GUIDELINES

for

writing
Synopsis
&
Thesis/Dissertation
by

Postgraduate Students

Punjab Agricultural University

Ludhiana-141 004, INDIA
2023
 Revised by

S K Mann
Gursharan Singh
2008

Gursharan Singh
S S Kang
2012

and

Pardeep Kumar Chhuneja

2023

Dean, Postgraduate Studies

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
India
 Preface

It was in the year 1998 that Dr M S Bajwa, the then Dean, Postgraduate Studies of the
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and his team, for the first time, compiled the
guidelines for postgraduate students to write synopsis of research and thesis/dissertations. These
guidelines proved very helpful both to the students and their Major Advisors for preparation of
their manuscripts and also brought uniformity to the whole process. Over the years, some
changes which have taken place, necessitated revision of this handbook for the benefit of
postgraduate students and their advisors. As per the revised guidelines, both sides of a page will
be utilized for typing, space between the lines has been reduced to 1.5 from 2.0 and font size has
been reduced to 11 from 12. Apart from these, instructions have been issued to process the
synopses of research within a discipline in one lot to save time for the approval of the same. Now
the synopses seminars of Ph.D students will be conducted by the Dean, Postgraduate Studies
right before the Synopsis Approval Committee of the University to facilitate critical scrutiny and
reduce time for approval to the minimum possible.

During the revision of these guidelines, efforts made by Nominees of Dean, Postgraduate
Studies at College level, especially Dr B S Sidhu and Dr K N Sharma are gratefully
acknowledged. Special thanks are due to Dr Viraj Beri, former Head, Department of Soils for
critical scrutiny of the manuscript and several suggestions regarding the same. Thanks are also
due to Ms Sheetal Thapar for making several grammatical corrections in the text.

S K Mann
October 30, 2008 Gursharan Singh
 GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING SYNOPSIS AND THESIS/DISSERTATION

Every postgraduate student shall be assigned to a major advisor by the concerned Head of
the Department, keeping in view the recommendations of the Departmental Academic
Affairs/Teaching Committee and approved by the Dean, Postgraduate Studies (Rule 5.2 of the
semester rules).

There shall also be an Advisory Committee for each student to be appointed by the Dean,
Postgraduate Studies on the recommendations of the major advisor through the Head of the
Department. The Advisory Committee of the student shall comprise members (interdisciplinary)
relevant to the research problem of the student and shall be chosen from postgraduate faculty.

The postgraduate (PG) student shall prepare a synopsis of his/her research problem
suggested by the major advisor, and submit five copies of the same to the Dean, Postgraduate
Studies through the Head of the Department. The selection of PG Research problem shall as far
as possible relate to the:

i) Research goals of the department

ii) Area of specialization of the major advisor

Before writing synopsis, the student shall review the literature, up to date on the
pertinent research problem, identify the knowledge gaps and develop and finalize the Synopsis
with Major Advisor and in consultation with the Advisory Committee.

A. The submission of synopsis by an M.Sc. students shall be preceded by the synopsis

seminar to be delivered in his/her department. After incorporating all the suggestions given
during the seminar, the student shall submit the final Synopsis before the start of the 2nd
Semester. The Head of the Department shall submit the synopses (5 copies for each student) of
the whole batch of the students to the Dean, Postgraduate Studies for approval by the Synopsis
Approval Committee of the University.

B. The synopses of the Ph.D. students shall be developed on the similar lines, however, they
shall have to present the synopsis before the Synopsis Approval Committee consisting of the
Deans, Director of Research, Director of Extension Education, concerned HOD alongwith
external technical expert. Meeting of the Synopsis Approval Committee shall be scheduled in the
first month of the following semester (second semester of study of the student) in which the
admission takes place for the Ph.D. programmes.

1
 COMPONENTS OF THE SYNOPSIS

1. Title

The title should be in capital letters in normal letter font (not in Bold). It should
be concise, specific and reflect the proposed research programme. Scientific
names in the title, if any, must be written in Latin binomial or trinomial along
with the authority.

2. Introduction

This section (comprising 2-3 pages) should highlight the scope and significance
of the proposed research work along with the Knowledge gaps and Objectives of
the study under separate sub-heads.

3. Expected new knowledge

Likely outcome of the study should be mentioned here.

4. Review of literature

An up-to-date and comprehensive review of relevant literature indicating history,

developments and IPR relating to the topic of the proposed of research problem
should be given.

5. Technical programme

The experiments should be planned in accordance with the objectives under the following
sub-heads:

i) Name of the experiment

ii) Location: Field / Lab
iii) Methodology
iv) Observations to be recorded (with details)
v) Statistical analysis

6. Schedule work-flow diagram and milestones should be indicated

7. Collaboration (if any)

The consent of the Head of the Collaborating Department should be taken and nature of
the collaboration be specified, if any.

2
8. References

List all the references in alphabetical order, giving all authors with initials after respective
surname, year, full title of paper, abbreviated name of journal, volume and pages. Abbreviate all
journals as in Chemical Abstracts, Biological Abstracts or World List of Scientific Periodicals.

Example:

Brar DS and Sidhu AS (1997) Effect of temperature on pattern of nitrogen release during
decomposition of added green manure residue in soil. J. Res. Punjab Agric. Univ. 34:251-
58.

Adopt the style given in Annexure III.

APPROVAL OF THE SYNOPSIS

The synopsis shall be considered by Synopsis Approval Committee of the university

under the chairmanship of Dean, Postgraduate Studies (rule 7.8.1 of the semester rules). The
decision will be communicated by the Dean, Postgraduate Studies to the Major Advisor at the
earliest possible during the 2nd semester of admission of the Master’s/Ph.D. programme.

3
 GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING THESIS/DISSERTATION

A PG student may submit his/her thesis/dissertation on any date during the semester after
having completed the course requirements and the required number of research credits. There
must, however, lapse minimum of six months period between qualifying comprehensive
examination and final dissertation submission for Ph.D. student. The following steps should be
followed for the preparation and submission of the thesis/dissertation to the Dean, Postgraduate
Studies.

1. Presentation of thesis/dissertation seminar

Before the student starts preparing rough draft of the thesis/dissertation, a seminar should
be given by him/her presenting all the data with statistical analyses to the advisory committee,
other faculty members and postgraduate students in the department

2. Submission of the rough draft of the thesis/dissertation

Draft of the rough thesis/dissertation complete in all respects shall be submitted to the
members of the Advisory Committee and Dean, Postgraduate Studies, at least 10 days before its
final submission. It must have all the suggestions received during Seminars, duly incorporated. A
Certificate to this effect shall be submitted by the Major Advisor, Chairperson Academic
Committee (Teaching) and Head of the Department.

3. Submission of the final thesis/dissertation

Members of the Advisory Committee should return the rough draft of the
thesis/dissertation along with the suggestions within two weeks. The major advisor shall ensure
that the suggestedchanges, if any, have been incorporated.

Certificates I and II (Annexure IVa and IVb) along with the abstract (Annexure V) should
be incorporated after the title page.

For Master student, one copy of the thesis should be submitted to the Head of the
Department through Major Advisor. In case of Ph.D. student, two copies have to be submitted to
the Head of the Department. The Head of Department shall send this copy/these copies to the
Dean, Postgraduate Studies for further necessary action. Four copies of the thesis/dissertation
alongwith two copies of CDs of complete Thesis / Dissertation should be submitted after the oral
examination after incorporating all the suggestions or rectifications of the errors. The CDs
should not include any research papers otherwise bound in the hard copies of dissertation.

Each student submitting a thesis/dissertation for M.Sc. or Ph.D, must also submit five
copies of the one page abstract (not exceeding 250 words) separately.

4
 COMPONENTS OF THESIS/DISSERTATION

1. Preliminary pages

The preliminary pages must include the title page, the certificates, acknowledgements,
abstract and table of contents. Dedications should not be given.

a) Title page

The title page should be printed exactly in accordance with the sample [Annexure III(a)
or III(b)]. The date appearing on the title page must be the year in which the thesis/dissertation is
submitted along with the copyright for IPR (Intellectual Property Rights)

b) Certificates

Certificates of completion of work and approval of the thesis/dissertation by the

Examining Committee should be included in the preliminary pages. These two certificates must
be included on two separate pages exactly as given in Annexure IV(a) and IV(b) of this booklet.

c) Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements should be brief (a single page). This should follow the title page and
is assumed to be page iv, but the number is not typed on page. Care should be taken to avoid
the social obligations in this section. All those who rendered the help in only technical matters
should be acknowledged.

d) Abstract

One page abstract (both in English and Punjabi), not exceeding 250 words should be
included as per Annexure V.

e) Table of contents

Except the title page, certificates, acknowledgements and abstract, all other major
divisions of the thesis/dissertation should be listed in the table of contents (Annexure VI). These
division and sub-divisions, if any, must agree in wording and style with the text.

2. Main body of the thesis/dissertation for Master thesis only

a) Text

5
 The detailed organization of the text will vary with theses in different subjects, but a
consistent style must be followed. In general, the text is divided into: (i) Introduction, (ii) Review
of Literature, (iii) Material and Methods, (iv) Results, (v) Discussion, (vi) Summary, and
References.

The text of the thesis may also include certain materials such as illustrations, tables,
photographs, chemical and mathematical formulae and footnotes.

b) Tables

Tables should be self-explanatory. Headings and the column/row entries should be

clearly related. Tables less than half a page should be preceded or followed by the text.
All tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals, consecutively throughout the thesis,
irrespective of chapters.

c) Formulae

Mathematical and chemical formulae should be carefully made out by computer.

Complex mathematical formulae of two or more lines should not be included in text lines, but
should be placed in the proper position in the centre of the page between lines of text.

d) Scientific names

Give generic names in full at the first mention in every chapter, e.g. Myzus persicae.
(Sulzer). Thereafter abbreviate them in the text, e.g. M. persicae.

e) Illustrations

Illustrations used in the thesis must appear in all the copies. Illustrative materials may be
Arabic line drawings or photographs. Illustrations may be inserted wherever needed in the text,
numbered in Arabic numerals typed on a thesis paper below the illustration. The illustrations
must be prepared using computer. The size of illustrations could be reduced photographically.

f) Paper to be used

The original thesis/dissertation as well as the photocopies should be prepared on a good

quality white bond paper of A 4 size. All pages must have 1.5” margin on the left and 1” on the
right and on the top and bottom, with no gutter.

g) Typing

The general text of the manuscript should be typed in 1.5-space and tables/long
quotations/foot notes/Abstract in single space. The general text should be typed using 11-font
size with Times New Roman. Printing should be done on both sides of the page.

6
h) Pagination

Certificates of approval, title page, acknowledgements and abstract should not be given
any page number. The first page of the table of contents is numbered vi. For text, Arabic
numerals are used beginning with the first page of the text and continued throughout the rest of
the thesis/dissertation including the figures, tables and references. Suppress the page number in
first page of each chapter.

The pages on which the corrections have been suggested by the External Examiner will
have to be retyped. It may happen in a few cases that the external examiner suggests adding new
material: this would disturb the paging of the thesis, and is, therefore, required to be corrected
accordingly. Numbering pages like 15a, 15b, 15c etc., would not be permitted.

3. References in the text should be cited as under:

Bhatt (1940) and Beri et al (1980) reported ……or the results have been reported by
several workers (Vij 1952, Smith et al 1958). Pattern of quoting references given in Annexure III
should be strictly followed.

Refer to unpublished work only in the text (Smith A B unpublished), Brown C D (pers.
comm.) and not in the reference section.

4. Appendices

Appendices should be avoided as far as possible. Any material like test forms, blank
record forms, apparatus etc. may be included under Material and Methods.

5. Vita

The Vita should be given at the end of the thesis/dissertation on a separate page
(Annexure VII).

6. Resubmission of thesis/dissertation

If a thesis/dissertation is not accepted, the candidate may be allowed to re-submit it after

making modifications in the light of remarks of the Examination Committee. Resubmission is
allowed after a lapse of not less than one full semester. Resubmission will be processed in the
same manner as the original submission.

Note: In order to understand the corrections to be made in the text, the ‘Punctuation Marks’ and
abbreviations for Weights/Measure/Calendar have been given in Annexure VIII.

7
 ANNEXURE I

PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

Synopsis of Research of Postgraduate Students: Master’s/Ph.D.

Name of the Student (Capital letters) Admission No.

Major Subject Minor Subject
Major Advisor

1. Title:

2. Introduction (including Knowledge gaps, and Objectives)

3. Expected new knowledge
4. Review of literature
5. Technical programme
The details of each experiment should be given as under:

Experiment No.1

i) Name of the experiment ii) Location: Field/Lab iii) Period of study

iv) Methodology v) Observations to be recorded*
vi) Statistical analysis

Similar details of other experiment(s), if any, should be given.

6. Schedule work-flow diagram

7. Collaboration (if any)

Name of the Department

Consent of the:

i) Collaborating teacher ii) Head of collaborating Department

8. References

*With details.

Signature of the Student

8
 ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Name Designation Department Signature

Major Advisor
Member
Member
Member
Nominee of Dean PGS

Forwarded five copies to the Dean, Postgraduate Studies, for approval by the Synopsis
Approval Committee.

Head of the Department

Dean, Postgraduate Studies

PAU, Ludhiana

9
 Annexure II

Schedule Work Flow Diagram

Activity Semester II Semester-III Semester IV
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J
1 Collection of samples/materials *

Standardization of methods * * *
Lab. Experiment set-up * *
Sample preparations *
Biochemical Analysis * *

Data collection & compilation *

II Field experiment *

Field preparation & layout *

Sowing *
Soil sampling * *
Plant sampling *
Biochemical Analysis *
Field observations * *
Harvesting & threshing *

III Data collection & compilation * *

* *
* *
* *
*
IV Thesis seminar * *
Thesis writing *

Rough thesis submission *

Final thesis submission *
JFMA…. D refer to name of the month
Activity table and time schedule should be prepared as per the individual case

Note: Experiment methods & materials will vary and, accordingly the activities at I & II can be
partitioned in the schedule of work

10
 ANNEXURE III
Style of Writing References

One or more references by the first author

a. When there is only single author, arrange references year wise.

b. In case of two or more authors, see the second author and arrange references
alphabetically. When first and second authors are the same then see the third
author and arrange references alphabetically.
c. In alphabetically arranged references, references with two or more same authors are
to be arranged year wise.

Dawson K A (1987) Mode of action of yeast culture in the rumen. J Anim Sci 65:101-12.

Dawson K A (1990) Designing the yeast culture of tomorrow. Anim Prod 50:483-89.

Dawson K A and Hopkins D M (1991) Differential effect of live yeast on cellulolytic activities
of anaerobic ruminal bacteria. Agron J 69:531-34.

Dawson K A, Hopkins D M and Boling J A (1989) Effect of yeast culture on rumen metabolism.
J Sci Food Agri 52:400-12.

Dawson K A, Hopkins D M and Newman K E (1990) Starch conversion by Saccharomyces

cerevisiae. J Sci food Agric 53:587-94

Dawson K A, Hopkins D M and Newman K e (1991) Effect of yeast culture supplement on the
growth of celluloytic bacteria. J Anim Sci 69: 1140-49.

Dawson K A and Newman K E (1987) Growth and activities of rumen bacteria as influenced by
the diet. J Anim Sci 65:240-45.

References by the same author(s) in the same year

Stern R A and Gazit S (1996a) Lychee pollination by honey bee. J Amer Soc Hort Sci 121:152-
57.
Stern R A and Gazit S (1996b) Anatemical structure of two day old lichi ovules in relation to
fruit set and yield. J Hort Sci 71:661-71.

Abstracts

El Hassen S M, Newbold C J and Wallace R J (1993) The effect of yeast culture on rumen
fermentation. Anim Prod 56:463 (Abstr).

11
Special supplements of Journals

Miller J E, Famandez J M, Barras S r and Hoover D T (1997) Comparison of gastromestive

nematode infection in four breeds of sheep. J Anim Sci 75 (supple 1).

Secondary source (original not available)

Bashir R, Norman R J, Bacon R K and Wells B R (1997) Accumulation and redistribution of

fertilizer nitrogen-15 in soft red winter wheat. Soil Sci Soc Amer J 61:1387-92 (Original
not seen. Abstr in Biological Abstracts, 104 :Entry No. 166249, 1997).

Brown W and Nicolai T (1993) Dynamic properties of polymer solutions. Pp. 272-319. In:
Brown W (ed) Dynamic Light Scattering. The Methods and some Applications.
Clarendon Press, Oxford (Original not seen. Cited by Bellow-Perez L A, Colnna P, Roger
P and Parades-Lopez O, 1998. Cereal Chem 75:395-402).

Anonymous publications

Anonymous (1998) Package of Practices for Rabi Crops. Pp 20-25. Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana.

Translated titles (in parenthsis)

Tharaldsen J (1982) (Gastro-intestinal parasites in swine in some relatively large breeding

herds). Nord Vet Ned 24:427-32.

Books

Elliot W H and Elliot D C (1997) Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog. Pp. 274-79. Oxford
University Press Inc, New York.

Books in series

White B A (ed) (1997) Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol 67, pp 63-69. Humana Press, New
Jersey.

Edited books

Amsterdam D, Cunningham R K and Van Oss C J (ed) (1996). Immunological and Molecular
Diagnosis of Infections Diseases. pp 91-101. Marcel Dekker Inc, New York.

Chapter in an edited book

Close W H (1998) the role of trace mineral proteinates in pig nutrition. In: Lyons T P and
Jacques K A (ed) Biotechnology in the Feed Industry. Pp 469-84. Nottingham University
Press, Loughborough, Leies, U.K.

12
Books with translator(s) name

Klinchin A K (1957) Mathematical Foundations of Information Theory. Silverman R A and

Friedman M D (tr). Pp 100-20. Dover, New York.

Symposium/Conference proceedings

Domon E (1996) Polymorphisms within waxy gene in indigenous barley cultivars revealed by
the polymerase chain reaction. Proc 7th Barley Genetics Symp.pp 60-61. University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon.

Khush G S (1997) Challenges and Opportunities for sustainable agriculture. I:Bajwa M S,

Dhillon J S, Dilawari V K and Chahal S S (ed) Proc 3rd Agricultural Science Congr. Vol
1, pp 1-9, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India.

Technical bulletins and theses

Sen K C and Ray S N (1987) Nutritive Value of Indian Cattle Feeds and Feeding of Animals:
Tech Bull 25, 6th edn. Pp 1-133. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.

Sharma N (1997) Effect of exogenous growth regulators on carbohydrate metabolism in potato.

Ph.D. dissertatioin. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India

Bhardwaj S (1998) Biochemical Constraints in synthesis and accumulation of sucrose in

sugarcane under subtropical conditions. M.Sc. thesis, Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana, India

Patents

Hagner M B and Wondt K L (1977) Methods of sorting seeds. U.K. Patent, 1470133

13
 ANNEXURE III (a)

MANAGEMENT OF TOBACCO LEAF CURL VIRUS

(TLCV) IN TOMATO

Thesis

Submitted to the Punjab Agricultural University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
PLANT PATHOLOGY
(Minor Subject: Entomology)

By

Pritpal Kaur
(L-2006-A-102-M)

Department of Plant Pathology

College of Agriculture
© PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
LUDHIANA-141004

2008

14
 ANNEXURE III(b)

SELECTION AGAINST Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae AT

CELLULAR LEVEL OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.)

Dissertation

Submitted to the Punjab Agricultural University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in
PLANT PATHOLOGY
(Minor Subject: Plant Breeding)

By

Ravinder Kaur
(L-2005-A-24-D)

Department of Plant Pathology

College of Agriculture
© PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
LUDHIANA-141 004

2008

15
 ANNEXURE IV (a)

CERTIFICATE I

This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation entitled, “______________________” submitted

for the degree of M.Sc./M.Tech./Ph.D., in the subject of ______________(Minor subject: ______)
of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, is a bonafide research work carried out by
under my supervision and that no part of this thesis/dissertation/project report has been submitted for any
other degree.

The assistance and help received during the course of investigation have been fully acknowledged

Major Advisor

Those teachers who have two years to retire can guide Master's and Ph.D. students. However, in
case of the Ph.D. students, Co-Major Advisor should be kept on the advisory committee of the student.
However, if such an allotment is made, the teacher will cease to be the major advisor on his/her
superannuation. The certificate-I in the thesis will accordingly be modified as under:

This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation entitled “...................................” submitted for the
degree of M.Sc./M.Tech./Ph.D., in the subject of __________ (Minor subject: ________ ) of the Punjab
Agricultural University, Ludhiana, is a bonafide research work carried out
by....................................................... under the supervision of ..........................................................
upto.............................................................. and under my supervision thereafter for the completion
of degree, and that no part of this thesis/dissertation/project report has been submitted for any other
degree.

The assistance and help received during the course of investigation have been fully acknowledged.

Major Advisor

(This certificate will also be applicable to the cases where substitution of the major advisor has been
approved by the Dean, Postgraduate Studies)

16
 ANNEXURE IV (b)

CERTIFICATE II

For Master’s and Ph.D. students

This is to certify that the thesis/project report entitled, “ ”

submitted by (Admn No. ) to the Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.Sc./M.Tech./
Ph.D. in the subject of (Minor subject: ) has been approved by
the Student’s Advisory Committee alongwith the External Examiner after an oral examination on the
same.

____________________ ___________________________
Major Advisor External Examiner

________________________
Head of the Department

________________________
Dean Postgraduate Studies

P.S. Print the names of Major Advisor, Head of the Department, Dean Postgraduate Studies and
name and address of the External Examiner.

17
 ANNEXURE V

Title of the Thesis/Dissertation :

Name of the Student :

and Admission No.

Major Subject :

Minor Subject :

Name and Designation :

of Major Advisor

Degree to be Awarded :

Year of award of Degree :

Total Pages in Thesis/ :

Dissertation

Name of University :

ABSTRACT
(Not exceeding 250 words)

Keywords (in alphabetical order):

Signature of Major Advisor Signature of the Student

18
 ANNEXURE VI

CONTENTS

Chapter Topic Page

I. INTRODUCTION

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

III. MATERIAL AND METHODS

IV. RESULTS

V. DISCUSSION

VI. SUMMARY

REFERENCES

VITA

Subdivision/Sub-topics, if any, should also be given under each chapter.

19
 ANNEXURE VII

VITA

Name of the student

Father’s name
Mother’s name
Nationality
Date of birth
Permanent home address

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIOIN

For Master’s degree students

Bachelor degree
University and year of award
OGPA/OCPA/% marks
Master’s degree
OCPA

For Ph.D. students

Bachelor degree
University and year of award
OGPA/OCPA/% marks
Master’s degree
University and year of award
OGPA/OCPA/% marks

Ph.D.

OCPA

Title of Master’s Thesis:

Awards/Distinctions/Fellowships/Scholarships

20
 ANNEXURE VIII
Punctuation marks and proof reading symbols

, comma ; semicolon
: colon . full stop
- dash ! exclamation mark
? interrogation or doubt - hyphen; as in knick-knack
, apostrophe; as in Peter’s pence () parenthesis or circular brackets
[] brackets or square brackets } brace, to enclose two or more lines
“” quotation marks
# paragraph + plus, the sign of addition
- minus, the sign of subtraction x the sign of multiplication
÷ sign of division Q because
∴ therefore = equal, the sign of equality
> greater than
< less than
√ square root
* asterism, used to call attention to a particular passage
**or**

..or.. ellipsis to indicate a Break in a narrative, or an omission

“’’” quotation marks, when used within a quotation; as in “He said, ‘ I will go at once, and
jumped into the car”

* star, asterisk; (1) a reference mark; (2) used in philology to denote forms assumed to have
existed though not recorded.

21
 Abbreviations for SI and Non-SI units
SI Unit Non-SI Unit
Length
Kilometer, km (103 m) yard, yd
meter, m foot, ft
Micrometer, µm (10 m) -6
micron, µ
-3
millimeter, mm (10 m) inch, in
nanometer, nm (10-9 m) Angstrom, A
mile, mi
Area
hectare, ha Acre, ac
2 3 2
square kilometer, km (10 m) square mile, mi2
square meter, m2 square foot, ft2
2 -3 2
square millimeter, mm (10 m) square inch, in2
Volume
3
cubic meter, m quart (liquid), qt
-3 3
liter, l (10 m ) cubic, foot, ft3
acre-inch Gallon
3
cubic foot, ft ounce (fluid), oz
cubic inch, in3 pint (fluid), pt
bushel, bu
Mass
-3
gram, g (10 kg) ounce (avdp), oz
kilogram, kg pound, lb
megagram, Mg (tonne) quintal (metric), q
tonne, t ton (2000 lb), ton
pound, lb ton (U.S.), ton
Yield and Rate
kilogram per hectare, kg ha-1 pound per bushel, bu-1
kilogram per cubic meter, kg m-3 bushel per acre, 60 lb
liter per hectare, L ha-1 bushel per acre, 56 lb
-1
tonnes per hectare, t ha bushel pr acre, 48 lb
-1
megagram per hectare, Mg ha gallon per acre
meter per second, m s-1 ton (2000 lb) per acre, ton acre-1
-1
pound per acre, lb acre mile per hour
Specific Surface
square meter per kilogram, m2kg-1 square millimeter per gram, mm2g-1
square centimeter per gram, cm2g-1
Density
-3
megagram per cubic meter, Mg m gram per cubic centimeter, g cm-3
Pressure
6
Megapascal, Mpa (10 Pa) Bar
pascal, Pa pound per square foot, lb ft-2
Atmosphere pound per square inch, lb in-2

22
 Temperature
Kelvin, K Fahrenheit, oF
Celsius, oC
Energy, Work, Quantity of Heat
joule, J Erg
-2
joule per square meter, J m foot-pound
newton, N calorie per square centimeter (Langley)
watt per square meter, W m-2 Dyne
British thermal unit, Btu calorie per square centimeter minute
(irradiance), cal cm-2 min-1
calorie, cal
Transpiration and Photosynthesis
milligram per square meter second, mg micromole (H2O) per square centimeter
m-2s-1 second, µmol cm-2s-1
milligram (H2O) per square meter milligram per square centimeter
-2 -1
second, mg m s second, mg cm-2s-1
gram per square decimeter hour, g dm- milligram per square decimeter hour,
2 -1
h mg dm-2h-1
Plane Angle
radian, rad degrees (angle), o
Electrical Conductivity, Electricity, and Magnetism
siemen per meter, S m-1 millimho per centimeter, mmho cm-1
tesla, T gauss, G
Water Measurement
3
cubic meter, m cubic feet per second, ft3s-1
cubic meter per hour, m3h-1 U.S. gallons per minute, gal min-1
hectare-meters, ha-m acre-feet, acre-ft
hectare-centimeters, ha-cm acre-inches, acre-in
acre-inches, acre-in
Concentrations
-1
centimol pr kilogram, cmol kg milliequivalents per 100 grams, meq
100 g-1
gram per kilogram, g kg-1 percent, %
-1
Milligram per kilogram, mg kg parts per million, ppm
Radioactivity
Becquerel, Bq curie, Ci
Becquerel per kilogram, Bq kg-1 Picocurie per gram, pCi g-1
gray, Gy (absorbed dose) rad, rd
sievert, Sv (equivalent dose) rem (roentgen equivalent man)
Plant Nutrient Conversion
Elemental Oxide
P P2O5
K K2O
Ca CaO
Mg MgO

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 Standard abbreviations relating to weights, Measures and calendar

Weights and Measures Calendar

b billion AD Anno Domini

C Celsius am ante meridiem
cc cubic centimeter Apr April
cm centimeter(s) Aug August
cu cubic BC Before Christ
cwt hundred weight cal Calendar
f foot (feet) cent Century
ft -do- (part of the body) d Date
gal gallon(s) Dec December
g gram(s) Feb February
gr grain(s) Fri Friday
ha hectare hr(s) hour(s)
kg kilogram Jan January
km kilometre(s) Jul July
l litre(s) June June
m metre/mile/million(s) m minute(s)
mg milligram(s) Mar March
mm millimetre(s) May May
mt metric tonne Mon Monday
q quintal(s) Nov November
sq square Oct October
t tonne(s) pa per annum
temp temperature pm post meridiem
µg microgram s second
µl microlitre Sat Saturday
September September
Sun Sunday
Thursday Thursday
Tues Tuesday
Wed Wednesday
Yr(s) year(s)

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