UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus 2026

• Ecology and its relevance to man, natural resources, their sustainable management and conservation.
• Physical and social environment as factors of crop distribution and production.
• Agroecology, cropping patterns as indicators of environments. Environmental pollution and associated hazards to crops, animals, and humans.
• Climate change – international conventions and global initiatives. Greenhouse effect and global warming.

• Cropping patterns in different agro-climatic zones of the country.
• Impact of high-yielding and short-duration varieties on shifts in cropping patterns.
• Concepts of various cropping and farming systems.
•  Organic and Precision farming

• Important features and scope of various types of forestry plantations
• Propagation of forest plants. Forest products.
• Agroforestry and value addition.
• Conservation of forest flora and fauna

• Weeds, their characteristics
• dissemination, and association with various crops; their multiplication
• cultural, biological, and chemical control of weeds

• Soil- physical, chemical, and biological properties.
• Processes and factors of soil formation.
• Soils of India, Mineral and organic constituents of soils and their role in maintaining soil productivity.
• Essential plant nutrients and other beneficial elements in soils and plants.
• Principles of soil fertility, soil testing and fertiliser recommendations, integrated nutrient management.
• Biofertilizers

• Soil conservation, integrated watershed management.
• Soil erosion and its management.
• Dryland agriculture and its problems.
• Technology for stabilising agriculture production in rainfed areas
• Rainwater harvesting.
• Drip and sprinkler irrigation
• Irrigation projects in India

• Farm management, scope, importance, and characteristics, farm planning.
• Optimum resource use and budgeting.
• Economics of different types of farming systems.
• Marketing management – strategies for development and market intelligence
• Crop Insurance

Agriculture Extension

• Agricultural extension, its importance and role, methods of evaluation of extension programmes
• Training programmes for extension workers.
• Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK)
• Non-Government Organisations (NGO) and self-help groups