UPSC IAS Agriculture Syllabus 2026 - Detailed Syllabus for Paper 1 & 2

Topics

Principles of soil fertility, Problem soils and their reclamation, Mineral & organic constituents of soils, Losses of nitrogen in soil, Processes & factors of soil formation, Essential plant nutrients & other beneficial elements in soils and plants, nitrogen-use efficiency in submerged rice soils, nitrogen fixation in soils, Soil - physical, chemical & biological properties, Soils of India, Efficient phosphorus and potassium use, Soil factors affecting greenhouse gas emission, integrated nutrient management Biofertilizers

Agro ecology, Cropping pattern related to environment, Physical and social environment as factors of crop distribution & production, International conventions and global initiatives, Animals and humans, natural resources, sustainable management & conservation, Environmental pollution & associated hazards to crops, Climate change, Ecology

Impact of high-yielding & short-duration varieties on shifts in cropping patterns, Cropping patterns in different climatic zones, Concepts of various cropping, and farming systems. Organic and precision farming, Package of practices for production

Important features, the scope of various types of forestry plantations such as social forestry, agroforestry, natural forests, and Propagation of forest plants. Forest products. Agro-forestry and value addition. Conservation of forest flora and fauna

Weeds and their characteristics, dissemination and its association with various other crops; their Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply. multiplications, cultural, biological, and chemical control of weeds

Status of big, small & marginal farmers & landless agricultural labourers', Agricultural extension, its role and importance, methods of evaluation of extension programmes, Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVK) in dissemination of Agricultural technologies, Training programmes for extension workers, Non-Government Organisation (NGO) and Self-Help Group (SHG) approach for rural development. Socio-economic survey

Soil conservation, integrated watershed management (IWM). Soil erosion & its management. Dry land Agriculture and its problems. Technology for stabilizing Agriculture production in rainfed areas

Water use efficiency in relation to crop production, Drainage of waterlogged soils, Rainwater harvesting. Drip and sprinkler irrigation, Quality of irrigation water, effect of industrial effluents on soil and water pollution. Irrigation projects in India, Criteria for scheduling irrigations, ways and means (W & M) of reducing runoff losses of irrigation water

Marketing management strategies for development, Price fluctuations; Farm management, scope, importance and characteristics, farm planning, Crop Insurance, Types & systems of farming, Optimum resource use and budgeting, Factors affecting farming, Role of cooperatives in agricultural economy; Economics of different types of farming systems. market intelligence, Agricultural price policy

Topics

Cell structure, function and cell cycle. Synthesis, structure and function of genetic material. Laws of heredity. Chromosome structure, chromosomal aberrations, linkage and cross-over, and their significance in recombination breeding

Genetically modified crop plant heterosis and its exploitation. Somatic hybridization. Breeding for disease and pest resistance. Role of interspecific and intergeneric hybridization. Role of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology in crop

Major fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, Package practices of major horticultural crops, spices and flower crops, Protected cultivation and high-tech horticulture, Landscaping and commercial floriculture. Medicinal and aromatic plants, Post-harvest technology & value addition of fruits and vegetables

IPR issues, Seed production and processing technologies. Seed certification, Seed testing and storage, WTO issues and their impact on Agriculture, DNA fingerprinting and seed registration

Origin, evolution & domestication of crop plants, History of plant breeding. Modes of reproduction, selfing and crossing techniques, centre of origin, crop genetic resources conservation & utilization, the law of homologous series

Pure line selection, mass and recurrent selections, Molecular markers and their application in plant improvement, pedigree, combining ability, its significance in plant breeding

Polyploidy, euploidy and aneuploidy. Mutation and their role in crop improvement. Heritability, sterility & incompatibility, classification and their application in crop improvement. Cytoplasmic inheritance, sex-linked, sex-influenced and sex-limited characters

Epidemiology & forecasting of major crop pests and diseases, Biological control of pests and diseases, Plant quarantine measures, Pesticides, their formulation & modes of action

Food-based dietary approaches to eliminate hunger. Nutrient deficiency such as Micro nutrient deficiency: Protein Energy Malnutrition or Protein Calorie Malnutrition (PEM or PCM), Micro nutrient deficiency and HRD in the context of the work capacity of women and children. Food grain productivity and food security

Food production and consumption trends in India. Food security and growing population—vision 2020. Reasons for grain surplus. National and International food policies. Production, procurement, and distribution constraints. Availability of food grains, per capita expenditure on food. Trends in poverty

Relation of food production to National Dietary Guidelines, Public Distribution System and Below Poverty Line population, Targeted Public Distribution System (PDS), Food consumption pattern, and policy implementation in context to globalization. Processing constraints,

Role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, Diagnosis of pests & diseases of field crops, vegetables, Integrated pest and diseases management, orchard and plantation crops & their economic importance, Classification of pests and diseases and their management, Storage pests & their management

Papers

Subjects

Marks

Duration

Paper 1

General Studies 1

200

2 hrs

Paper 2

General Studies 2

200

2 hrs

Papers

Subjects

Marks

Duration

Paper 1

General English

300

3 hrs

Paper 2

Language (regional language)

300

3 hrs

Paper 3

Essay

250

3 hrs

Paper 4

General Studies 1

250

3 hrs

Paper 5

General Studies 2

250

3 hrs

Paper 6

Optional subject 1

250

3 hrs

Paper 7

Optional subject 1

250

3 hrs

Paper 8

Optional subject 2

250

3 hrs

Paper 9

Optional subject 2

250

3 hrs