AGR 204: Commercial 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:
- Understand the principles and practices of major commercial crops in Nepal.
- Learn crop-specific agronomy including soil, climate, cultural practices, management, harvesting, storage, and current research status.
I. Syllabus Overview
Crops covered:
- Sugar crops: Sugarcane
- Fiber crops: Jute, Cotton
- Narcotic crop: Tobacco
- Tuber crop: Potato
Topics include:
- Economic importance, origin, history, distribution, yield
- Soil and climatic requirements
- Land preparation, crop rotation, manure/fertilizer application
- Recommended varieties, seed preparation, sowing, intercultural operations
- Water and weed management, harvesting, storage
- Current research status, constraints, and opportunities
II. Course Outline
A. Lecture Topics (30 Lectures)
| S.N. | Crop/Topics | Details | No. of Lectures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tobacco | Economic importance, distribution, yield, ecology, raising seedlings & transplanting, fertilizer management, plant management (weeding, irrigation, topping), harvesting & curing (flue, air, fire, sun) | 6 |
| 2 | Potato | Economic importance, distribution, yield, ecology, seed & sowing, planting time, seed rate & spacing, fertilizer management, plant management (earthing up, irrigation, weeding), harvesting & storage | 5 |
| 3 | Jute | Economic importance, distribution, yield, ecology, fertilizer management, sowing, plant management, harvesting & post-harvest (steeping, retting, extraction), fiber quality & defects | 5 |
| 4 | Sugarcane | Economic importance, distribution, yield, ecology, planting materials & methods, fertilizer management, plant management (earthing up, weeding, irrigation, detrashing), ratoon management, harvesting & yield optimization | 8 |
| 5 | Cotton | Economic importance, distribution, yield, ecology, fiber quality (staple length, fineness, strength, ginning %), seed prep & sowing, fertilizer management, plant management (weeding, irrigation, topping, defoliation), harvesting & gossypol | 6 |
| Total | 30 |
B. Practical Topics (15 Sessions)
| S.N. | Practical Activities | No. of Practicals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Classification & morphological characteristics of tobacco | 1 |
| 2 | Differences between two tobacco species | 1 |
| 3 | Raising tobacco seedlings | 1 |
| 4 | Classification & morphology of potato | 1 |
| 5 | Morphology of potato tuber | 1 |
| 6 | Classification & morphology of sugarcane (noble cane & nobilization) | 1 |
| 7 | Numerical problems: seed rate, yield estimation, CCS | 1 |
| 8 | Classification & morphology of cotton | 1 |
| 9 | Branching & flowering in cotton | 1 |
| 10 | Characteristics of cotton species | 1 |
| 11 | Numerical problems: fertilizer dose, yield, seed rate of cotton | 1 |
| 12 | Classification & morphology of jute | 1 |
| 13 | Differences between two jute species | 1 |
| 14 | Jute fiber layers | 1 |
| 15 | Boll weight analysis / statistical crop yield analysis | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
References
- Arnon, I. (1972). Crop Production in Dry Regions, Vol. 2. Leonard Hill, London.
- Bakumovsky & Ustimenko, G.B. (1983). Plant Growing in the Tropics and Subtropics. Mir Publisher, Moscow.
- Hoveland, C.S. (1980). Crop Quality, Storage and Utilization. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin.
- Martin, J.H., Leonard, W.H., Stamp, D.L. (1976). Principles of Field Crop Production, 3rd Edition. Macmillan, New York.
- Metcalf, D.S., Elkins, D.M. (1980). Crop Production: Principles and Practices, 4th Edition. Macmillan, New York.
- Prasad, R. (2004). Textbook of Field Crops Production. ICAR, New Delhi.
- Purseglove, J.W. (1974, 1979). Tropical Crops, Monocotyledons & Dicotyledons. Longman, London.
- Singh, C. (1997). Modern Techniques of Raising Field Crops. Oxford & IBH, New Delhi.
- Sundara, B. (1998). Sugarcane Cultivation. Vikas Publishing House, Pvt. Ltd.
- Sundaraj, D.D., Thulasidas, G. (1993). Botany of Field Crops, 2nd Edition. Macmillan India.
- Yadava, R.L. (1994). Agronomy of Sugarcane: Principles and Practices. Lucknow.
