APPSC Horticulture Officer Recruitment 2026 | 37 Vacancies | Notification 19/2026 | Telugu

🌱 APPSC Horticulture Officer Recruitment 2026

A.P. Horticulture Service – General Recruitment

Notification No.19/2026 | Dated: 15/09/2026

📌 37 Vacancies 💰 ₹54,060 – ₹1,40,540 📅 06/10/2026 – 27/10/2026 📝 Single-Level CBRT

📢 APPSC Horticulture Officer Recruitment 2026: Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission, Vijayawada has issued Brief Notification No.19/2026 dated 15/09/2026 for direct recruitment to the post of Horticulture Officer in A.P. Horticulture Service. Online applications are invited from eligible candidates from 06/10/2026 to 27/10/2026 up to 11:59 P.M.

📋 Recruitment Overview

వివరం	పూర్తి సమాచారం
Recruiting Authority	Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), Vijayawada
Notification Number	19/2026
Notification Date	15/09/2026
Post	Horticulture Officer in A.P. Horticulture Service
Recruitment Type	General Recruitment / Direct Recruitment
Vacancies	37
Pay Scale	₹54,060 – ₹1,40,540
Application Mode	Online
Application Start Date	06/10/2026
Last Date	27/10/2026 up to 11:59 P.M.
Official Website	psc.ap.gov.in

📌 Vacancy Note: The 37 vacancies are provisional and the number of vacancies is subject to variation upon confirmation from the concerned Department.

🎓 Educational Qualification

Applicants must possess the requisite educational qualification as on the date of the Detailed Notification.

Required Qualification: Must possess a Four-year B.Sc. Degree / B.Sc. (Hons) Degree in Horticulture from a recognized University in the State or any other University accredited by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi.

📅 Crucial Date: The date of the Detailed Notification will be reckoned as the crucial date in all aspects. The Detailed Notification with vacancy breakup, pay scale, age, community, educational qualifications and other instructions will be available on the APPSC website on or before 06/10/2026.

📝 How to Apply

Visit the official APPSC website: psc.ap.gov.in.
Read the Detailed Notification and all Commission instructions carefully.
Ensure that you satisfy the prescribed eligibility conditions.
Enter all particulars correctly in the Online Application Form.
Submit the application only through the prescribed online mode.
Applications sent through any other mode will not be entertained.
Submit the application well in advance of the last date to avoid last-date rush.

📝 APPSC Horticulture Officer Exam Pattern 2026

The recruitment consists of a single-level examination only. No Screening Test will be conducted, irrespective of the number of applications received. The examination will be conducted in Computer Based Recruitment Test (CBRT) mode.

Paper / Test	Subject	Questions	Duration	Marks
Qualifying Test	General English – 50 + General Telugu – 50 English & Telugu individually qualifying SSC Standard	100	100 Minutes	100
Paper-I	General Studies & Mental Ability	150	150 Minutes	150
Paper-II	Horticulture-I	150	150 Minutes	150
Paper-III	Horticulture-II	150	150 Minutes	150
Written Examination Maximum Marks				450

Negative Marking: ప్రతి తప్పు సమాధానానికి ప్రశ్నకు కేటాయించిన మార్కులలో 1/3 మార్కులు penaltyగా విధించబడతాయి.

📚 Qualifying Test – General English & General Telugu

Standard: SSC Standard. General English మరియు General Telugu రెండింటిలోనూ విడివిడిగా qualifying కావాలి.

English	తెలుగు
Comprehension	Synonyms & Vocabulary
Usage and Idiom	Grammar
Vocabulary and Punctuation	Telugu to English Meanings
Logical Re-arrangement of Sentences	English to Telugu Meanings

📖 PAPER-I – General Studies & Mental Ability

Current Affairs: International, National and Andhra Pradesh State major current events and issues.
General Science: Science and its applications to day-to-day life; contemporary developments in Science & Technology and Information Technology.
History of India: Broad social, economic, cultural and political aspects, with focus on Andhra Pradesh and Indian National Movement.
Geography: Geography of India with focus on Andhra Pradesh.
Indian Polity & Governance: Constitutional issues, public policy, reforms and e-Governance initiatives.
Indian Economy & Planning.
Sustainable Development & Environmental Protection.
Disaster Management: Vulnerability profile, prevention, mitigation strategies and application of Remote Sensing and GIS in disaster assessment.
Logical Reasoning: Logical reasoning, analytical ability and logical interpretation.
Data Analysis: Tabulation, visual representation, basic data analysis including mean, median, mode and variance, and interpretation.

🍎 PAPER-II – HORTICULTURE-I

1. Fruit Crops

Area, production, importance, uses, origin, distribution, botany, classification of varieties, rootstocks, high-density planting, climate, soils, planting methods, training and pruning, nutrition, bahar treatment, irrigation scheduling, intercrops, weed control, orchard management, flowering, fruit set, seedlessness, irregular bearing, harvesting indices, harvesting, pre-harvest treatments, growth regulators, yield, grading, packing for internal and export markets, ripening methods and storage of mango, banana, citrus, grape, pineapple, guava, papaya and sapota. Physiological disorders in fruit crops.

2. Vegetable Crops

Importance of vegetables in human diet and national economy; origin and distribution; area and production; nutritive value; botany; varieties; soil and climate; seed treatment; nursery raising; transplanting; nutrition; irrigation; intercultural operations; physiological disorders; harvest indices; harvesting; post-harvest handling; curing; storage and plant growth regulators.

Crops: Tomato, brinjal, chillies, sweet pepper, potato, okra; cucurbits such as cucumber, pumpkin, ridge gourd, snake gourd, bitter gourd, bottle gourd; watermelon and musk melon; cluster bean, French bean, dolichos bean, pea, broad bean; cabbage, cauliflower, knolkhol; radish, carrot, beetroot, turnip; onion, garlic; sweet potato, tapioca, amorphophallus, colocasia, dioscorea, yam; leafy vegetables such as amaranthus, palak, Roselle; perennial vegetables including drumstick, coccinia and murraya.

3. Commercial Floriculture, Ornamental Gardening & Landscape Architecture

Area, production, importance, uses, origin, distribution, varieties, propagation, environmental factors, soils, nutrition, irrigation, weeding, special production techniques, growth regulators, harvesting, post-harvest handling and shelf-life extension of rose, chrysanthemum, jasmine, carnations, gladiolus, anthurium, tuberose, china aster, marigold, crossandra and gerbera.

Bio-aesthetic planning for towns, cities, villages, schools, temples, roadsides, parks, river/canal ghats, railway lines, public/private buildings and places of worship. Ornamental trees, shrubs, climbers, cacti and succulents; garden design principles; Japanese, English and Moghul gardens; paths, walls, fencing, steps, edges, hedges, arches, pergolas, shrubbery, topiary, rockery, flower beds, lawns, fountains, statues, water gardens, conservatories, greenhouses and indoor plants.

Flower arrangement – principles, styles, containers and holding solutions. Bonsai – culture and art of making.

4. Medicinal, Aromatic, Spices, Condiment & Plantation Crops

Origin, importance, export potential, varieties, climate, soil, propagation, planting, after-care, mulching, irrigation, training, pruning, harvesting, yield, post-harvest handling, curing, processing, storage and essential-oil distillation.

Medicinal: Aloe, amla, stevia, ashwagandha, dioscorea, opium poppy, sarpagandha, steroid-bearing solanum, Phyllanthus amarus, chakramani, madhunasaini, sweet flag, Catharanthus roseus, isabgol, foxglove, belladonna, senna, tinospora, annatto, coleus, safed musli and asparagus.

Aromatic: Citronella, lemon grass, palmarosa, vettiver, geranium, davana, mints, lavender and vanilla.

Spices & Condiments: Turmeric, ginger, coriander, fenugreek, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and cumin.

Plantation: Coconut, cashew, oil palm, betelvine, coffee, tea, cacao, arecanut and rubber.

5. Dryland Horticulture & Watershed Management

Dryland horticulture farming; dry climate classification with reference to India and Andhra Pradesh; importance and yield potential of horticultural crops in drylands; suitable fruit and vegetable crops; adaptive features for drought and salinity.

Watershed management objectives, approaches, development planning, land-use capability, soil and rainwater conservation, water harvesting, problems and prospects, alternate water-use systems.

Dryland fruit crops: ber, pomegranate, custard apple, phalsa, fig, aonla, jamun and tamarind – cultural practices including planting, training, pruning, nutrition, water management and harvesting.

6. Post Harvest Management of Horticultural Crops

Importance of post-harvest technology; maturity indices; harvesting; handling; grading of fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, plantation, medicinal and aromatic crops; pre-harvest quality factors; deterioration; physiological and biochemical changes; hardening; delayed ripening; post-harvest treatments; quality parameters and specifications.

Storage for local and export markets; packaging methods; containers and cushioning materials; vacuum packaging; cold storage; poly-shrink packaging; grape guard treatments; transport modes.

7. Preservation of Fruits & Vegetables

Scope and importance; principles of preservation by heat, low temperature and chemicals; processing-site selection; hygienic layout; canning, bottling, freezing, dehydration, drying, sugar, chemicals, salts, vinegar, ultraviolet and ionizing radiation.

Micro-organisms associated with spoilage; canned-product defects such as hydrogen swell, flipper, dent and leaker; biochemical changes; preservatives and colours permitted/prohibited in India.

8. Farm Power & Machinery

Farm power in Andhra Pradesh and India; sources; IC engines; tractors and selection; cost of tractor power; electric motors; primary and secondary tillage implements; seed-cum-fertilizer drills; planters; grafting/pruning tools; intercultural tools; plant-protection equipment; harvesting and soil-conservation equipment.

Processing equipment and preparation of jams, jellies, marmalades, candies, crystallized/glazed fruits, preserves, chutneys, pickles, ketchup, sauce, puree, syrups, juices, squashes and cordials. Government policy on import/export of processed fruits, food laws and quality control.

9. Greenhouse Management of Horticultural Crops

Importance, uses, scope and production under greenhouse; world and Indian status; protected culture in India and AP; establishment considerations; types/classification by shape, material, utility and cladding; greenhouse size and arrangement; cladding materials and benches.

Management of light, temperature, CO₂ and relative humidity; growing media and pasteurization; fertigation; production technology for tomato, cucumber, rose, carnation, gerbera, chrysanthemum and anthurium under greenhouse/polyhouse.

🌿 PAPER-III – HORTICULTURE-II

1. Fundamentals of Horticulture

Definition and importance of horticulture in economy, production and employment; nutritional value; divisions of horticulture; horticultural stations in Andhra Pradesh; horticultural zones of India and AP; temperature, light, humidity, rainfall and soil requirements; orchard-site selection, planning, planting systems and establishment; organic farming; vegetable gardens, nutrition and kitchen gardens.

Nutritional requirements based on soil/tissue analysis and field experiments; deficiency symptoms and nutrient application; irrigation requirements and methods; pruning and training; pollination and fruit set; flower and fruit drop; fruit thinning; unfruitfulness; growth regulators; cropping systems, intercropping, multi-tier cropping, mulching, bearing habits; rejuvenation of old orchards, top working and frame working.

2. Plant Propagation & Nursery Management

Principles and classification of propagation; commercial nursery-site selection; ecological/economic factors; propagation structures, containers and media; sexual propagation; seed dormancy, germination, viability and pre-germination treatments.

Asexual propagation – cuttage, layerage, budding and grafting; rootstocks; mother trees/scion bank; scion-stock relationships; budwood certification; specialized structures; Nursery Registration Act.

Micropropagation: aseptic cultures, media preparation, explant inoculation, establishment, sub-culture and rooting.

3. Plant Physiology

Seed development, germination and dormancy; viability and vigour; photosynthesis; C3, C4 and CAM pathways; photorespiration; respiration; plant growth substances including auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, inhibitors, retardants, phenolic substances and morphactins.

Growth regulators in propagation, dormancy, juvenility, maturity, senescence, flowering, pollination, fruit set, parthenocarpy, fruit growth/drop/ripening, colour development, tuber/bulb formation, sex expression and shelf-life extension.

4. Entomology

Common pests of horticultural crops – distribution, host range, damage, symptoms and control; life cycles of insect pests and nematodes; Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

5. Pathology

Common diseases of horticultural crops – host range, etiology, symptoms and control; life cycles of bacterial, fungal and viral parasites; Integrated Disease Management (IDM).

6. Soil Science

Soil texture and structure; soil pH and nutrient availability; organic matter, humus and C:N ratio; soil fertility/productivity; essential and beneficial elements; macro/secondary/micronutrients; deficiency symptoms and corrective measures.

Manures and fertilizers; simple, compound and complex fertilizers; fertilizer mixtures; biofertilizers; Integrated Nutrient Management; Fertilizer Control Order.

7. Introductory Agro Forestry

Agroforestry status, Indian forests and farming systems; branches of forestry; principles; agroforestry systems; intercropping; home gardens; coconut-based cropping; planning and constraints; tree-species selection.

Important trees and projects including Sisso, Acacia catechu, Acacia nilotica (Babul), Ber, Grewia, Subabul, Tamarind, Eucalyptus, Teak, Casuarina, Red Sanders, Neem, Soapnut, Aonla, Morus, Bamboo, Jatropha, Pongamia and Simarouba. Social forestry, objectives and scope; hortipastoral systems.

8. Extension Education

Formal and informal education; teaching-learning process; principles of learning; communication components; audio-visual aids; transfer of technology programmes including KVK, TAR-IVLP, ATIC, NHM, APMIP, DWCRA, ANTWA and DAATC; extension reforms including ATMA, SREP and PRA and PRA tools.

9. Organic Farming in Horticultural Crops

Concept and relevance; organic production requirements; biological intensive nutrient management; organic manures; vermicomposting; green manuring; compost pits; recycling organic residues; biofertilizers; soil improvement/amendments; integrated disease and pest management; biocontrol agents; biopesticides; pheromones; trap crops; bird perches; weed management; quality, certification, labelling, accreditation, marketing, exports and national/international policies.

💻 Computer Proficiency Test (CPT)

Test	Duration	Maximum Marks	SC/ST	BC	OC
Proficiency in Office Automation with usage of Computers and Associated Software	60 Minutes	100	30	35	40

Note: CPT scheme is as per G.O.Ms.No.26, G.A. (Ser.B) Department, dated 24/02/2023.

🖥️ CPT Part-A – Computer Basics

Introduction to computers, components and classification, peripheral devices and their purposes.
Input devices: Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner, Light Pen, Touch Screens, Joystick, Microphone, Digital Camera, Barcode Reader and Biometric Sensor.
Output devices: Display devices, Printers, Monitor, Speaker and Plotter.
Secondary storage: FDD, Magnetic Tape, USB, Pen Drives and Disks.
Input/processing/output devices; Data and Information; RAM, ROM, Control Unit, Memory Unit and ALU.
Software types: System, Application, Embedded, Proprietary and Open Source software.
Operating systems: purpose, single-user and multi-user systems.
Windows GUI/CUI, files/folders, applications and peripheral setup.
Linux/Mac OS basic concepts, file/directory handling, user management and permissions.
Internet basics, hardware/software requirements, protocols, browsers, IP address, network connection, upload/download.
E-mail basics: sending, receiving, functions, addresses and mailing lists.
World Wide Web: advantages, navigation and web searching.

🧑‍💻 CPT Part-B – Office Suite

MS Office or equivalent open-source office suites such as LibreOffice/Apache OpenOffice/NeoOffice.
Starting/exiting Office applications, shortcut bar and customization.
File operations: creating, editing, saving, opening, closing and managing files.
Cut, copy, paste, drag-and-drop, menus, toolbars, undo/redo, spell check, autocorrect, find/replace, templates and wizards.
MS Word: document creation, formatting, page setup, printing, views, headers/footers, tables, graphics, pictures, WordArt, charts, hyperlinks, bookmarks, fonts, paragraphs, columns, spelling/grammar, mail merge, macros and keyboard shortcuts.
MS Excel: worksheets, cells, formulas, references, autofill, formatting, sorting, charts, functions, data organization, graphs, macros, subtotals, CSV and worksheet database features.
PowerPoint: presentations, slides, views, templates, formatting, images, graphics, multimedia, animations, transitions, timings, slide show, printing and finalization.

📊 CPT Assessment Pattern

Component	Weightage
Part-A – MCQ based assessment	20%
Typing Speed	25%
Organizing & Inserting Different Objects	15%
Excel Sheet – data, formatting, formulas, conditional formatting and graphs	20%
PowerPoint – formatted text, images, tables, transitions and animations	20%
Total	100%

⌨️ CPT Practical Skills: The assessment may include preparing a model document, formatting it, evaluating typing speed, inserting tables/images/WordArt, mail merge, organizing objects, preparing Excel sheets with formulas and graphs, and creating PowerPoint presentations with content, images, tables, transitions and animation effects.

📌 Important Points for Candidates

ఈ Recruitmentలో Screening Test లేదు; single-level examination మాత్రమే ఉంటుంది.
పరీక్ష CBRT modeలో నిర్వహించబడుతుంది.
Multiple sessions ఉంటే Commission అవసరమైతే normalization processను అనుసరించవచ్చు.
Qualifying Testలో English మరియు Telugu individually qualify కావాలి.
Written Examinationలో మొత్తం 450 marks ఉన్నాయి.
ప్రతి తప్పు సమాధానానికి 1/3 negative marking ఉంటుంది.
Detailed Notificationలో age, community, vacancy breakup మరియు ఇతర పూర్తి సూచనలు ఉంటాయి.
Vacancies provisional; concerned Department confirmation ఆధారంగా మారవచ్చు.

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