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Home > Advanced Paper II Paper IV - Soil Science and Sustainable Agriculture

Advanced Paper II Paper IV - Soil Science and Sustainable Agriculture [1]

Paper Code: 
25LSC144L
Credits: 
04
Contact Hours: 
60

UNITS

TOPICS

TEACHING HOURS

Unit I

Basics of Soil Science

  • Soil formation: weathering and pedogenesis
  • Soil and subsurface environment
  • Soil profile and its layers
  • Soil properties-physical (density, porosity, texture, soil structure),  chemical (inorganic and organic)
  • Soil types in India
  • Collection and preparation of soil samples for analysis: sampling procedure, preparation of sample for analysis-drying, seiving, grinding, mixing, storing

12

Unit II

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

  • Soil biota, types of organisms in soil
  • Microbial diversity in soil- Microorganisms in surface soils, in shallow subsurface environments, in deep subsurface environments
  • Interactions among soil microorganisms-neutral, positive and negative associations
  • Humus formation

12

Unit III

Soil Contamination and Degradation

  • Soil contamination due to metals, chemical fertilizers,  pesticide and their effects
  • Soil pollution-caused by industrial effluents (paper, textile, tannery, metal, pharma)
  • Soil degradation-causes, types (chemical and physical), measures to check soil degradation, remediation of degraded soil
  • Soil conservation

12

Unit IV

Soil Fertility

  • Soil fertility and soil productivity; nutrient sources:
    • Soil nitrogen – forms, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, factors affecting nitrogen fixation
    • Soil phosphorus - forms, mechanism of phosphorus fixation, factors affecting phosphorus availability in soils
    • Soil potassium - forms, mechanism of potassium fixation, factors affecting the potassium fixation in soils
    • Micronutrients – Source of micronutrients in soils; factors affecting their availability
  • Integrated nutrient management

12

Unit V

Sustainable Agriculture

  • Principles and objectives of Sustainable Agriculture
  • Sustainable agriculture practices-
    • Organic farming
      • Principles and its scope in India
      • Evolution of organic practice
      • Policies and markets for organic farming
      • Opportunities and Constraints in Organic Farming
    • Bio-fertilizers
      • Characteristic features of biofertilizers
      • Types of biofertilizers
      • Difference between carrier based and liquid biofertilizers
      • Applications of biofertilizers
      • Biofertilizers: storage, shelf life
    •  Bio-pesticides
      • Importance
      • Classification of biopesticides
      • Use of biopesticde
      • Applications of biopesticdes
    • Integrated pest management
      • Importance
      • Principles and limitations of IPM
      • Tools/methods of IPM

 

12

 

ESSENTIAL READINGS: 
  • Aithal, S. C. and Kulkarni, N. S. (2010). Modern Approaches in Soil, Agriculture and Environmental Microbiology. New Delhi. Himalaya Publishing House.
  • Alexander, M. (1977). Introduction to Soil Microbiology. Wiley. New York.
  • Bhatia, S. C. (2011). Environmental Chemistry. New Delhi. CBS Publishers and Distributors Pvt. Ltd.
  • Dubey, R. C. and Maheshwari, D. K. (2013). A Textbook of Microbiology. New Delhi. S.Chand and Company Pvt. Ltd.
  • Gupta, P. K. (2010). A Handbook of Soil, Fertilizer and Manure. Agrobios India.
  • Kolay, A. K. (2017). Basic Concepts of Soil Science. New Delhi. New Age International (P) Ltd. Publishers.
  • Krishna, K. R. (2002). Soil Fertility and Crop Production. New Delhi. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
  • Maier, R. M., Pepper, I. L. and Gerba C. P. (2000). Environmental Microbiology. New York. Academic Press.
  • Manisegaran, S. and Soundararajan, R. P. (2010). Pest Management in Field Crops: Principles and Practices. Agrobios India.
  • Mishra, P. C. (2001). Soil Pollution and Soil Organisms. New Delhi. APH Publishing Corporation.
  • Pal, S. K. (2017). A Textbook of Soil Science. New Delhi. Oxford and IPH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
  • Pelczar,  M. J., Chan, E. C. S. and Krieg, N. R.(2003). Microbiology.  5th Edn. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. New Delhi.
  • Rai, M. M. (2002). Principles of Soil Science. Macmillan India Ltd. New Delhi.
  • Sharma, S. (2017). Soil and Biogeography. New Delhi. Random Publications.
  • Shukla, P. K. (2017). Organic Farming Principles, Methods and Practices. Jaipur. Yking Books.
  • Singh, R. P. (2015). Microbiology. New Delhi. Kalyani Publishers.
  • Singh, T., Purohit, S. S. and Parihar, P. (2012). Soil Microbiology. Agrobios India.
  • Sodhi, G. S. (2008). Fundamental Concepts of Environmental Chemistry. New Delhi. Narosa Publishing House.

 

Academic Year: 
2025-2026 [2]

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[1] https://biotech.iisuniv.ac.in/courses/subjects/advanced-paper-ii-paper-iv-soil-science-and-sustainable-agriculture
[2] https://biotech.iisuniv.ac.in/academic-year/2025-2026