Skill Enhancement Course (SEC-I)
Course Overview
Official ICAR Sixth Deans’ Committee skill-enhancement course basket. Students select courses from the prescribed options.
Course Objectives
Skill-based practical training through the prescribed SEC options.
Practical Syllabus
Mushroom Cultivation
Current status and scope of mushroom cultivation in India and Punjab, Important features of edible fungi, Nutritional and medicinal value of mushrooms, Preparation of media, Tissue culture preparation, Sub-culturing for culture maintenance and its preservation, Spawn preparation techniques, Collection of wild mushroom flora, Raw material formulations for Agaricus bisporus (button mushroom), Composting (long method and short method), Casing preparation, Crop management practices, Mushroom farm design and infrastructure required for commercial unit, Cultivation techniques of Pleurotus florida (dhingri), Lentunus edodes (shiitake), Calocybe indica (milky) and Volvoriella volvacea (paddy straw) mushrooms, Marketing of mushrooms, Mushroom diseases and their control, Preparation of value added products from mushrooms, Economics of mushrooms, Exposure visit to commercial farms.
Apiculture
Identification of honeybee species and castes. Hive and other apicultural appliances. Examination of honeybee colonies. Recording of colony performance. Bee pasturage. Migratory routes and migration of colonies. Seasonal management of honeybee colonies. Selection of honeybee colonies for improving bee health and colony productivity. Mass queen bee rearing techniques. Identification of bee enemies and diseases and their management. Foraging and communication behaviour in honeybees. Honey extraction, processing and packaging. Collection of other hive products.
Orchard Floor Management
Layout of different systems of orchards and Fruit Nutrition Garden. Soil management practices: clean cultivation, sod culture, sod mulch, intercropping, cover cropping and mixed cropping. Use of mulch materials: organic and inorganic, moisture conservation and weed control. Layout of various irrigation systems, surface irrigation: Flood system, basin system, modified basin system, furrow method, sub-surface irrigation systems: drip irrigation and its components, overhead irrigation: sprinkler system, fertigation, Different methods of application of manure and fertilizers, use of organic manures, Biofertilizers, Green manuring and bio-agents. Visit to orchards of Progressive fruit growers.
Landscape Gardening
Identification and use of garden tools and equipment. Study of growth characters, identification and classification of ornamental trees, shrubs, climbers, ground covers and indoor plants. Making and maintenance of edge, hedge and topiary. Establishment and maintenance of a lawn. Bonsai making. Art principles of landscaping. Formal and informal gardens. Planning, designing and establishment of garden features. Landscape design process: Landscape drafting tools. Dimensioning, graphic symbols and notations. Site analysis and landscape designing of residential, public buildings and religious places. Landscape planning of roads and roundabouts. Visit to community parks and Institutional gardens.