HP Forest Range Officer 2017 Syllabus PDF
AGRICULTURE
Ecology and its relevance to man. Natural resources, their management and conservation. Physical and social environment as factors of crop distribution and production. Climatic elements as factors of crop growth, impact of changing environment on cropping pattern, plants as indicators of environments. Environmental pollution and associated hazards to crops, animals and humans.
Cropping patterns in different agro-climatic zones of the country - impact of high yielding and short duration varieties on shifts in cropping patterns. Concepts and principles of multiple cropping - multistory, relay and inter-cropping and their importance in relation to food production;
Package of practices for production of important cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fiber, sugar and commercial crops grown during Kharif and Rabi seasons in different regions of the country.
Weeds, their characteristics, dissemination and association with various crops; their multiplication; cultural, biological, chemical and integrated control of weeds.
Processes and factors of soil formation, classification of Indian soils including modern concepts, mineral and organic constituents of soil and their role in maintaining soil productivity.
Problem soils, extent and distribution in India and their reclamation. Essential plant nutrients and other beneficial elements in soils and plants, their occurrence; factors affecting their distribution, availability functions and recycling in soils; symbiotic and non-symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
Principles of soil fertility and its evaluation for judicial fertilizer use.
Watershed management. Soil Conservation planning on watershed basis. Erosion and run of management in hilly, foothills and valley lands - processes and factors affecting them. Dry lands agriculture, its problems and crop production techniques. Water use efficiency in relation to crop production, criteria for scheduling irrigation, ways and means of reducing runoff losses of irrigation water. Farm management, scope, importance and characteristics, farm planning and budgeting. Economics of different types of farming systems. Agriculture extension–its importance and role. Extension techniques, methods of evaluation of extension programs, socio-economic survey and status of big, small and marginal farmers training programs for extension workers. Training and extension programs
Heredity and variation, Mendel’s Law of inheritance, Chromosomal theory of inheritance.
Cytoplasmic inheritance, Quantitative characters.
Origin and domestication of field crop. Morphology and patterns of variations in varieties and related species of important field crops. Causes and utilization of variations in crop improvement.
Application of the principles of plant breeding to the improvement of major field crops, methods of breeding of self and cross pollinated crops. Introduction, selection, hybridisation,
heterosis and its exploitation. Male sterility and self-incompatibility, utilization of mutation and polyploidy in breeding.
Seed and seed technology, importance, types and seeds and their production, processing and testing of seeds of crops and seed certification regulation.
Climatic requirements and cultivation of major fruits, plants and vegetable crops with special reference to commercial fruits and vegetables, the package of practices and the scientific basis for same. Handling and Marketing problems of fruits and vegetables, principal methods of preservation of important fruits and vegetable products, processing techniques and equipment. Role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, landscape and floriculture, including raising of ornamental plants and design and lay out of lawns and gardens.
Diseases and pests of fields, vegetable, orchard and plantation crops of India and measures to control these. Causes and classification of plant diseases. Principles of plant disease control including exclusion, eradication, immunization and production. Biological control of pests and diseases. Integrated management of pests and diseases. Pesticides and their formulations, plant protection equipment, their care and maintenance.
Growth and Development of Vegetable Crops.—Physiology of dormancy and germination of vegetable seeds and tubers. Tissue culture techniques. Post-harvest technology.—Maturity and ripping process and factors affecting them. Quality evaluation for fresh market and processing. Factors responsible in deterioration of harvested fruits and vegetables, role of growth substances and irradiation in decay control, respiration and transpiration, storage of fresh fruits and vegetables, theories of chilling injury and symptoms of chilly injured. Modified gas storage.
BOTANY
(MICROBIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, PLANT GROUPS AND THEIR MORPHOLOGY, ANATOMY, TAXANOMY, EMBRYOLOGY OF ANGIOSPERMS)
1. Microbiology.—(Viruses and Bacteria). Their structure, classification, reproduction and physiology. Mode of infection of Viruses and Bacteria. Role of microbes in industry and agriculture.
2. Pathology.—Knowledge of common and important plant diseases caused by fungi and bacteria (Special reference to diseases common in Himachal Pradesh), mode of infection of fungi and control of disease.
3. Plant Groups.—Classification, structure, reproduction, life history and economic importance of Algae, Fungi, Bryophytes Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms (including comparative study of various groups). A general knowledge of distribution of important genera of principal subdivision of above groups in India (Emphasis of Western Himalayas).
4. Morphology, Anatomy, Embryology and Taxonomy of Angiosperms.—Morphology and Anatomy of Stem, Root, Leaf (excluding anomalous growth). Tissue and Tissue system. Structure of Anther and Ovule. Fertilization and development of seed. Classification of
Angiosperms, Principles of Nomenclature. Modern trends in Taxonomy. A general knowledge of following families of Angiosperms: Ranunculaceae, Brassicaceae, Malvaceae, Rutaceae, Rosaceae, Leguminosea, Cucurbitaceae, Umbelliferae, Asteraceae, Solanaceae, Lamiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Liliaceae and Gramineae.
(CELL BIOLOGY, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION, PHYSIOLOGY, ECOLOGY AND ECONOMIC BOTANY)
1. Cell Biology.—Cell as a unit of structure and function. Ultrastructure of Cell and its various organelles. Chromosomes – the physical and chemical structure, its behaviour during mitosis and meiosis.
2. Genetics and Evolution.—Pre and Post Mandelian concept of Genetics. Development of Gene concept. Genetic code. Nucleic acids, their structure and role in reproduction and protein biosynthesis, Mutations. Role of mutations in plant breeding (wheat, gram, tobacco, cotton only). Organic evolution – evidences and theories.
3. Physiology.—Photosynthesis, Absorption and conduction of water, Transpiration, Mineral absorption, Role of elements, Enzymes, Respiration, Fermentation, Growth, Photoperiodism and Vernalisation. Plant Hormones – their type and role. Dormancy of seeds.
4. Plant Ecology. –Its scope, plant communities, plant succession, factors. Applied ecology with special reference to pollution and conservation.
5. Economic Botany.—Importance of plants, Important plants yielding food, fibre, wood and drugs.
CHEMISTRY
(Note:- The student will be expected to solve simple structural, synthetic, mechanistic, conceptual and numerical problems based on and relevant to the syllabus. They are also expected to be acquainted with the S.I. units)
PART-I
Atomic Structure and Chemical bonding.—Quantum theory, Schrodinger equation, particle in a box, hydrogen atom. Hydrogen molecule. Elements of valence bond and molecular orbital theories (idea of bonding, non-bonding and anti-bonding orbitals). Sigma and Pi bonds.
Chemical Kinetics.—Kinetics of reactions involving free radicals, Kinetics of polymerisation and photochemical reactions.
Surface chemistry and catalysis.—Physical absorption, isotherms, surface area determination, heterogenous catalysis, acid bases and enzyme catalysis.
Electrochemistry.—Lomic equilibra; theory of strong electrolytes; Debye, Huckel theory of activity coefficients; electrolytic conduction, galvanic cell, membrane equilibrium and fuel cells. Electrolysis and overvoltage.
Thermodynamics.—Laws of Thermodynamics and application to physiochemical processes systems of variable compositions.
Electronic structure of transition metal complexes.—Crystal field theory and modifications, complexes of Pi-acceptor ligands, organometallic compounds of transition metals.
Lanthanides Actinides.— Separation Chemistry, Oxidation state, magnetic properties. Reaction in non-aqueous solvents.
