AGR 102: Cereal Crops
Credit Hours: 3 (2+1)
Full Marks: 75 (Theory: 50, Practical: 25)
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Learn improved agronomical practices for cereal crop production.
- Understand opportunities, constraints, and current research in cereal crops.
I. Syllabus Overview
- Introduction and importance of cereal crops
- Origin, distribution, area, production, and productivity
- Improved cultural practices: land preparation, seed treatment, sowing, fertilizers, irrigation, weed management
- Growth, maturity, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, drying, and storage
- Current research status and opportunities in rice, wheat, maize, millet, buckwheat, and barley
II. Course Outline
A. Lecture Topics (30 Lectures)
| S.N. | Crop/Topics | Details | No. of Lectures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rice | Introduction, importance, origin, distribution, area, production, productivity, soil & climatic requirements, morphology, growth, taxonomy (indica, japonica, javanica), varieties & hybrids, rice culture system, nursery raising (wet, dry, dapog, modified dapog), seed rate, seed treatment, spacing, fertilizer management (N, P, K, Zn, Fe, biofertilizers), water management, weed control, maturity, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, drying, storage | 10 |
| 2 | Wheat | Introduction, importance, origin, distribution, area, production, productivity, ecologies, morphology, growth, soil & climatic requirement, varieties, land preparation, seed treatments, seed rate, sowing, fertilizer & water management, weed control, maturity, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, drying, rice-wheat system in Nepal | 6 |
| 3 | Maize | Introduction, importance, origin, distribution, area, production, productivity, soil & climatic requirement, classification, varieties & hybrids, morphology, growth, land preparation, seed treatment, sowing, fertilizer & water management, weed control, maturity, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, drying | 6 |
| 4 | Finger Millet | Introduction, origin, distribution, area, production, productivity, land preparation, seed treatment, sowing, fertilizer, weed & water management, maturity, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, drying, storage | 2 |
| 5 | Buckwheat | Introduction, origin, distribution, area, production, productivity, land preparation, seed treatment, sowing, fertilizer, weed & water management, maturity, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, drying, storage | 1 |
| 6 | Barley | Introduction, origin, distribution, area, production, productivity, land preparation, seed treatment, sowing, fertilizer, weed & water management, maturity, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, drying, storage | 1 |
| 7 | Minor Cereals | Introduction to sorghum, pearl millet, foxtail, proso millet, triticale | 1 |
| 8 | Current Research | Status of cereal research in Nepal | 2 |
| Total | 30 |
B. Practical Topics (15 Sessions)
| S.N. | Practical Activities | No. of Practicals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Field preparation for cereal crops | 2 |
| 2 | Raising of rice seedlings | 1 |
| 3 | Sowing of cereal crops | 1 |
| 4 | Study of growth stages of rice, wheat, maize | 2 |
| 5 | Numerical exercises on fertilizer and pesticide requirements | 2 |
| 6 | Fertilizer application on cereal crops | 2 |
| 7 | Maturity judging of cereal crops | 1 |
| 8 | Identification & control of major weeds in rice, wheat, maize | 1 |
| 9 | Yield estimation & harvesting of seasonal cereal crops | 1 |
| 10 | Study of plant biometrics of cereal crops | 1 |
| 11 | Visit and study at National Maize Research Program research sites | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
References
- De Dutta, S.K. (1981). Principles and Practices of Rice Production. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
- Fageria, N.K., V.C. Baligar & C.A. Jones. (1990). Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Field Crops. Marcel Dekker, New York.
- M. Pal, D. Jayanta & R.K. Rai. (1996). Fundamentals of Cereal Crop Production. Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi.
- Martin, J.H., W.H. Leonard & D.L. Stamp. (1976). Principles of Field Crop Production. Macmillan, New York.
- Nanda, J.S. & P.K. Agrawal. (2008). Botany of Field Crops – I. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana.
- Prasad, R. (2004). Textbook of Field Crops Production. ICAR, New Delhi.
- Reddy, S.R. (2009). Agronomy of Field Crops. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana.
- Singh, C. (2001). Modern Techniques of Raising Field Crops. Oxford & IBH, New Delhi.
- Thakur, C. (1979). Scientific Crop Production, Vol. 1 & 2. Metropolitan Book Co., New Delhi.
- Varma, S.C. & Singh, M.P. (1992). Agronomy of New Plant Types. Tara Publications, Varanasi.
