The Maharashtra Council of Agricultural Education and Research Post Graduate Common Entrance Test (MCAER PG CET) is a state-level entrance examination conducted annually by the Maharashtra Agricultural Universities Examination Board (MAUEB), Pune. It serves as the primary gateway for students seeking admission to various Master’s Degree programs across the four prestigious State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) in Maharashtra.
Admission to these universities is highly competitive and is based on a 70:30 weightage system: 70% of the score is derived from your CET marks, and 30% is calculated from your undergraduate CGPA.
Participating Universities: Successful candidates can secure seats in:
- MPKV – Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri
- PDKV – Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola
- VNMKV – Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani
- DBSKKV – Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli
MCAER PG CET Exam Pattern
The exam pattern of MCAER PG CET is as per given below:
- Total Questions: 200 MCQs
- Total Marks: 200
- Weightage: 1 mark per correct answer.
- Negative Marking: None.
- Duration: 2 Hours.
The detail syllabus of MCAER PG CET 2026 as per the 6th Dean committee for the various faculty are given below:
1. Faculty of Agriculture
For students with a B.Sc. (Hons) Agriculture degree.
The paper is divided into Major Subjects (80%) and Minor Subjects (20%).
Section A: Major Subjects (80% / 160 Questions)
These questions come directly from your core Agriculture courses.
| Subject | Weightage | Questions | Key Focus Topics |
| Agronomy | 12.5% | 25 | Crop Production (Kharif/Rabi), Weed Mgmt, Organic Farming, Agro-meteorology |
| Genetics & Plant Breeding | 12% | 24 | Genetics, Seed Tech, Crop Improvement, Physiology |
| Horticulture | 10.5% | 21 | Fruit, Vegetable, & Ornamental Crops, Post-Harvest Mgmt. |
| Plant Pathology | 9% | 18 | Microbiology, IPM, Diseases of Field & Hort Crops |
| Agri. Economics | 8% | 16 | Farm Management, Finance, Marketing, Production Economics |
| Soil Science (SSAC) | 7% | 14 | Soil Fertility, Manures, Fertilizers, Problematic Soils |
| Agri. Extension | 6.5% | 13 | Rural Sociology, Communication Skills, Entrepreneurship |
| Entomology | 5.5% | 11 | Insect Ecology, IPM, Pests of Crops & Stored Grains |
| Animal Husbandry (AHDS) | 4% | 8 | Livestock Production, Nutrition, Milk & Milk Products |
| Agri. Engineering | 4% | 8 | Soil & Water Conservation, Farm Power, Protected Cultivation |
| Food Science | 1% | 2 | Principles of Food Science & Nutrition |
Section B: Minor Subjects (20% / 40 Questions)
These sections cover allied fields. Even if these weren’t your majors, they carry 40 marks!
- Horticulture: 7 Questions
- Forestry: 6 Questions
- Biotechnology: 6 Questions
- Agri. Business Mgmt: 6 Questions
- Agri. Engineering: 6 Questions
- Food Technology: 6 Questions
- Community Science: 3 Questions
2. Faculty of Horticulture
For students with a B.Sc. (Hons) Horticulture degree, the syllabus for MCAER PG CET is per given below.
| Division | Questions | Key Subjects |
| Fruit Science | 31 | Breeding of Fruit Crops, Orchard Mgmt, Tropical/Subtropical Fruits |
| Vegetable Science | 21 | Spices & Condiments, Breeding of Veg Crops, Seed Production |
| Floriculture | 12 | Ornamental Horticulture, Landscape Architecture |
| Post-Harvest Tech | 10 | Processing of Hort Crops, Food Nutrition |
| Plant Protection | 26 | Pathology (Diseases of Hort Crops) & Entomology (Pests, Apiculture) |
| Natural Resource Mgmt | 20 | Soil Science, Agro-meteorology, Organic Farming |
| Basic Sciences | 40 | Statistics, Biochemistry, Economics, Extension, Physiology |
| Minor Subjects | 40 | 20 Qs from Agriculture + 20 Qs from Forestry syllabus |
3. Faculty of Forestry
For students with a B.Sc. (Hons) Forestry degree, the syllabus for MCAER PG CET will be as per given below.
| Subject Area | Weightage | Questions |
| Silviculture & Agroforestry | 10% | 20 |
| Forest Biology & Tree Imp. | 10% | 20 |
| Natural Resource Mgmt | 9% | 18 |
| Forest Product Utilization | 11% | 22 |
| Wildlife Science | 10% | 20 |
| Basic & Social Sciences | 16% | 32 |
| Agri & Allied Subjects | 14% | 28 |
| Minor Streams | 20% | Agriculture (20 Qs) + Horticulture (20 Qs) |
4. Faculty of Agricultural Engineering
For students with a B.Tech (Agril. Engg) degree, this paper is 100% focused on the core engineering syllabus.
| Department | Weightage | Questions |
| Farm Machinery & Power | 14% | 28 |
| Soil & Water Conservation | 13% | 26 |
| Irrigation & Drainage | 13% | 26 |
| Process & Food Engg | 13% | 26 |
| Renewable Energy | 11% | 22 |
| Farm Structures | 10% | 20 |
| Basic Engineering | 14% | 28 (Maths, Physics, Computers) |
| Applied Agri Sciences | 12% | 24 (Soil Science, Agronomy, Hort) |
5. Faculty of Food Technology
For students with a B.Tech (Food Tech) degree.
| Department | Weightage | Questions |
| Food Process Tech | 28% | 56 (Processing of Milk, Meat, Beverages, Cereals) |
| Food Engineering | 28% | 56 (Heat Transfer, Cold Storage, Equipment Design) |
| Food Chem & Nutrition | 13.5% | 27 (Additives, Biochemistry, Human Nutrition) |
| Microbiology & Safety | 15% | 30 (Food Safety, Biotechnology, Quality Assurance) |
| Food Business Mgmt | 15.5% | 31 (ICT, Marketing, Entrepreneurship) |
6. Faculty of Agri-Business Management
For students with a B.Sc. (Hons) ABM or BBA (Agriculture) degree.
The ABM syllabus is unique as it balances technical agriculture with business subjects.
- Section A (60% / 120 Questions):
- Marketing: 20 Qs (10%)
- Economics & Policy: 14 Qs (7%)
- Finance & Banking: 14 Qs (7%)
- Business Management: 12 Qs (6%)
- Agri & Allied Technical: Includes Agronomy, Horticulture, Pathology, Entomology, and Engineering subjects totaling approximately 60 questions.
- Sections B-I (40% / 80 Questions):
- Comprises 10 questions each from 8 different streams (Agri, Hort, Forestry, Engg, Food Tech, Comm. Science, Fisheries, Biotech).
7. Other Streams (Brief Overview)
For other streams like Fisheries Science, Community Science and Biotechnology are given below:
- Fisheries Science (Annexure VII):
- Aquaculture: 27% (54 Qs) – The highest weightage section.
- Fisheries Biology: 18% (36 Qs).
- Fish Processing Tech: 16.5% (33 Qs).
- Hydrography: 15.5% (31 Qs).
- Community Science (Annexure VI):
- Equal weightage (18% each) given to Human Development, Resource Mgmt, and Food & Nutrition (36 Qs each).
- Textiles: 14% (28 Qs).
- Biotechnology (Annexure VIII):
- Core Biotech: 50% (100 Qs) – Includes Molecular Biology, Tissue Culture, Immunology, and Genomics.
- Basic Sciences: 18% (36 Qs).
- Minor Sections: 32% distributed across Agri, Hort, Forestry, Food Tech, and Fisheries.
These are complete syllabus for MCAER PG CET Exam to get admission in PG in various Agricultural Disciplines. To Download the full PDF of the syllabus provided by MCAER is given below. Click the download button to download the the syllabus in PDF Format.