AFO Syllabus 2026: Subject-Wise Prelims & Mains Topics

Most candidates preparing for the Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) exam already know the exam has an agriculture-heavy Professional Knowledge section. What trips people up is not knowing exactly which topics inside that section matter most, and how the syllabus is split across Prelims and Mains under the revised exam pattern.

This guide breaks down the complete AFO syllabus, subject by subject, along with an approximate weightage table based on previous papers, so preparation time goes where it actually counts.

AFO Exam Structure:

AFO selection has three stages: Preliminary exam, Main exam, and Interview. The syllabus is tested differently at each stage:

• Prelims: English Language, Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude, and a foundational Professional Knowledge section 100 questions, qualifying in nature.

• Mains: The same four subjects in greater depth, plus a Descriptive English paper. Professional Knowledge (objective and descriptive combined) is the only component that counts toward final merit.

• Interview: Not syllabus-based in the traditional sense, but agriculture fundamentals and current affairs are commonly asked.

Because Professional Knowledge decides the outcome at Mains, this guide covers it in more depth than the general aptitude sections.

AFO Prelims Syllabus

English Language

Reading comprehension, error detection, cloze test, para jumbles, fill in the blanks, and vocabulary-based questions. The level is moderate and similar to other banking exams the goal here is to clear the sectional cut-off quickly, not to spend excess preparation time on it.

Reasoning Ability

Puzzles and seating arrangement, syllogism, coding-decoding, inequalities, blood relations, direction sense, and input-output. Expect a mix of straightforward and moderately complex puzzles.

Quantitative Aptitude

Simplification and approximation, number series, data interpretation, ratio and proportion, percentage, profit and loss, mixture and alligation, and quadratic equations.

Professional Knowledge (Prelims Level)

At the Prelims stage, Professional Knowledge tests foundational agriculture concepts rather than deep specialisation basic Agronomy, Soil Science, Horticulture, and general awareness of government agricultural schemes. It is scored at 2 marks per question (higher than the other three sections), so accuracy here has an outsized effect on clearing the overall cut-off.

AFO Mains Syllabus

This is the section that actually determines selection, so each subject is covered here in more detail.

Agronomy

Typically the single highest-weightage subject. Covers cropping systems and cropping patterns, tillage practices, seed and sowing methods, weed management, irrigation scheduling, major field crops (cereals, pulses, oilseeds, cash crops) and their agronomic requirements, and dryland farming practices.

Soil Science

Soil formation and classification, soil physical and chemical properties, soil fertility and nutrient management, macro and micronutrients, soil and water conservation, and fertiliser types and application methods.

Horticulture

Fruit crop cultivation, vegetable production, plantation crops, floriculture, post-harvest management, and commercial horticulture practices. Candidates from a horticulture background typically have a natural edge here.

Plant Pathology and Entomology

Plant Pathology covers major crop diseases, causal organisms, and disease management strategies. Entomology covers major insect pests, their life cycles, and integrated pest management approaches. These two subjects are often tested together and combine for a meaningful share of questions.

Genetics and Plant Breeding

Principles of genetics, Mendelian inheritance, plant breeding methods, hybridisation, and an introduction to biotechnology applications in crop improvement.

Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Marketing

Farm management principles, cost of cultivation, agricultural marketing systems, Minimum Support Price (MSP), agricultural credit, and price policy. This subject overlaps directly with the banking role, since AFOs deal with agricultural finance daily.

Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science

Basics of livestock management, dairy farming, poultry, and animal nutrition generally tested at a foundational level rather than in high depth.

Agricultural Extension and Government Schemes

Extension education principles, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and their linkage with banks, and current government schemes such as PM-KISAN, Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojana (PMFBY), Kisan Credit Card (KCC), and Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for agriculture. Because this ties directly to an AFO's actual job, it is asked consistently every year and should never be skipped.

Descriptive English Paper

Two questions worth 25 marks, usually an essay and a letter or similar written task. This does not test agriculture knowledge, but weak writing here can pull down an otherwise strong Mains performance, so it deserves dedicated, separate practice.

Subject-Wise Weightage: Where to Focus

Based on the pattern of previous years' papers, here is an approximate weightage breakdown for the Professional Knowledge (agriculture) portion:

These six leading subjects together typically account for the large majority of agriculture questions, which makes them the natural starting point for any study plan. Weightage can shift slightly between cycles, so this should guide prioritisation, not replace covering the full syllabus.

How the Syllabus Differs Between Prelims and Mains

The subject list is the same across both stages, but the depth and question style change significantly. Prelims Professional Knowledge questions are shorter and more definition-based, meant to filter candidates quickly. Mains questions go deeper into applied scenarios for example, identifying the right fertiliser recommendation for a soil condition, or matching a disease to its causal pathogen and are worth far more toward the final result. Candidates who prepare only at Prelims depth often struggle in Mains, so it helps to study each subject to Mains-level detail from the start rather than revisiting it twice.

How to Cover the AFO Syllabus Efficiently

• Start with the top six subjects: Agronomy, Soil Science, Horticulture, Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Agricultural Economics before moving to lower-weightage topics.

• Build one focused notes set per subject: Agriculture syllabus is fact-heavy crop names, pest names, disease symptoms, fertiliser compositions so concise revision notes matter more than long textbook reading closer to the exam.

• Treat schemes and current affairs as a separate, ongoing task: Government scheme details change, so this part of the syllabus needs regular updates rather than a one-time read.

• Practise previous-year papers by subject: Solving papers and tagging every question by subject shows which areas are personally weak, which matters more than overall scores.

• Don't ignore aptitude sections: Since English, Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude are qualifying in Mains, they still need enough practice to clear the cut-off, even though they don't add to final merit.

Testkart's subject-wise Professional Knowledge quizzes and full-length IBPS AFO mock tests can help track exactly which of these subjects need more revision before the exam.

For Educators

Coaching institutes and independent educators teaching agriculture aspirants can use Testkart to break this syllabus into subject-wise test series separate quizzes for Agronomy, Soil Science, Horticulture, and the other core subjects instead of only offering full-length mock tests. This lets students identify specific weak subjects rather than just an overall score, and educators can track class-wide performance by topic.