BSc Agriculture - a detailed inside view of the course

B.Sc Agriculture: A Detailed View of the Course and Career Options

Agriculture is an integral part of the food industry and opting for this field as an undergraduate programme can bag excellent career opportunities for you. Initially, students fail to realize the value of a B.Sc Agriculture as their mind oscillates between management and engineering courses. With advancements in technology and the introduction of high-grade methodologies in agriculture, undergraduate courses have gained popularity. Let’s discourse about the necessary details pertaining to the B.Sc Agriculture course, its benefits and related career options.

Who can proceed with B.Sc Agriculture Course?

Aspirants applying for the B.Sc Agriculture course need to meet below given eligibility requirements –

  1. Candidates must have cleared 10+2 or equivalent examination from a recognized board with subjects like Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology.
  2. Applicants must have attained at least 50% aggregate marks in the 12th standard
  3. The minimum age of the candidates should not be less than 17 years and there is no upper limit

Course structure and syllabus

B.Sc Agriculture is a four-year undergraduate course that deals with the subjects like Agronomy, Genetics, Crop Physiology, Soil Science, Plant Biochemistry, Entomology, Horticulture, Agricultural Economics etc. The course curriculum is segmented into 8 semesters – two each year. The semester-wise syllabus of B.Sc Agriculture is written below –

Semester One

  1. Fundamentals of Agronomy, Genetics, Horticulture and Soil Science
  2. Rural Sociology & Educational Psychology
  3. Introduction to Forestry
  4. Introductory Animal Husbandry
  5. Agricultural Heritage

Semester Two

  1. Fundamentals of Crop Physiology
  2. Fundamentals of Entomology-I
  3. Fundamentals of Agricultural Economics
  4. Principles of Organic Farming
  5. Soil and Water Conservation Engineering

Semester Three

  1. Crop Production Technology 1 (Kharif crops)
  2. Fundamentals of Plant Breeding
  3. Practical Crop Production 1 (Kharif crops)
  4. Agricultural Microbiology
  5. Dairy Science
  6. Fundamentals of Entomology-II

Semester Four

  1. Crop Production Technology II (Rabi crops)
  2. Principles of Seed Technology
  3. Practical Crop Production II (Rabi crops)
  4. Problematic soils and their Management
  5. Production Technology for Ornamental Crops, MAP and Landscaping

Semester Five

  1. Rainfed and dryland Agriculture
  2. Pests of Crops and Stored Grain and their Management 
  3. Protected Cultivation and Secondary Agriculture
  4. Production Technology for Fruit and Plantation Crops
  5. Intellectual Property Rights
  6. Geo-informatics and Nanotechnology

Semester Six

  1. Farming System, Precision Farming & Sustainable Agriculture
  2. Manures, Fertilizers and Soil Fertility Management 
  3. Diseases of Field and Horticultural Crops and their Management-II
  4. Watershed and Wasteland Management
  5. Elective-2
  6. Educational Tour

Semester Seven

  1. General Orientation
  2. On-campus training by subject experts and faculties
  3. Presentation, Project Report Preparation and Evaluation

Semester Eight

  1. Production Technology for Bioagents and Biofertilizer
  2. Mushroom Cultivation Technology
  3. Seed Production and Technology
  4. Commercial Beekeeping
  5. Soil, Plant, Water, and Seed Testing

Scope of B.Sc Agriculture

B.Sc Agriculture course has wide scope in India as well as abroad provided you pursue various Post Graduation courses in multiple trending specializations as given below –

  1. MBA in Agriculture
  2. MSc in Agriculture
  3. MSc in Plant Pathology
  4. Master’s in Environmental Agrobiology
  5. MBA in Agribusiness
  6. MSc in Agricultural Economics
  7. Master’s in Sustainable Agriculture
  8. Master’s in Agricultural Engineering
  9. MSc Agriculture in Genetics
  10. Master’s in Plant Science
  11. Master’s in Agroecology
  12. Master’s in Agronomy
  13. MSc Genetics and Plant Breeding
  14. Master of Food Science and Agribusiness

Benefits of pursuing B.Sc Agriculture

B.Sc agriculture course caters ample benefits to the students and these are quoted below –

  1. The course provides related skills and knowledge required to embark on your presence in the agricultural industry.
  2. The theory and practical parts are included in its curriculum and this uplifts the overall standard of students’ knowledge and learning
  3. The subjects like horticulture, plant pathology, soil science, animal sciences, plant genetics, entomology, plant biochemistry, etc. help the students to gain knowledge about modern techniques and apply them later for crop production, crop protection, irrigation, sowing etc

Career Opportunities after B.Sc Agriculture

B.Sc Agriculture Graduates are privileged to work in both private and public sector units. This platform has now grabbed the interest of students owing to the availability of a plethora of job opportunities in various agricultural departments, research organisations, extension services commercial farming and so on. Every time the Government put efforts to display the significance of this field, the frequency of assignments and research projects goes one notch higher. Some highly reputable and worth investing in professions in the agriculture industry include –

  1. Agricultural Research Scientist
  2. Seed Technologist
  3. Agriculture Technician
  4. Plant and animal breeder
  5. Assistant Plantation Manager
  6. Marketing Executive
  7. Business Development Executive
  8. Banking profiles like Agricultural Officer, Junior Agricultural Associate and Rural Development Officer

Salary Prospects

If you are afraid of being less paid with a B.Sc agriculture degree, you can add other degree courses to enhance its value. However, the average monthly salary of such graduates lies somewhere in between INR 25,000 to INR Agriculture is considered the backbone of our country and thus B.Sc Agriculture degree has gained its momentum with excellent job opportunities in India and abroad. However, it is suggestible to pursue the course from a well-accredited and recognized college. GLA University is one of the growing private universities at UP state. The campus itself is the epitome of excellence in terms of learning environment, faculty, set-up, area, academics and extra-curriculum. B.Sc Agriculture students of GLA get the best campus placements and future career growth.

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