Electives

BSc Agriculture Semester 7 elective courses as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Complete list of 20 electives: Organic Farming, Precision Farming, Biotechnology, Agribusiness, Food Technology, Horticulture. Choose 5 courses × 4 credits.

Lecture notes covering post-harvest losses, handling, storage, processing, packaging, value addition, and enterprise policy as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 21 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Lecture notes covering food composition, nutritional needs, digestion, processing, spoilage, quality standards, and food safety as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 20 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Lecture notes covering organic farming principles, certification, nutrient and pest management, conservation agriculture, natural farming, and market-policy aspects as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 19 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Lecture notes covering GIS, GPS, remote sensing, image analysis, crop monitoring, and precision-farming technologies as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 18 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Lecture notes covering seed industry structure, seed production systems, quality assurance, storage, and seed business management as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 16 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Importance of quality seed, growth of the Indian seed sector, and major laws and policies governing seed quality and farmers' rights.

Lecture notes covering climate change evidence, agricultural vulnerability, climate-smart adaptation, and mitigation strategies as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 15 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Scientific evidence, greenhouse gases, IPCC findings, and India-specific climate trends relevant to agriculture.

Lecture notes covering biological and nano-enabled agricultural formulations, their production, quality control, and regulation as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 14 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Definition, background, need, types, advantages, and limits of bioformulations in sustainable agriculture.

Understand what natural resources are, how they are classified, and why their management is central to agriculture and development.

Understand what agricultural journalism is, why it matters, and how it connects science, policy, and farmer decision-making.

Understand what agricultural systems modeling is, why systems thinking matters, and how models help interpret and predict crop performance.

Understand what weeds are, why they survive so successfully, and why weed management is central to profitable crop production.

Understand what hi-tech horticulture means, why it is needed, and which technologies make horticultural production more precise and market-oriented.

Understand the meaning, principle, history, and importance of plant tissue culture as the foundation of micropropagation.

Understand what protected cultivation is, why it is needed, and how it changes crop production compared with open-field farming.

Understand what biopesticides are, how they are classified, why they matter in sustainable agriculture, and where they fit in crop protection.

Understand what food safety means, why it matters, and how the farm-to-fork approach helps prevent food-borne illness.

Understand the major principles of landscape design and how they guide the arrangement of plants, structures, and open space.

Understand the structure of the seed industry, the seed chain, key institutions, and the regulatory framework governing quality seed.

Understand what agrochemicals are, how they are classified, and why classification matters for safe and effective agricultural use.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 01, focused on the business, marketing, processing, and trade dimensions of agriculture.

Understand the meaning, scope, components, and significance of agribusiness in modern agriculture.

Lecture notes covering tissue culture, molecular breeding, genomics, transformation, genome editing, and biotech regulation as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Course Code: ELEC 17 | Credits: 4(3+1).

Types and causes of post-harvest losses and the main physiological processes responsible for deterioration after harvest.

Major nutrients, protective food components, and the nutritive value of important food groups.

Definition, principles, history, major systems, and comparison of organic farming with conventional agriculture.

Meaning, components, historical development, and agricultural importance of geoinformatics in India.

Detailed coverage of seed classes (Breeder, Foundation, Certified, TL), certification process, field standards, and quality declared seed.

Detailed analysis of how climate change affects crop yields, livestock, water resources, pests, and livelihoods in Indian agriculture.

Carrier-based, liquid, and granular biofertilizer formulations — production methods, quality standards, and inoculation techniques.

Land use statistics, soil erosion types, USLE formula, land capability classification, and conservation practices for ELEC 13 Natural Resources Management.

Agricultural Information Sources — ICAR publications, KVK reports, research journals, databases, and digital repositories for agricultural knowledge.

Crop Growth Models — structure, inputs, and applications of DSSAT, APSIM, WOFOST, and InfoCrop simulation platforms.

Weed Biology and Ecology — reproduction, seed bank dynamics, competitive interactions, and allelopathy in weed populations.

Precision Farming in Horticulture.

Laboratory Setup and Media Preparation.

Types of Protected Structures — Greenhouse Polyhouse Net House.

Bacterial Biopesticides — Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), Cry proteins, strains, formulations, and Bacillus subtilis in crop protection.

Food-Borne Diseases and Microbial Hazards.

Elements and Components of Landscaping.

DUS Testing and Variety Registration — distinctness, uniformity, stability testing, and the PPV&FR Act for plant variety protection.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 02, focused on agrochemicals, their safe use, and their role in integrated pest management.

Insecticides — chemical groups, mode of action, systemic vs contact insecticides, and IRAC classification.

Agribusiness Environment — micro and macro environmental factors affecting agribusiness operations in India.

Totipotency, culture requirements, morphogenesis, specialized culture systems, and major agricultural applications of plant tissue culture.

Maturity indices and harvesting standards for major crops; post-harvest handling operations including sorting, grading, pre-cooling, curing, and packaging.

ICMR 2020 RDA values, malnutrition in India (PEM, anaemia, VAD, iodine deficiency, overnutrition), nutritional assessment, and government nutrition programmes.

NPOP, PGS-India, USDA NOP, EU organic standards, certification process, conversion period, and labelling requirements.

Definition, components, raster vs vector data, spatial analysis operations, GIS software, and agricultural applications.

Principles and practices of seed production in self-pollinated crops including rice, wheat, pulses, and oilseeds — isolation, rouging, and harvest management.

Framework for assessing climate vulnerability in agriculture: exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, risk mapping, and district-level profiling methods.

Classification, production, and formulation of microbial biopesticides including Bt, NPV, entomopathogenic fungi, and Trichoderma.

Hydrological cycle, groundwater, water quality parameters, watershed management, rainwater harvesting, and waterlogging solutions for ELEC 13.

Writing for Print Media — news writing using 5W1H, feature articles, editorials, press releases, and agricultural journalism for newspapers and magazines.

Weather-Based Crop Simulation — meteorological data integration, growing degree days, water balance modeling, and weather-yield relationships.

Weed Classification and Identification — grasses, broadleaves, sedges, and parasitic weeds with key identification features.

Drip and Fertigation Systems.

Techniques — Meristem Callus Somatic Embryogenesis.

Climate Control and Environmental Management.

Fungal Biopesticides — Trichoderma species, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, modes of action, and field applications.

Chemical Hazards in Food.

Trees Shrubs and Climbers for Landscaping.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 03, focused on commercial breeding, seed systems, variety protection, and the business side of crop improvement.

Hybrid Seed Production Technology — principles, male sterility systems, isolation requirements, and commercial hybrid seed production.

Fungicides and Bactericides — classification, mode of action, systemic and contact fungicides, and usage in crop protection.

Strategic Management in Agribusiness — planning, formulation, implementation, and evaluation of business strategies.

Stages of micropropagation, commercial applications in India, cryopreservation, and somatic hybridization through protoplast fusion including cybrids and applications.

Cold chain concept and components; pre-cooling methods; cold storage types; controlled atmosphere and modified atmosphere storage principles and applications.

Digestive enzymes, absorption mechanisms, and metabolic pathways for carbohydrates, proteins, and fats including glycolysis, TCA cycle, beta-oxidation, and hormonal control.

FYM, compost methods (Berkely, Indore, NADEP), vermicompost, green manuring, biofertilizers, liquid manures, and nutrient management planning in organic systems.

GPS principles, trilateration, GNSS systems (NavIC, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou), DGPS, RTK, and agricultural applications.

Principles and practices for seed production in cross-pollinated crops including maize, bajra, sunflower, and sorghum — isolation, roguing, and detasseling.

FAO's Climate Smart Agriculture framework: triple-win objectives, CSA practices, India's initiatives, NDCs, and linkages with SDGs.

Quality parameters, BIS standards, shelf-life enhancement, and registration procedures for biofertilizers and biopesticides in India.

Types of Indian forests, Champion & Seth classification, National Forest Policy 1988, social forestry, JFM, and afforestation programmes for ELEC 13.

Radio and Television in agricultural journalism — farm radio programs, DD Kisan channel, script writing, community radio, and broadcast techniques.

Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum — water uptake models, nutrient dynamics, evapotranspiration modeling, and SPAC concept in crop simulation.

Cultural and Mechanical Weed Management — crop rotation, stale seedbed technique, hand weeding, and tillage-based weed control methods.

Canopy Management and High-Density Planting.

BSc Agriculture notes on the five micropropagation stages: mother plant selection, culture initiation, multiplication, rooting, hardening, protocol checks, and common problems.

Growing Media and Soilless Culture.

Viral Biopesticides — Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV), Granulosis Virus (GV), production methods, and field application.

HACCP Principles and Implementation.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 04, focused on landscape planning, ornamental gardening, and the practical business side of landscaping.

Lawn Development and Maintenance.

Quality Seed Production — field standards, isolation, roguing, and seed production techniques for rice, wheat, maize, cotton, and vegetables.

Herbicides — classification based on timing, selectivity, mode of action, and HRAC grouping for weed management.

Supply Chain Management in agriculture — components, models, cold chain, and FPO-based supply chains.

Types of molecular markers — RFLP, RAPD, AFLP, SSR, ISSR, SNP, DArT — principles, comparison, and applications in diversity analysis, genetic mapping, fingerprinting, and crop breeding.

In-depth coverage of CA and MA storage: physiological basis, equipment, DCA, edible coatings, MAP films, and India's apple CA infrastructure.

Effects of cooking, milling, fermentation, germination, and processing on nutrients; antinutrients and their reduction; blanching and other unit operations.

Organic IPM pyramid, botanical pesticides, biocontrol agents, copper-sulphur fungicides, and mechanical/mulching/cover crop weed management strategies.

Electromagnetic spectrum, atmospheric interactions, sensor types, spatial/spectral/temporal resolution, and key agricultural satellites.

CMS 3-line system, EGMS, genetic male sterility, hybrid seed production in rice, maize, cotton, and sunflower — the basis of commercial hybrid seed industry.

ICAR-released stress-tolerant varieties for drought, submergence, heat, and salinity, plus crop management strategies for climate resilience.

Fundamentals of nanotechnology, classification of nanomaterials, synthesis methods, and agricultural applications including IFFCO Nano Urea.

Levels of biodiversity, India's mega-diversity, hotspots, HIPPO threats, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, Protected Area network, and CBD for ELEC 13.

Digital Media and Social Media for agricultural journalism — blogs, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp groups, and digital content strategies for reaching farmers.

Yield Gap Analysis — potential vs actual yield, constraint analysis, model-based diagnosis, and strategies for closing yield gaps.

Chemical Weed Control — Herbicide Classification covering pre/post-emergence timing, contact vs systemic action, and selectivity principles.

Protected Cultivation for Vegetables and Flowers.

Hardening and Acclimatization.

Hydroponics and Aeroponics.

Botanical Pesticides — Neem (azadirachtin), Pyrethrum, Rotenone, essential oils, and their role in sustainable crop protection.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 05, focused on food hazards, preventive systems, legal standards, and food-safety management.

Good Manufacturing Practices and GHP.

Indoor Gardening and Terrace Gardening.

Seed Processing and Storage — cleaning, grading, drying, treatment, packaging, and storage conditions for maintaining seed viability.

Biopesticides and Botanicals — types, mechanisms, neem-based products, Bt, Trichoderma, and their role in sustainable pest management.

Agri Marketing and Commodity Markets — marketing channels, APMC, eNAM, commodity exchanges, and price discovery.

MAS types — foreground, background, MABB, pyramiding, genomic selection — QTL mapping methods, association mapping (GWAS), fine mapping, and success stories in Indian crop breeding.

Drying methods (sun, hot air, spray, freeze), canning, freezing, pickling, fermentation, and juice processing — principles, processes, and quality parameters.

Categories of food additives (preservatives, antioxidants, colours, emulsifiers, sweeteners), food preservation principles (heat, cold, drying, MAP, irradiation), water activity, and hurdle technology.

FAO definition, three pillars of CA, history, global and India adoption, benefits, challenges, and comparison of tillage systems.

Image preprocessing, visual interpretation, supervised and unsupervised classification, accuracy assessment, and vegetation indices including NDVI, SAVI, and EVI.

Unit operations in seed processing, ISTA quality testing procedures, germination, vigour, purity, moisture, and seed health testing methods.

SRI, AWD, deficit irrigation, rainwater harvesting, soil organic carbon, biochar, conservation tillage, and INM for climate-resilient agriculture.

Types, mechanisms, and agronomic performance of nanofertilizers including IFFCO nano-urea, nano-DAP, nano-zinc, and slow-release systems.

CPR definition, rural importance, Ostrom's theory, JFM, and key environmental laws (EPA 1986, FCA 1980, WPA 1972, BDA 2002, NGT 2010) for ELEC 13.

Agricultural Photography — field photography techniques, documentation of farming practices, visual storytelling, and ethical considerations.

Learn how agro-advisory services work in India and why weather-based advisories are important for crop decision-making.

Herbicide Selectivity and Mode of Action — ALS inhibitors, ACCase inhibitors, PSII inhibitors, EPSPS inhibitors, and auxin mimics.

Post-Harvest Technology and Cold Chain.

Applications — Virus-Free Plants and Clonal Propagation.

Crop Production Under Protected Conditions.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 06, focused on biological crop-protection inputs, biological nutrient inputs, and their production and marketing.

Introduction to Biofertilizers — definition, types, classification, and importance in sustainable agriculture.

Learn the purpose, structure, and practical importance of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 in India.

Rock Garden Water Garden and Japanese Garden.

Seed Certification and Testing — certification process, field and seed standards, seed testing procedures, and ISTA rules.

Pesticide Formulations and Application — types of formulations, application equipment, dosage calculation, and safe handling practices.

Risk Management in Agriculture — types of agricultural risks, crop insurance, hedging, and risk mitigation strategies.

Structural and functional genomics — crop genome sequencing, NGS technologies, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, reverse genetics (RNAi, TILLING), bioinformatics tools, and comparative genomics.

Value addition concepts; fruit and vegetable products; cereal, pulse, and dairy value addition; agricultural waste utilization; nutraceuticals and functional foods.

Types of food spoilage (microbial, chemical, physical), key spoilage organisms, foodborne diseases, mycotoxins (aflatoxin, ochratoxin), HACCP principles, and indicator organisms.

Zero-till equipment (Happy Seeder, ZTFSD, strip-till), stubble burning problem, alternatives to burning, government schemes, and mulching in conservation agriculture.

Crop area estimation, soil mapping, drought and flood monitoring, disease detection, precision soil sampling, FASAL programme, and PMFBY remote sensing applications.

Seed longevity, Harrington's rules, storage structures including hermetic storage, seed packaging materials, labelling requirements under Seed Act.

NICRA, NAPCC, NMSA, PMFBY, PM-KUSUM, watershed development, India's NDCs, and state climate action plans for agriculture adaptation.

Nanoencapsulation techniques, targeted delivery systems, and case studies in nano-enabled pesticide formulations.

EIA definition, India's EIA Notification 2006, screening, scoping, baseline study, impact prediction, EMP, public hearing, Leopold matrix for ELEC 13.

Science Communication — translating agricultural research into farmer-friendly language, popular science writing techniques, and effective science journalism.

Decision Support Systems — Nutrient Expert, STCR-based recommendations, pest forecasting systems, and DSS architecture for agriculture.

Herbicide Resistance — mechanisms of resistance, resistant weed populations worldwide and in India, and management strategies.

Organic Horticulture.

Somaclonal Variation and Genetic Fidelity.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 07, focused on controlled-environment production, structure management, crop performance, and enterprise economics.

Pest and Disease Management in Protected Cultivation.

Nitrogen-Fixing Biofertilizers — Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Blue-Green Algae, and Azolla in agricultural systems.

Food Labeling and Packaging Regulations.

Landscape for Institutions and Public Spaces.

Private Sector in Plant Breeding — role of seed companies, R&D investment, molecular breeding, and public-private partnerships.

Learn what pesticide residues are, how they are regulated, what affects residue levels, and how safe use practices protect food and human health.

Agri-Food Processing Industry — sectors, technologies, government schemes, and business opportunities in food processing.

Methods of genetic transformation — Agrobacterium, biolistic, floral dip — selection and confirmation, transgenic crops globally and in India, regulatory framework, and biosafety concerns.

Packaging types and materials; active and intelligent packaging; pack houses; cold storage and transport infrastructure; food processing parks and government schemes.

FSSAI, AGMARK, BIS, Codex Alimentarius, food labelling regulations, food adulteration, FSS Act 2006, and quality attributes in food safety and trade.

Zero Budget Natural Farming four pillars (Beejamrit, Jeevamrit, Mulching, Waaphasa), Andhra Pradesh scaling, Fukuoka method, biodynamic farming, permaculture, and comparison of natural farming systems.

Site-specific crop management, precision farming cycle, soil sampling strategies, VRT, yield monitoring, sensors, FMIS, and economics of precision agriculture.

Seed distribution systems, pricing logic, enterprise setup, support schemes, and business opportunities in the seed sector.

Agriculture as both a greenhouse-gas source and a mitigation pathway through soil carbon, methane reduction, nutrient efficiency, and carbon-market approaches.

Biosafety principles, safety testing, and Indian and international regulation of bioformulations and nano-agricultural products.

Learn how sustainable development, policy frameworks, and governance approaches shape natural-resource management.

Learn the meaning, types, design logic, and communication value of extension literature in agricultural information systems.

Climate Change Impact Assessment — RCP/SSP scenarios, crop model projections, adaptation planning, and mitigation strategies for Indian agriculture.

Learn how cultural, mechanical, chemical, biological, and preventive methods are combined in an integrated weed-management system.

Learn how horticultural production becomes export-oriented through quality, traceability, infrastructure, and market compliance.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 08, focused on plant tissue culture, micropropagation methods, acclimatization, and industry applications.

Learn how micropropagation becomes a commercial enterprise through laboratory scale-up, quality control, marketing, and economic planning.

Learn how investment, operating cost, crop choice, and marketing strategy determine the success of protected cultivation.

Phosphorus Biofertilizers — Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB), VAM/AM fungi, mechanisms, and agricultural applications.

Global Food Safety Standards.

Learn why maintenance is essential in landscaping and how ornamental horticulture creates practical business opportunities.

Learn how intellectual-property systems protect plant-breeding innovation while balancing breeder, farmer, and researcher interests.

Integrated Use of Agrochemicals — combining pesticides, fertilizers, and bioagents in IPM and INM for sustainable crop production.

Learn the role of export-import trade in agribusiness, major commodities, institutions, procedures, and policy considerations.

ZFN, TALENs, and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing — mechanism, advanced tools (base editors, prime editing), applications in crop improvement, and regulatory status globally and in India.

Food processing enterprise logic, regulatory requirements, government support schemes, value-chain finance, and post-harvest business opportunities.

Food hazards, preventive food safety systems, and the role of fortification in public nutrition.

Transition economics, organic market structure, certification costs, government schemes, and policy support for organic and conservation-oriented farming.

Agricultural drones, IoT sensor systems, AI-enabled analytics, digital farms, and future directions in geoinformatics and precision agriculture.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 09, focused on technology-intensive horticulture from nursery to market.

Mass Production and Quality Control of biofertilizers and biopesticides — fermentation, carrier-based formulations, BIS standards, and shelf life.

Indian GM-crop regulation, genome-editing policy, major bioinformatics tools, and intellectual property systems relevant to crop biotechnology.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 10, focused on weed science, herbicide use, and integrated weed-management strategies.

Learn how biopesticides and biofertilizers move from production unit to farm, including infrastructure, quality, distribution, and marketing challenges.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 11, focused on crop-system modeling, simulation-based decision support, and weather-linked agro-advisory services.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 12, focused on communicating agricultural knowledge through print, broadcast, digital media, and extension materials.

Course overview and lesson index for ELEC 13, focused on natural-resource classification, conservation, governance, and sustainable development.

BSc Agriculture Semester 7 elective courses as per ICAR 6th Deans' Committee 2024. Choose 5 from 20+ electives including Organic Farming, Precision Farming, Biotechnology, Agribusiness. 20 credits.

Elective course study material for BSc Agriculture students, covering specialization areas such as agribusiness, biotechnology, horticulture, sustainability, food science, and precision farming.