About the Department
Department of Agronomy started functioning since 1990 with the start of the College of Agriculture, Vijayapur. The post graduate programme in Agronomy was initiated from 2010-11. We had some eminent agronomists namely Dr. S. K. Gumaste, Dr. G. D. Radder, Dr. C. J. Itnal, Dr. C. S. Hunshal and Dr. M. B. Guled who laid a strong foundation for UG and PG programmes in the department.
Since establishment of the Dry land Research Centre at Vijayapura as early as 1933, agronomy is in focus and natural resource management plays important role in dry land agriculture. It is the head quarter for Zone 3- Northern dry zone covering seven districts and 35 talukas of Karnataka. The centre has made significant contribution in development of model watersheds towards improving the productivity of dry land areas and got national productivity award. To cater the needs of the zone, the PG research programme was initiated and the staff research projects are being carried out every year. The PG research programme addresses various issues of specialised areas mainly, suitable crops and cropping systems for aberrant weather situations of dry lands, precision nutrient management, soil and water conservation, rain water harvesting and its utilization, farming systems research, crop research management and weed management under the guidance of experienced Agronomists. The programme is oriented to inculcate skills and entrepreneurship abilities on the above specialized fields among PG students.
Brief History of the PG degree programme:
| Year of Start | 2010-11 |
| Objectives of Initiating M.Sc. Programme | To produce quality human resources in the area of crop planning and cropping systems, dryland farming, nutrient management, irrigation water management, weed management, organic agriculture and integrated farming systems.To undertake research on crop management to overcome abiotic stresses and climate change situations, organic farming, precision nutrient management, water harvesting and efficient utilization, weed management and alternate crops and cropping systems to aberrant weather situations.Students are trained in recycling of farm wastes in production of vermin-compost, composts and their enrichment techniques.They are trained in establishing different farming system models, suitable for rainfed and irrigated farming situations.Students are equipped with the preparation of action plans for the watersheds for efficient utilization of natural resources.Students are educated to establish the different agro-forestry models for different alternate land use systems.Students are trained on the advanced irrigation methods for efficient utilization of irrigation water and rain water harvested in farm ponds. |
| Accomplishments of Programmes | Out of total 96 students who have completed their M.Sc. (Agri.) degree. The following number of students have been recruited in different agriculture sectors Nationalized banks- 15Department of Agriculture GoK- 7Karnataka State Seed Corporation, National Seed Corporation- 4Private companies Seed/Fertilizer -12University teaching and research faculty-4Enrolled/completed Ph.D.-6Qualified for NET-15 |
Faculty Strength:
| Sl.No. | Designation | Sanctioned | In-place | ||
| T | T | R* | E* | ||
| 1. | Professor and Equivalent | 1 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 2. | Associate Professor and Equivalent | 1 | – | – | – |
| 3. | Assistant Professor and Equivalent | 5 | – | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |
* Services of four staff members from Research and one from Extension are utilized
Technical and Supporting Staff:
| Sl.No. | Designation | Sanctioned | In-place |
| 1 | Assistant | 1 | 1 |
| Messenger | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Field Staff | 1 | 1 |
| Farm and Field worker (Specify): | 5 | 2 | |
| Total | 8 | 5 |
Classrooms and Laboratories:
List of Classroom and functional Laboratories
| Particulars | No. of rooms | Capacity |
| No. of Lecture rooms with sitting capacity | ||
| Particulars | No. of rooms | Capacity |
| No. of Lecture rooms with sitting capacity | 2 | 40 |
| No. of smart class-rooms; seminar room with LCD | 1 | 50 |
| Any other instructional units being utilized for the award of the Degree program | 2* | – |
| Laboratories | 3 | 30 |
*Integrated Farming System unit and Instructional Farm
List of all working equipments present in the department
| Sl. No. | Name of Equipment |
| 1 | Spectrophotometer |
| 2 | Flame photometer |
| 3 | Hot air oven |
| 4 | Digital pH meter |
| 5 | Conductivity meter |
| 6 | Double distillation unit |
| 7 | Plant sample grinder |
| 8 | Lux meter |
| 9 | Portable Leaf area meter |
| 10 | Hot water bath and shakers |
| 11 | Theta Probe |
| 12 | Image analyzer stero zoom binocular microscope |
Mention theory and practical batches for PG programmes
| No. of Courses offered | 10 |
| No. of theory and practical batches | 01 |
| No. of courses with practical component | 09 |
Conduct of Practical and Hands-on training
Every student has to register for minimum of 20 credit hours for major subjects as recommended by BSMA Committee. Students may register some of the courses listed below based on their research problem.
| Course No. & Credit Hours | Practical and Hands-on training | How far students getting desired practical and Hands-on training as per curriculum |
| AGR 502 : 2+1 Principles and Practices of Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management: | Determination of soil pH, ECe, organic C, total N, available N, P, K and S and Ca and Mg and Micronutrients (Fe & Zn) in soils. Determination of total N, P, K and S in plants. Identification of deficiency symptoms of major and minor nutrients. Interpretation of PG interaction effects and computation of economic and yield optima. Composting methods Rapid tissue tests, soil testing kits as tools of soil fertility diagnosis. Use of LCC and SPAD meter and pot culture studies using selected test crops for site specific nutrient management. Visits to fertilizer testing laboratory/ commercial bio-fertilizer units / vermicompost/ fertilizer units | Soil testing and interpretation of soil test results for fertilizer recommendations and soil management.Field identification of deficiency symptoms in different crops and corrections of symptoms.Hands on experience on use of LCC and SPAD in rice, wheat and maize crops. |
| AGR 503: 2+1 Principles and Practices of Weed Management | Identification of important weeds of different crops. Preparation of a weed herbarium. Weed seed bank studies. Studies on invasive and quarantine weeds. Weed survey in crops and cropping systems. Crop-weed competition studies.Herbicide formulations and calculation of herbicide requirement.Preparation of spray solutions of herbicides for high and low-volume sprayers. Use of various types of spray pumps and nozzles and calculation of swath width. Economics of weed control. Herbicide resistance analysis in plant and soil.Bioassay of herbicide resistance. Visit to weed infested area/ crop, cropping systems/ farmers and research centre. | Field visit to study the weed flora in the region, their collection, classification, preparation of herbariums.Evaluation of field efficiency of different herbicides.Hands on training to use different herbicide formulations and their calculation in different crops. |
| AGR 504: 2+1 Principles and Practices of Water Management: | Measurement of soil water potential by using tensiometer, and pressure plate and membrane apparatus, direct methods of soil moisture determination. Determination of infiltration rate. Soil moisture constants. Soil-moisture characteristics curves. Effective rainfall. Water flow measurements using different devices. Quality of irrigation water. Suitability of soil, land and water for irrigation. Water control structure. Optimum soil moisture regime. Irrigation and drainage layouts. Determination of irrigation requirements.Calculation of irrigation efficiency. Determination of infiltration rate. Determination of saturated / unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Visit to command areas. | Determination of soil moisture content by different methods.Use of tensiometer, moisture resistance blocks for irrigation scheduling.Analysis of quality of irrigation water and interpretation of data for use.Use of water measuring devices in the field for irrigation.Layouts of different methods of irrigation in the field and study their suitability in different crops.Calculation of consumptive use of crops in selected crops and working out the WUE. |
| AGR 506 : 2+1 Agronomy of Major Cereals and Millets: | Phenological studies at different growth stages of crop. Estimation of crop yield on the basis of yield attributes. Formulation of cropping schemes for various farm sizes and calculation of cropping and rotational intensities. Working out growth indices (CGR, RGR, NAR, LAD), aggressiveness, relative crowding coefficient, monetary yield advantage and ATER of prominent intercropping systems of different crops. Planning and layout of field experiments. Judging of physiological maturity in different crops. Intercultural operations in different crops. Determination of cost of cultivation of different crops.Working out harvest index of various crops. Study of seed production techniques in various crops. Field visits to farmers’ fields/ research stations. | Field observation on growth indices in different crops.Collection of data and interpretation.Study on dry matter accumulation in different crops and its use in calculation of different growth indices.Use of leaf area meter and estimation of leaf area index in different in different crops.Crop cutting experiments and its use in yield estimation. |
| AGR 507: 2+1 Agronomy of Fibre and Commercial Crops: | Planning and layout of field experiments. Cutting of sugarcane sets, its treatment and methods of planting, tying and propping of sugarcane. Determination of cane maturity and calculation on purity percentage, recovery percentage and sucrose content in cane juice, phenological studies at different growth stages of crop. Intercultural operations in different crops. Cotton seed treatment. Working out growth indices (CGR, RGR, NAR, LAD) aggressivity, relative crowding coefficient, monetary yield advantage and ATER of prominent intercropping systems. Judging of physiological maturity in different crops and Working out harvest index. Working out cost of cultivation of different crops.Estimation of crop yield on the basis of yield attributes. Formulation of cropping schemes for various farm sizes and calculation of cropping and rotational intensities. Estimation of quality parameters of chilli (oleoresin and capsaicin). Estimation of quality parameters of tobacco. Estimation of quality of fibre of different fibre crops. Study of seed production techniques in various crops. Field visits to farmer’s fields/ research stations. | Study of Agronomy of sugarcane, cotton and chilli.Working out the nutrient requirement in sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, chilli and its application methods.Field observation on growth and development of sugarcane, cotton, chilli and working out the different growth indices.Testing of maturity in sugarcane, tobacco and their harvesting techniques. |
| AGR 511: 1+1 Cropping Systems and Sustainable Agriculture | Preparation of cropping plans for different agro-climatic zones. Preparation of cropping systems for different production complexes. Review of cropping system experiments in India and Karnataka. Field visit to nearby farms to study cropping plans and systems. Working out of economics of crops and cropping systems. Study of farm resources, farm enterprises, their strength and weaknesses. Study of existing farming situations under different ecosystems. Study of agro product, demand and supply situation in Karnataka, India and world for developing strategies. Study of various components of farming systems, resource recycling. On / off farm analysis of farming system and developing alternate resource based and market driven farming system modules. Farming system research problem identification, setting objectives, alternative enterprises, prioritization and projectisation. Study of analytical tools for farming system research and sustainable agriculture. Visit to different agro-ecological regions and fields of progressive farmers to carryout above exercises. | To get acquaint with different agro-climatic zones of India and Karnataka, climatic, soils, crops and cropping systems in different zones.Preparation of cropping plans of the farm for different blocks , cropping plans for different agro-climatic zonesVisit to nearby farms, study of crops and cropping systems and preparation of cropping plans for their farms.Work out the economics of different crops and cropping systemsFarm resources and enterprises, their strength and weaknessesVisit to different farm enterprises, farming systems, and study their economics.Effiecent utilization of farm resources for improving the productivity of the farm.Farming systems research and problems in farming systems research, their solutions. |
| AGR 512 2+1 Dryland Farming and Watershed Management | Seed treatment, seed germination and crop establishment in relation to soil moisture contents. Moisture stress effects and recovery behaviour of important crops. Estimation of moisture index and aridity index. Spray of anti-transpirants and their effect on crops. Collection and interpretation of data for water balance equations. Water-use efficiency.Preparation of contour maps and study of various soil and water conservation structures. Preparation of crop plans for different drought conditions. Study of field experiments relevant to dryland farming. Visit to dryland research stations and watershed projects. | Seed treatment and water priming to improve the germination and drought tolerance in different crops.Identification of micro-water shed, surveying and preparation of contour maps by using GIS techniques.Preparation of action plan indicating different soil and water conservation structures for a micro water shed.Visit to a treated micro watershed and study of different soil and water conservation practices and crop management practices. |
| AGR 513 2+1 Principles and Practices of Organic Farming | Aerobic and anaerobic methods of preparation of compost. Preparation of vermicompost and vermiwash. Study of weed management techniques. Study of soil micro, macro and meso fauna. Preparation of neem seed kernel extract and other botanicals. Study of different green manuring crops and their cultivation. Preparation of liquid manures viz. panchagavya, jeevamruth, amruthpani, bio-digester etc.Identification and nursery raising of important agro-forestry trees and trees for shelter belts. Efficient use of biofertilizers, technique of treating legume seeds with Rhizobium cultures, use of Azotobacter, Azospirillum, and PSB cultures in the field. Visit to organic farms. Quality standards, inspection, certification and labeling and accreditation procedures for farm produce from organic farms. | Study of different methods of composting and establishment of different methods of composting.Preparation of different liquid organic manures and their use.Study of importance of agro-forestry systems in organic farming.Onfarm recycling of nutrients on the farm.Formation of farmers groups and certification and establishment of ICS.Visit to organic farms to study the on farm organic practices. |
| AGR 514 (2+1) Agronomy of Major Pulses and Oilseeds: | Phenological studies at different growth stages of crop.Estimation of crop yield on the basis of yield attributes. Formulation of cropping schemes for various farm sizes and calculation of cropping and rotational intensities. Working out growth indices (CGR, RGR, NAR, LAD), aggressiveness, relative crowding coefficient, monetary yield advantage and ATER of prominent intercropping systems of different crops. Planning and layout of field experiments. Judging of physiological maturity in different crops. Intercultural operations in different crops. Determination of cost of cultivation of different crops. Working out harvest index of various crops.Study of seed production techniques in various crops. Field visits to farmers’ fields/ research stations. | Establishment of crop cafeteria and study of Agronomy of pigeon pea, green gram, black gram, cowpea, soybean, safflower, groundnut and sunflower.Study of growth and development of major pulses and oilseeds of zone 3 in the field and working out the different growth indices.Cropping systems intensification through inclusion of short duration pulses and oilseeds in the field. |
Teaching Faculty:
| Name | Designation | Mobile Number | |
| Dr. B. T. Nadagouda | Professor and Head | 9449516900 | nadagoudabt@uasd.in |
| Dr. M. B. Patil | Professor | 9448644641 | patilmb10399@uasd.in |
| Dr. S.Y. Wali | Professor | 9480242670 | walisy@uasd.in |
| Dr. Dinesh Kumar S. P | Assistant Professor | 9880658541 | dineshkumarsp@uasd.in |