HOW TO PREPARE FOR ICAR EXAM IN PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

Plant  Biotechnology  group

If you are opting for Plant biotechnology group that means you have to be more specific with your subject rather than general agriculture. This group doesn’t carry huge syllabus but in order to achieve better score you have to be more focused on specific topics like DNA Replication, Transcription, Transduction, Translation, Genetic Markers, Recombination Technology and its practical applications, physiological processes like Photosynthesis, Respiration etc. This group is divided into 3 subgroups :
1) Plant Biotechnology
2) Biochemistry
3) Plant Physiology.

Syllabus, Books and Topics to be covered:

UNIT-I: Importance of agriculture in national economy; basic principles of crop production; cultivation of rice, wheat, chickpea, pigeon-pea, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, and mango. Major soils of India; role of NPK and their deficiency symptoms. General structure and function of cell organelles; mitosis and meiosis; Mendelian genetics. Elementary knowledge of growth, development, photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration; Elements of economic botany. General structure and function of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes and vitamins. Major pests and diseases of rice, wheat, cotton, chickpea, sugarcane and their management. Organic farming; bio-fertilizers; bio-pesticides. Recombinant DNA technology; transgenic crops. Important rural development programmes in India; organizational set up of agricultural research, education and extension in India. Elements of statistics

For this part, following books are suggested:

1. A Competitive Book of Agriculture by Nem Raj Sunda
2. Fundamentals of Agriculture by Arun Katyayan (Vol-1 and Vol-2)

YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE GENRAL AGRICULTURE COURSE FOR PRACTICE WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY FREE

UNIT-II: Importance of biochemistry in agriculture. Acid-base concept and buffers; pH. Classification, structure and metabolic functions of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Structure and function of nucleic acids. Enzymes: structure, nomenclature, mechanism of action; vitamins and minerals as coenzymes and cofactors. Metabolic pathways: glycolysis, TCA cycle, fatty acid oxidation, triglyceride biosynthesis. Electron transport chain; ATP formation. Photosynthesis: C-3, C-4 and CAM pathways. Nitrate assimilation; biological nitrogen fixation. Colorimetric and chromatographic techniques.

For this part following book is suggested:

1. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry by David L. Nelson and Michael M. Cox

UNIT-III: Characteristics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms; differences between fungi, bacteria, mycoplasms and viruses. Physical and chemical basis of heredity; chromosome structure. DNA replication, transcription and translation; genetic code; operon concept. Genetic engineering; restriction enzymes; vectors; gene cloning; gene transfer. Plant cell and tissue culture; micro-propagation; somaclonal variation. Transformation; recombination; Heterosis. General application of biotechnology. Molecular and immunological techniques. Concept of bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics.

For this part following books are suggested:

1. Biotechnology expanding Horizon by B.D.Singh
2. Genetics by B.D.Singh

UNIT-IV: Plant Physiology/ Crop Physiology: Plant physiology– importance in agriculture. Seed germination, viability and vigour. Photosynthesis- significance of C-3, C-4 and CAM pathway; photorespiration and its implications. Translocation of assimilates; dry matter partitioning; Harvest index of crops. Growth and development; growth analysis; crop-water relationship. Plant nutrients and their functions. Phytohormones and their physiological role. Photo-periodism.

For this part following books are suggested:

• Fundamentals of Plant Physiology by V.K.Jain
• Plant Physiology by S.N.Pandey and B.K.Sinha
• Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger

Objective:

For general Agriculture:

• For general Agriculture: Objective Agriculture by S.R. Kantwa

For practice general agriculture you can go to our courses

CLCIK HERE

For Subject Group:

1. Objective Agricultural Biotechnology by R.L.Arya et.al.
2. Plant Biotechnology by Elangovan et.al.

Practice is the key to success. So make sure that you practice more and more and enrich your knowledge with these books. You can also go through other books according to your preference. Try to give more consistent effort for better performance.

SERIAL NO	LIST OF BOOKS	BUY HERE
1	A Competitive Book of Agriculture by Nem Raj Sunda
2	Fundamentals of Agriculture by Arun Katyayan (Vol-1 and Vol-2)
3	Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry by David L. Nelson and Michael M. Cox
4	Biotechnology expanding Horizon by B.D.Singh
5	Genetics by B.D.Singh
6	Fundamentals of Plant Physiology by V.K.Jain
7	Plant Physiology by S.N.Pandey and B.K.Sinha
8	Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger

All The Best