 08 May 2026 to 07 June 2026 (up to 5:00 PM) |
| Fee Payment Deadline | 07 June 2026 (up to 11:50 PM) |
| Correction Window | 09 June to 10 June 2026 |
| Exam Date | 04 July 2026 (Saturday) |
| Mode | Computer Based Test (CBT) |
| Pattern | Objective type MCQs |
| Medium | English only |
| Duration | 02 hours (120 minutes) |
| Source | NTA 2026 Public Notice PDF · ICAR Syllabus PDF |
What Is Officially Fixed For Code 09
- Code 09 is the official major subject group for Forestry/Agroforestry & Silviculture in AICE JRF/SRF (Ph.D.).
- The paper is conducted in English only, in CBT mode, for 120 minutes.
- The official syllabus is organized as Unit-I base agriculture/forestry context and Unit-II forestry core.
- NTA publishes the exam schedule, mode, duration, and application timeline, but it does not publish official chapter-wise weightage for Forestry.
- So any “high-yield” classification below is prep guidance, not an official NTA weightage table.
Unit-I: Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Base
This common base is shorter than the forestry core, but it is still examinable and should not be skipped.
- Importance of agriculture, forestry and livestock in the national economy
- Basic principles of crop production
- Important rural development programmes in India
- Elementary principles of economics and agri-extension
- Organisational setup of agricultural research, education and extension in India
- Major diseases and pests of crops
- Elements of statistics
Unit-II: Forestry Core
This is the main scoring block for Code 09.
Forest Basics
- Importance of forests
- Types and classification of forests
- Forest ecosystem and its biotic and abiotic components
- Ecological succession and climax
Silviculture
- Nursery and planting technique
- Silvicultural practices
- Natural regeneration
- Man-made plantations
- Shifting cultivation and taungya
- Dendrology
Social, Farm and Urban Forestry
- Social forestry
- Farm forestry
- Urban forestry
- Community forestry
- Multipurpose tree species
- Wasteland management
Forest Products and Utilization
- Hardwoods, softwoods, pulp woods and fuel woods
- Major and minor forest products
- Medicinal and aromatic plants in forest systems
- Biological and chemical wood preservation
- Wood decay and discolouration
Agroforestry and Resource Management
- Agroforestry importance and land-use systems
- Forest soils, classification and conservation
- Watershed management
- Rangelands
- Forest inventory
- Aerial photo interpretation and remote sensing
Forest Biology, Genetics and Tree Improvement
- Forest genetics and biotechnology
- Tree improvement
- Tree seed technology
Wildlife, Environment and Forest Protection
- Wildlife importance, abuse, depletion and management
- Forest depletion and degradation
- Impact on environment
- Global warming
- Role of forests and trees in climate mitigation
- Tree diseases and tree pests
- Integrated pest and disease management
Forest Policy, Economics and Governance
- Forest conservation
- Indian forest policies
- Indian Forest Act
- Forest engineering
- Forest economics
- Joint forest management
- Tribology
Exam-Focused High-Yield Areas
| Area | Why it matters in JRF prep |
|---|---|
| Silviculture and regeneration | Nursery, planting, regeneration, taungya, and plantation basics are classic concept-to-MCQ areas |
| Forest classification and ecosystem | Easy territory for direct factual and definition-based questions |
| Agroforestry systems | The syllabus explicitly names agroforestry importance and land-use systems, so system-based recall is high value |
| Forest mensuration and inventory | Common exam-friendly technical topics because they translate well into short objective questions |
| Forest products | Hardwood, softwood, pulpwood, fuelwood, and minor forest produce are high-return revision areas |
| Tree improvement and seed technology | Small but repeatedly testable theory block |
| Forest policy and conservation | Indian Forest Act, policies, JFM, and conservation are easy current-theory bridges |
| Wildlife and climate role of forests | The syllabus directly includes wildlife management, degradation, and climate mitigation |
Quick Reference: What To Revise First
| Area | What to revise first |
|---|---|
| Silviculture | Nursery, planting, regeneration, plantations, taungya, shifting cultivation |
| Agroforestry | Importance, system types, tree-crop land use, multipurpose tree species |
| Resource Management | Forest soils, watershed management, rangelands, inventory, remote sensing |
| Forest Utilization | Hardwood vs softwood, pulpwood, fuelwood, major and minor forest products |
| Forest Biology | Tree improvement, tree seed technology, genetics and biotechnology basics |
| Protection & Policy | Tree pests, diseases, wood decay, forest policies, Indian Forest Act, JFM |
| Base Unit | Crop production basics, agri-extension, rural development, statistics |
How To Prepare The General Agriculture Layer Efficiently With AgriDots
For plant- and agriculture-heavy JRF groups, the common agriculture base is explicit in the official syllabus itself. That is clear in groups such as Agronomy, Soil Science, Horticulture, Entomology, Plant Science, Plant Biotechnology, Social Sciences, and Water Science & Technology. In the animal, dairy, fisheries, food, engineering, forestry, community-science, and statistics groups, the same layer still improves scores because objective papers reward candidates who can quickly eliminate options using basic knowledge of crops, soils, schemes, extension, economics, statistics, and current agriculture.
So the practical rule is simple: do not prepare your subject in isolation. Keep one common-agriculture revision layer active throughout your JRF preparation.
Shared Books For The Common Agriculture Layer
| Book | Best use in common JRF preparation |
|---|---|
| Fundamentals of Agriculture, Vol. 1 & 2 — Arun Katyayan | Best base book for crop production, soils, nutrient deficiency, plant biology, genetics, pests, diseases, and agriculture basics |
| A Competitive Book of Agriculture — Nem Raj Sunda | Best for objective revision once the basic theory is already clear |
| Objective Agriculture for JRF Exam — S. R. Kantwa | Useful for MCQ drilling, recall speed, and mixed-agriculture practice |
| General Agriculture for ICAR Examinations — Muniraj Singh Rathore | Good backup book for one-line revision and broad competitive coverage |
Why AgriDots Is More Efficient Than Reading Books Alone
| Use AgriDots for | Why it is faster than books alone |
|---|---|
| Shared Agriculture Course | It compresses the overlapping JRF base into linked notes across agronomy, soil science, horticulture, genetics, pathology, entomology, economics, extension, animal husbandry, fisheries, ecology, and agricultural statistics instead of forcing you to extract overlap manually from multiple standard books |
| Topic-Wise Agriculture Practice Tests | You can revise chapter by chapter immediately after reading instead of waiting until one full book is complete |
| Agriculture Test Series | Mixed-subject Revision Warrior quizzes train recall across subjects, which is closer to how objective papers actually feel |
| Agriculture Current Affairs Hub | Books do not stay current on MSP, schemes, production reports, fertilizer policy, dairy/fisheries updates, or digital-agriculture changes |
Efficient JRF Workflow With AgriDots
- Read one main subject book for your core discipline and keep the rest of the books as support, not as parallel first reads.
- Use /courses/agriculture to finish the overlapping general-agriculture layer faster than building notes from multiple books.
- After each topic, solve topic-wise quizzes so weak areas become visible immediately.
- Use Revision Warrior mixed tests to train switching between crop, soil, genetics, economics, extension, and current-affairs questions.
- Use agriculture-current-affairs every week so your static preparation stays updated with schemes, policy, production, and report-based questions.
Why this works better than books alone: standard books build depth, but they are slow, repetitive across subjects, and weak on current agriculture. AgriDots is better for speed, revision order, topic linking, and exam-style recall, while books remain your depth source.
Preparation Strategy
- Finish the Unit-I base in one short cycle so you do not lose easy marks from rural development, extension, and statistics.
- Spend the main revision time on silviculture, agroforestry, forest products, and resource management.
- Make one-page comparisons for social forestry vs farm forestry vs urban forestry vs community forestry.
- Revise lists that convert directly into MCQs: wood categories, forest products, regeneration types, policies, and conservation terms.
- Use PYQs to identify whether you are weaker in theory recall or applied forestry vocabulary.
Syllabus-Wise Best Books
This list keeps the same book-to-syllabus mapping format used across the JRF subject pages.
| Book | Best use in the syllabus |
|---|---|
| Handbook of Forestry — L. S. Khanna | Best broad reference for silviculture, utilization, management, and forestry overview |
| Principles and Practice of Silviculture — L. S. Khanna | Best for regeneration, nursery, plantation, and core silvicultural concepts |
| Introduction to Forestry and Agroforestry — K. T. Parthiban, N. Krishnakumar & M. Karthik | Best for intro-level forestry plus agroforestry orientation |
| An Introduction to Agroforestry — P. K. R. Nair | Best for agroforestry systems, interactions, and land-use logic |
Minimal Book Strategy for Rank-Oriented Prep
If you want to keep the booklist tight:
- Handbook of Forestry for broad coverage
- Principles and Practice of Silviculture for depth in the most asked block
- PYQs + your own short notes for policies, products, and classification-heavy topics
Lesson Doubts
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