ICAR AIEEA PG Syllabus 2026: All 20 Subject Groups

The ICAR AIEEA PG syllabus is set separately for each of the 20 major subject groups in the exam. You choose one group when you apply, and your entire paper of 120 questions comes from that group's syllabus. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) publishes the syllabus, and the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the exam on its behalf.

ICAR's syllabus document lists unit titles and topics for each group, but it gives no topic-wise weightage. This page turns it into a working checklist: the shared foundation unit, the units in every group, the areas that overlap across groups, and a plan to cover them. The unit outlines below are summarised from the official ICAR syllabus; use them as a study map and confirm the fine details in the PDF before you start.

Table of Contents

ICAR AIEEA PG Syllabus at a Glance

Key Points Before You Start

• There is no common paper: Every candidate writes a paper from their own group. A Horticulture candidate and an Agronomy candidate never see the same question set.

• Sub-subjects do not change the paper: You choose a sub-subject, such as Plant Pathology within Plant Sciences, only at counselling. The exam covers the whole group.

• Community Science replaced Home Science: Group 11 now carries the name Community Science. Older pages still use the old name.

• Many pages list only half the groups: Several syllabus pages cover 8 to 10 groups and skip Dairy Technology, Food Science Technology or Agri Business Management. Use the official PDF if your group is missing elsewhere.

• This is the PG syllabus only: ICAR AIEEA UG is no longer held. Undergraduate admission now runs through CUET UG, which has its own syllabus.

• Recheck before the 2027 cycle: ICAR's syllabus PDF carries no year. Download it again when the next information bulletin is released, in case units are revised.

The Common Foundation Unit

Most crop-side and several other groups open with a general Unit I. It is broadly similar from group to group, which makes it one of the most reliable areas to prepare.

If your group includes this unit, finish it in your first two weeks. It builds confidence early and the questions are usually direct.

Crop and Plant Science Groups

These seven groups attract the largest share of B.Sc. (Agriculture) graduates. Apart from the foundation unit, each tests the core courses of its discipline.

01 Plant Biotechnology

Sub-subjects: Plant Biochemistry, Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, Plant/Crop Physiology.

• Biochemistry: Biomolecules, enzymes, metabolic pathways, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and analytical techniques.

• Molecular biology and biotechnology: Microbiology, genetic engineering, recombinant DNA, transgenics, plant tissue culture, bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics.

• Crop physiology: Germination, growth and development, mineral nutrition, plant hormones and photoperiodism.

02 Plant Sciences

Sub-subjects: Plant Breeding and Genetics, Plant Pathology, Agricultural Microbiology, Seed Science and Technology, Plant Genetic Resources. Units cover cell biology, genetics and heredity, basic physiology and biomolecules, plant pathology, microbiology, seed science, economic botany, and applied topics such as composting, biogas and food-related industries.

03 Physical Science

Sub-subjects: Agricultural Meteorology, Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural Physics, Agricultural Chemicals, Organic Farming, Environmental Science.

• Chemistry: Analytical, atomic and solution chemistry, organic compounds and pesticide chemistry.

• Soil physics: Soil formation, physical properties, soil water, air and temperature, colloids and problem soils.

• Soil fertility and survey: Nutrients, fertilisers, soil survey and classification, remote sensing and GIS, soil microbes, organic matter, erosion and soil pollution.

04 Entomology and Nematology

Sub-subjects: Entomology, Nematology, Sericulture. The core unit covers animal classification, insect morphology and physiology, insect pests and vectors, beneficial insects, nematodes, integrated pest management and insecticide resistance.

05 Agronomy

Agronomy has the longest unit list of the crop groups, with nine units: general agriculture; principles of agronomy, crop ecology and agricultural meteorology; field crops; weed management; water management and irrigation; soil fertility and fertiliser use; dryland agronomy; problem soils; and sustainable land use systems.

08 Horticulture

Sub-subjects: Vegetable Science, Fruit Science, Post-Harvest Management, Floriculture and Landscaping, and Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops. The discipline unit covers fruits, vegetables, plantation and spice crops, floriculture and landscaping, breeding methods, nutrition, irrigation and pest management in horticultural crops.

09 Forestry/Agroforestry and Silviculture

Sub-subjects: Forest Production and Utilization, Silviculture and Agroforestry, Forest Resource Management, Forest Biology and Tree Improvement. Topics include forest ecology and management, silviculture, agroforestry systems, forest products, tree improvement, wildlife, and forest policy and economics.

Social, Statistical, Engineering and Community Science Groups

Agricultural Engineering is the most calculation-heavy group. With only one minute per question, practise formula-based problems until standard ones take under a minute.

Animal and Veterinary Groups

Veterinary Science covers the entire B.V.Sc. and A.H. course in four units, so the breadth is large. Revise subject by subject from your professional-year notes rather than from a single guidebook.

Fisheries, Dairy, Food and Agri-Business Groups

15 Fisheries Science

Fisheries Science has 12 sub-subjects, the most of any group, ranging from Aquaculture and Fish Processing Technology to Fish Genetics and Breeding and Fisheries Economics. Its five units cover fishery resources and taxonomy; reproduction, culture and hatchery management; limnology, ecology and pollution; fishing gear, craft, preservation and processing; and fishery economics, extension and statistics.

16 Dairy Science

Sub-subjects: Dairy Microbiology, Dairy Chemistry.

• Milk and food chemistry: Composition and nutritional value of milk and colostrum, food additives and preservatives, quality tests and detection of adulterants.

• Dairy microbiology: Hygienic milk production, milk microorganisms, microbial spoilage, mastitic milk and milk-borne diseases.

• Chemistry of dairy products: Cream, butter, ghee, ice cream, cheese, condensed and dried milks, and quality standards.

• Processing: Pasteurisation, UHT, membrane filtration, starter cultures, fermented milks and probiotics.

17 Dairy Technology, 18 Food Science Technology and 19 Agri Business Management

These three groups are the least covered online. Based on the official syllabus and the related undergraduate curricula, expect the following broad areas, and read the unit-wise detail in the ICAR PDF before you plan:

• Dairy Technology: Milk processing, dairy engineering and plant operations, and technology of dairy products.

• Food Science Technology: Food chemistry, food microbiology, processing and preservation, food engineering, and food safety and quality.

• Agri Business Management: Agricultural economics and marketing, farm and agribusiness management, agricultural finance and quantitative methods.

Where the Syllabus Overlaps

Overlap matters even though you write only one paper. It tells you which topics to study once and revise often, and it helps if you are deciding between two eligible groups.

How to Choose Your Subject Group

Your bachelor's degree decides which groups you are eligible for, and the information bulletin lists the qualifying degrees for each sub-subject. B.Sc. (Agriculture) graduates are usually eligible for several crop-side groups, so many candidates have a real choice to make.

• Start from the sub-subject you want: Find the Master's programme you want to study, then the group that contains it. Agronomy and Plant Pathology, for example, sit in different groups.

• Compare the syllabus with your strengths: Put the unit lists of your possible groups side by side and count the units you already know well.

• Remember ranks are group-wise: You compete only with candidates in the same group, and the number of seats differs from group to group.

• Decide before you apply: Only one application is allowed, so the group cannot be changed once the window closes, apart from any correction window NTA opens.

How to Cover the ICAR AIEEA PG Syllabus

1. Weeks 1 and 2, foundation: Download your group's syllabus, mark every unit as strong, average or weak, and finish the common foundation unit.

2. Weeks 3 to 10, core units: Cover one discipline unit at a time from your degree notes and standard textbooks. Make a one-page summary per unit with definitions, varieties, values, scientists and formulae.

3. Weeks 6 to 12, topic tests: After each unit, take a short timed test of 25 to 30 questions and note every wrong or slow answer in an error log.

4. Weeks 11 to 14, previous papers: Solve past ICAR AIEEA PG papers for your group to see how deep the questions go and which units repeat.

5. Final phase, full-length mocks: Attempt 120-question papers in 120 minutes, analyse each one the same day and revise from your error log.

Track exam notices on the NTA ICAR portal.