भारत सरकार GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

अंत र िवभाग DEPARTMENT OF SPACE

भारतीय अंत र अनुसंधान संगठन INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION
रा ीय सुदरू संवेदन क NATIONAL REMOTE SENSING CENTRE
बालानगर, हैदराबाद BALANAGAR, HYDERABAD 500 037

No: NRSC-RMT-1-2024/12

Syllabus for Written Test

Advertisement No : NRSC-RMT-1-2024 dated 22.01.2024

Name of the post : Scientist/ Engineer ‘SC’
Post Code : 12

Specialization : Soil Science

M.Sc in Soil Science & Agriculture Chemistry or equivalent

Essential Qualification : With
B.Sc in Agriculture (4 years course)

Number of Posts : 04

The syllabus for the above posts is given below. Candidates may note that it is not
exhaustive but indicative only. Refer above advertisement for pattern of the examination.

Part-A: Area/ Discipline Specific part (90 Minutes, 80 Marks, 80 Multiple Choice Questions)

Pedology:
Concept of land, soil and soil science. Composition of earth crust and its relationship with soils; Rocks,
minerals and other soil forming materials; Weathering of rocks and minerals; Factors of soil formation,
Pedogenic processes and their relationships with soil properties; Soil development; Pedon, polypedon, soil
profile, horizons and their nomenclature. Soil Taxonomy - epipedons, diagnostic subsurface horizons and
other diagnostic characteristics, so il moisture and temperature regimes, Interpretation of soil survey data
for land capability and crop suitability classifications, Fertility Capability Classification- Nutrient indexing.
Macro-morphological study of soils. Application and use of global positioning system for soil survey. Soil
survey- types and techniques. Soil series characterizalion and procedure for establishing soil series,
benchmark soils and soil correlations. Study of base maps: cadastral maps, toposheets, aerial photograph
and satellite imageries. Use of geographical information system for preparing thematic maps. Application
of Remote Sensing in soil survey and mapping. Soils of India
Soil Physics:
Significance of soil physical properties. Soil texture - Stoke's Law- textural classes. Soil structure —
classification soil aggregation and significance, soil consistency, bulk density and particle density of soils
and porosity and their significance. Soil water- retention and potentials. Soil moisture constants.
Movement of soil water- saturated and unsaturated fiow- Darcy's law - hydraulic conductivity - infiltration,
percolation, permeability, drainage and methods of determination of soil moisture. Thermal properties of
soils, soil temperature. Soil air- composition, gaseous exchange, influence of soil temperature and air on
plant growth. Soil physical constraints affecting crop production and their management strategies.
Methods of soil analysis - particle size distribution, bulk and particle density, moisture constants. Soil
erosion - types, effects, Rain erosivity and soil erodibility. Runoff - methods of measurement, factors and
management. Soil conservation measures. Characterization and evaluation of soil and land quality
indicators; Causes of land degradation; Management of soil physical properties for prevention/restoration
of land degradation; management of waste lands; Concept of watershed — its characterization and
management.
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Soil Chemistry:

Chemical composition of soil; Soil colloids - structure, composition, constitution of clay minerals,
amorphous clays and other non-crystalline silicate minerals, oxide and hydroxide minerals; Charge
development on clays and organic matter; pH-charge relations; Buffer capacity of soils. Inorganic and
organic colloids- surface charge characteristics, diffuse double layer, zeta potential, Soil organic matter
fractionation, humus formation and theories of clay-organic interactions. Cation exchange — Hysteresis-
definition. Nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and ammonium fixation in soils and management aspects.

Soil Fertility:
Essential elements in plant nutrition; Nutrient cycles in soil; Transformation and movement of nutrients
(Macro and micro nutrients) in soil; Manures and fertilizers; Fate and reactions of fertilizers in soils; Slow
release fertilizers and nitrification retarders- Soil fertility evaluation- Concepts and approaches ;. FCO Soil
fertility evaluation — soil testing, plant and tissue tests and biological methods; Common soil test methods
for fertilizer recommendation; Nutrient Management concepts- INM, IPNS, SSNM- Soil test-crop response
correlations; Fertilizer application methods- Nutrient use efficiency- Macro and micronutrients. Nature,
properties and development of acid, acid sulphate, saline and alkali soil and their management; Lime and
gypsum requirements of soils; Irrigation water quality assessment. Fertility status of soils of India.
Pollution: types, causes and management. Carbon sequestration and carbon trading. Modem methods of
soil, plant and fertilizer analysis; Flame photometry and inductively coupled plasma optical emission
spectroscopy; spectrophotometry - visible, ultra-violet and infrared; Atomic absorption spectrophotometry;
Potentiometry and conductimetry; X-ray diffractometry; Mass spectrometry.

Soil Microbiology:
Soil biota, soil microbial ecology, types of organisms. Soil microbial biomass, microbial interactions,
uncultivable soil biota. Microbiology and biochemistry of root-soil interface. Phyllosphere. Soil enzymes,
origin, activities and importance. Soil characteristics influencing growth and activity of microflora.
Microbial transformations of N, P, K, S, Fe and Zn in soil. Biochemical composition and biodegradation of
soil organic matter and crop residues. Humus formation. Cycles of important organic nutrients.
Biodegradation of pesticides, organic wastes and their use for production of biogas and manures.
Biofertilizers — definition, classification, specifications, method of production and role in coop production.

Statistics:
Experimental designs for pot culture and field experiments; Statistical measures of central tendency and
dispersion; Correlation and regression; tests of significance - t and F tests; Computer use in soil research,
Geo statistics.

Soil Physical Chemistry:

Surface chemistry, pH, Buffer solutions; Redox reactions, Chemical kinetics, Stereochemistry and chirality,
isomerism, thermodynamics of nutrient transformations in soils; cationic and anionic exchange and their
models, molecular interaction. Adsorption/desorption isotherms - Langmuir adsorption isotherm, Freundlich
adsorption isotherm, normalized exchange isotherm, BET equation; selective and non-selective adsorption of
ions on inorganic surfaces and organic surfaces of soil materials Common solubility equilibria - carbonates,
iron oxide and hydroxides, aluminum silicate, aluminum phosphate; electrochemical properties of clays.

Chromatography and Spectroscopic Techniques:

Basic principles and application of chromatography; column, paper, thin layer, and ion exchange
chromatography; gas liquid chromatography (GLC); high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); UV,
FTIR; NMR and mass spectroscopy; GC-MS and LC-MS techniques and their applications.

Soil Water Management:

Water Resources Management, Soil Water, Plant and Atmosphere Relationships, Irrigation Water
Management and Drainage, Natural Resource Management, Watershed Management, Soil Erosion, Soil
and Water Conservation, Soil Degradation, Environmental Pollution and Remediation.

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Agriculture:

Fundamentals of Agronomy, Plant Physiology, Crop Production Technology of seasonal, annual Crops,
Fruit crops, Plantation crops, Vegetables, Spices & Ornamentals; Farming System and Sustainable
Agriculture, Agro-meteorology & Climate Change, Precision Farming, Rainfed and irrigated Agriculture,
Fundamental of Soil Science, Manures, Fertilizers and Soil Fertility Management, Problematic Soils and
their Management, Soil, Plant and Water Testing methods, Fundamentals of Soil and Water Conservation,
Watershed Management; Fundamentals of Agriculture Economics, Basic Mathematics & Statistical
Methods; Fundamentals of Plant Breeding, Plant Biochemistry, Entomology, Plant Pathology; Diseases
of Field and Horticultural Crops and their Management; Principles of Integrated Pest Management;
Fundamentals of seed technology.

Part-B: Aptitude/Ability tests (30 Minutes, 20 Marks, Maximum of 15 Multiple Choice Questions)

Topics: Numerical Reasoning; Logical Reasoning; Diagrammatic Reasoning; Abstract Reasoning;

Deductive Reasoning

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