Horticulture, competitive exam, JRF, SRF, ARS, PhD exam, other higher education, syllabus, guidance

1. DARSHAN M. KADAM
Scientist (Fruit Science)
darshankadamhort@gmail.com
Division of Plant Science
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water
Conservation, Dehradun

2. Reasons to pursue higher education in horticulture
Horticulture production 314.87 million MT from 25.6
million ha area (NHB, 2019)
Contribution to GDP- 30.4 per cent to GDP of Agriculture
Huge export potential
Climate resilient crops
Ensure nutritional and financial security
Horticulture based crop diversification
Excellent entrepreneurship opportunities
Increasingly higher requirement of researchers and skilled
persons

3. 1. Tough competition
2. More No. of horticulture colleges and Universities
3. National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct ICAR-JRF and SRF examination
4. Students of Non-accredited colleges are not eligible to appear in exam
5. Same syllabus for SRF/Ph.D., NET and ARS examination
6. New pattern of SRF/ICAR Ph.D. examination
7. Abolishing IARI Ph.D. entrance examination
8. Delinking of ASRB from ICAR
9. Ph.D. as an essential qualification for ARS examination (M.Sc for SMS and
Technical officer post)
Changing dynamics of competitive exams

4. 1. Decide your target/goal/aim: Clarity in mind, more chances of
getting success
2. Start early preparation: UG (3rd year), PG (1st Year)
3. Download syllabus and paste it in the room: familiarity
4. Critical analysis of old question papers: For better
understanding of question pattern, repetition of 20%
questions
5. Selection of appropriate books (Textbooks): Exclusion of
unreliable books, cultivating habit of reading textbooks,
reading selected books repetitively
Success Mantra to crack competitive exams

5. 6. Adoption of smart tactics: Group discussion, charts, revision,
preparation of own notes, practice papers etc
7. Understanding Concepts
8. Learning ways to find correct answers of confusing questions
9. Be discipline and maintain continuity
Success Mantra to crack competitive exams

6. 1. Varieties: National and International significance, with special characters, newly
released, developed from systematic Indian breeding programme.
2. Tables: From Instant Horticulture Book (B.Name, Ch. No, family, origin, flowering and
fruit types, harvesting season etc…
3. Miscellaneous section of Instant Horticulture Book
4. Post harvest disorders of fruits, vegetables and flower crops
5. Focus on Key Crops: Rose, Carnation, Gladiolas, Marigold, Mango, Citrus, Apple,
Banana, Coconut, Cashewnut, Potato, Tomato, Brinjal etc.
6. General Agriculture: One hour daily
7. Horticulture current area, production and productivity etc: NHB database.
Tips for JRF/SRF/NET/ARS Aspirants

7. ICAR PG Exam (NTA)
Mode of Examination Computer Based
Duration 2hrs
No. of Questions 120 MCQs
Marks 4 Marks for each correct response
and -1 for wrong answer
Eligibility Criteria  Graduation from ICAR
accredited college
 Minimum CGPA 6.6/10 for GEN,
OBC, EWS and UPS category.
 And 5.6/10 for SC, ST and PwD
students

8. Books for ICAR- PG entrance exam
Fruit and Vegetable preservation _ K p Srivastav
Glimpses of Postharvest Technology _ Udal Singh meena
Preservation of fruits and vegetables- Girdharilala
Floriculture in India- G S Randhwa and Mukhopadhya
Book Name Author
Handbook of Horticulture (ICAR); New ed. KL Chadha
Basic Horticulture (Kalyani Publication) Jitendra Singh
Introduction to Horticulture N. Kumar
Instant Horticulture (Jain brothers) S.N. Gupta
Glaustas Horticulture (Kalyani Pub.) P. Muthukumar
A 2 Z solutions: Horticulture at a glance A. S. Salaria
Treasure of Fruit Science Sunil Kumar Mehta
A Textbook on Pomology –Volumes-1-4 T. K. Chatopadhyay
Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic crops N Kumar
Textbook of Vegetable Spices and Tuber crops (ICAR) S. Thamburaj and Narendra
Singh
Vegetables B. Chaudhary
Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Principles and
Practices
R. P Srivastava
Glimpes of Post Harvest Technology Udal Singh
Floriculture at Glance Desh Raj

9. Books for ICAR- PG entrance exam
Book Name Author
Floriculture in India G S Randhwa and Mukhopahya
Horticulture at a glance Vol. I,II, and III A. S. Salariya
Handbook of Agriculture ICAR
Fundamentals of Agriculture Vol. I, II & III Arun Katyayan
A Competitive Book of Agriculture Nem Raj Sunda

10. ICAR Ph.D. Exam (NTA)
Mode of Examination Computer Based
Duration 2hrs
No. of Questions 120 (20+50+50)
4 Marks for each correct response
and -1 for wrong answer
20- Part A – GK & Reasoning
50- Part B- Core group
50- Part C- Specialized Subject

11. Ph.D/NET/ARS Syllabus- Fruit Science
Unit No. Title
1. Tropical and Dry Land Fruit Production
2. Subtropical and Temperate Fruit Production
3. Biodiversity and Conservation
4. Canopy Management in Fruit Crops
5. Breeding of Fruit Crops
6. Postharvest Technology
7. Growth and Development
8. Biotechnology of Fruit Crops
9. Protected Fruit Culture
10. Plant Propagation

12. Books for ICAR- Ph.D. Exam
Fruit and Vegetable preservation _ K p Srivastav
Glimpses of Postharvest Technology _ Udal Singh meena
Preservation of fruits and vegetables- Girdharilala
Floriculture in India- G S Randhwa and Mukhopadhya
Book Name Author
Handbook of Horticulture (ICAR); New ed. KL Chadha
Fruit Production in India W S Dhillon
A Textbook on Pomology –Volumes-1-4 T K Chatopadhyay
Fruit production Problems and Solutions R R Sharma
Textbook of Temperate Fruit TR Chadha
Treasure of Fruit Science Sunil Kumar Mehta
Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables Girdharilal
Glimpses of Postharvest Technology Udal Singh meena
Fruit and Vegetable preservation K P Srivastava
Biodiversity in Horticultural crops K V Peter, Z Abraham

13. Books for ICAR- Ph.D. Exam
Fruit and Vegetable preservation _ K p Srivastav
Glimpses of Postharvest Technology _ Udal Singh meena
Preservation of fruits and vegetables- Girdharilala
Floriculture in India- G S Randhwa and Mukhopadhya
Book Name Author
Fruit Breeding Approaches and Achievement A K Shukla
Breeding Tropical and Subtropical Fruits P K Ray
Fruit Breeding M R Dinesh
Fruit Breeding Volume I, II, & III Jules and Janick
Physiology of Fruit Production Hare Krishna
Fruit Tree Physiology W S Dhillon, ZA Bhatt
Canopy management in fruit crops (Manual online) Gorakh Singh
Canopy management of fruit crops KK Srivastava
Protected Cultivation of Vegetables Balraj Singh

14. Book Name Author
Vegetables Science and Technology Vishnu Swaroop
Vegetable Breeding Principles and Practices Harihar Ram
Handbook of Vegetable Breeding (springer) M G Basset
Vegetable Science Volume I & II Gautam Kallu
Breeding of Vegetable Crops Muthukumar
Glaustas Olericulture Selvakumar
Vegetable Science D Singh
Handbook of Plant Breeding Vegetable –II (Springer) Prohens
Genetics and Breeding of Vegetable Crops KV Peter
Floriculture at a glance Deshraj
Ornamental Crop Breeding L C De
1001 Questions on Floriculture
Commercial Flowers A K Singh
Books for ICAR- Ph.D. exam

15. Monographs (Additional books)
Book Name Author
Papaya ICAR Publication Mansha Ram
Banana ICAR Publication V N Madhava Rao
Mango ICAR Publication SN Pandey
Citrus fruits ICAR Publication SP Ghosh
Pineapple ICAR Publication KL Chadha, BMC Reddy,
Strawberry ICAR Publication R M Sharma
The Mango; Botany, production and uses (CABI) R E Litz
Citrus; genetics breeding and biotechnology I A Khan
Grape the improvement, production and post harvest
management
S D Shikhamani, K L Chadha

16. ASRB NET
Same exam for ARS preliminary and ASRB NET
150 MCQs (1 mark each)
 Duration: 2 hours
 Mode of exam: Online
 Negative marking: 1/3
 Min Qualifying Marks
UR- 50%
OBC-45%
SC/ST/Divyang-40%

17. Agricultural Research Services (ARS)
Examination Maximum
Marks
Duration Details
Preliminary
(Objective
Type)
150 2 hours -Online Mode
-Negative
marking
-Not considered
in final selection
-1:15 ratio for each post
-Min Qualifying Marks
UR- 45%
OBC-40%
SC/ST/Divyang-35%
Mains
(Descriptive
type)
240 3 hours Part A: 40
questions (2
marks)
Part B: 20
questions (5
marks)
Part C: 6
questions (10
marks)
1:5 Ratio for each post
Interview 60 15-30
minutes
3 member panel
Qualification: Ph.D.

18. Unit 1. Tropical and Dry Land Fruit Production
Handbook of Horticulture (ICAR); New ed. -KL Chadha
Fruit Production in India -W S Dhillon
A Textbook on Pomology –Volumes-1-4 T K Chatopadhyay

19. Unit 2. Subtropical and Temperate Fruit Production
Handbook of Horticulture (ICAR); New ed. -KL Chadha
Fruit Production in India -W S Dhillon
A Textbook on Pomology –Volumes-1-4 T K Chatopadhyay
Temperate Fruit (TR Chadha)

20. Unit 3. Biodiversity and Conservation
Biodiversity in Horticultural Crops- KV Peter
NBPGR website

21. Unit 4. Canopy Management in Fruit Crops
Canopy management in fruit crops (Manual online)- Gorakh Singh
Canopy management of fruit crops- K. K. Srivastava
Handbook of Horticulture

22. Unit 5. Breeding of Fruit crops
Fruit Breeding Approaches and Achievement -A K Shukla
Breeding Tropical and Subtropical Fruits -P K Ray
Fruit Breeding-M R Dinesh
Fruit Breeding Volume I, II, & III-Jules and Janick

23. Unit 6. Post Harvest Technology
Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables Girdharilal
Glimpses of Postharvest Technology Udal Singh meena
Fruit and Vegetable preservation K P Srivastava

24. Unit 7. Growth and Development
Physiology of Fruit Production Hare Krishna
Fruit Tree Physiology W S Dhillon, ZA Bhatt

25. Unit 8. Biotechnology of Fruit Crops
Any basic Tissue Culture/Biotechnology Book or class
notes

26. Unit 9. Protected Fruit Culture
Protected Cultivation of Vegetables Balraj Singh

27. ARS Mains sample questions (2 marks)
1. What is heterodichogamy
2. Family of pecannut
3. Storage temperature of apple ….....at ……..RH
4. …………is immediate precursor of ethylene in fruit crops
5. …………...and ………. rays are helpful to develop fruit skin colour
6. ………………did the first hybridization in apple and known as father of fruit
breeding
7. List the countries cultivating fruit crops under greenhouse condition
8. Enzyme obtain from papaya fruits
9. Genotopically identical plants obtained from single source
10.What do you mean by canopy management
11.Name two temperate fruit crops which can be cultivated in subtropics in India
12.……………are used for regular fruit bearing in mango and it shows
antagonistic effect to ………………
13.State true or false: i) Banana is polyembryonic
ii) Grape is stenospermocarpic
iii) Kinnow is mandarin orange
iv) G.H.Mendel also breed Pear varieties

28. ARS Mains Sample questions (5 marks)
1. What is bahar treatment and how it is followed in guava
2. Explain symptoms and managment of disorder in litchi due to nutritional
deficiency
3. Explain base collection and active germplasm collection
4. Write down the role of GIS in biodiversity conservation.
5. Write down the significance of Agri Export Zone (AEZ) in fruit crops
6. Write importance of Intellectual property rights and recent trends and
development in fruit crops
7. How to do training and pruning in grapes
8. Explain INM in fruit crops
9. Explain role of biotechnology in fruit crops
10. Describe flowering physiology of Mango

29. ARS Mains Sample questions (5 marks)
11. Write short note on IPM in greenhouse.
12. Explain clonal selection in fruit crops with example.
13. Differentiate between induced mutation and polyploidy breeding
14. What is MAP and CAP
15. Canopy management of guava in India
16. Write down the role of ABA in fruit crops
17. Enlist the achievement in fruit crops through protoplast culture and
embryo rescue technique.
18. How growth regulators are used in commercial grape production.
19. How rootstocks are used in HDP apple production.
20. What is wax coating, what are edible waxes and how to do waxing in
apple and citrus.

30. ARS Mains Sample questions (10 marks)
1. What is spongy tissue disorder in mango, write down causes, symptoms and
management.
2. What do you mean by canopy management and its component. Write down
the recent advances in fruit crops.
3. Enlist the apple varieties for different states, add note on hybrids of apple
developed in India.
4. Write down approaches and achievements in disease resistance breeding in
fruit crops.
5. What are the factors responsible for post-harvest losses in fruit crops. Explain
the remedies to overcome.
6. What is water and temperature stress in fruit crops and how to overcome it.

31. Strategy for ARS Mains exam
Part A: 40 questions (2 marks) = 80
Part B: 20 questions (5 marks) = 100
Part C: 6 questions (10 marks) = 60
Total Questions = 66
240 marks
Answer writing skill
 Time Management is key: 3hrs
Part A: 30 minutes
Part B: 80 minutes (4 minutes for each question)
Part C: 60 minutes (10 minutes for each question)
Revision: 10 minutes
Total: 180 minutes
 Answer should be distinct from other students
 Point wise with headings and sub-headings
 Figures, tables, flow charts
 Quote examples

32. • Three member panel
• 1:5 ratio
• 15-20 minutes
• General agriculture, personality, attitude, scientific temper
• Thesis related questions
• Knowledge of subject
ARS Interview

33. Thank you