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1984 - 198961
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Subject: Agronomy × Author: KAU × End date: 1989 × Start date: 1984 × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Time of application of pre-emergence herbicides in dry-sown rice
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1989) Suja, G; KAU; Abraham, C T
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Spatial arrangement and nutrient management for maize- fodder cowpea intercropping in rice fallows
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture Vellayani, Trivandrum, 1989) Geetha Kumari, S; KAU; Mohamed Kunju, U
    An investigation was carried out during the summer season of l987-88 in the instructional farm attached to the College of Agriculture Vellayani to determine the best crop arrangement for a grain maize fodder cowpea inter cropping in summer rice fallows under different fertility levels • The different crop arrangements. tried were pure crop of maize at normal row arrangement, maize at normal row arrangement, + one, row of cowpea in between the maize pure crop of maize at paired row arrangement two rows of cowpea in the interpair spaces maize at paired rows of cowpea.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Response of modern varities of rice to nitrogen in kole lands
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Premkumar, J; KAU; Sreedharan, C
    An experiment was carried out in Kole lands during the Kole season of 1985 (December-January to March-April) to ascertain and compare the nutritional requirement of short duration rice varieties and pre – release culture 10-1-1. The treatments consisted of factorial combination of 3 varieties ( Jyothi, Culture 10-1-1 and Triveni) and 5 levels of nitrogen (50,70,90,110 and 130kg N ha-1) in Randomised Block Design, replicated thrice. It was found that the pre-release Culture 10-1-1 had significantly higher plant height, tiller number, leaf area index, dry matter production, number of panicles per m2 and thousand grain weight over other varieties. Triveni recorded the highest filled grains per panicle and weight per panicle. There was no variation in grain yield among the cultivars tested. Culture 10-1-1 registered the highest straw yield and nutrient uptake. Culture 10-1-1 also recorded the highest net income over the varieties tested. Application of nitrogen increased the vegetative characters and yield attributes of rice viz., plant height, tiller production, number of panicles per m2, panicle length, panicle weight, filled grains per panicle and thousand grain weight. The highest grain yield and net income was obtained by Jyothi at 110 kg N ha-1 and that for culture 10-1-1 and Triveni at 90 kg N ha-1. Straw yield and dry matter production were increased upto 110 kg N ha-1. The uptake of nutrients were also influenced positively by nitrogen fertilization. The per day production of Jyothi, culture 10-1-1 and Triveni was found to be 42.65, 51.63 and 49.88 kg, respectively at 90 kg N ha-1. The present investigation revealed that the optimum level of nitrogen fertilization to be 103.74, 97.48 and 93.07 kg ha-1 for Jyothi, Culture 10-1-1 and Triveni, respectively. It was also observed that the field duration of culture 10-1-1 was only 77 days compared to that of 79 and 91 days of Triveni and Jyothi respectively. Benefit cost ratio was highest for Culture 10-1-1 thus indicating the scope of popularizing this cultivar as a short duration variety in Kole land.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Nutrient management in bitter gourd under partial shade
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1989) Ravikrishnan, M K; KAU; Sasidhar, V K
    A field experiment was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 1988 to study the influence of three levels of each nitrogen (50, 70 and 90 kg/ha), phosphorus (15, 25 and 35 kg/ha) and potassium (25, 50 and 75 kg /ha) on growth, yield, content and uptake of major nutrients in bittergourd VK-1 (Priya) under partially shaded conditions of coconut gardens. The trial was conducted as 33 + 1 partially confounded factorial experiment in Randomised Block design with two replications. Higher levels of nitrogen had profound influence on growth characters like days for opening of first male and female flowers and their node of emergence, internodal length, length of main vine and total dry matter production. Application of phosphorus of 35 kg/ha had significant positive effect on the node of emergence of first female flower and total dry matter production. Yield attributes like sex ratio, fruits per plant and harvest index were not influenced significantly by the main and interaction effects of the major nutrients. However the control plots registered a significant reduction in values for these parameters. The fruit set was maximum at 90 kg/ha of nitrogen, 25 kg/ha of phosphorus and 25 kg/ha of potash. Application of 90 kg N/ha, 25 kg P2O5/ha and 50 kg K2O/ha recorded the maximum yield. The response of bittergourd to nitrogen levels was linear and that to phosphorus levels was quadratic. Application of potassium at 75 kg K2O/ha was found to significantly increase the fruit weight. The length and girth of the fruits were positively influenced by the application of nitrogenous fertilizer. Potassium at the rate of 75 kg K2O/ha recorded the maximum girth of fruits signifying its effect on this character. The nitrogen and phosphorus content of fruits and plants and protein content of fruits were found to be unaffected by the main effects of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. An increase in potash level increased the potassium content of fruits and plants. Nitrogen at 90 kg/ha significantly increased the nitrogen uptake by plants and fruits and phosphorus uptake by plants as compared to other levels. Maximum potassium uptake by fruits was obtained by application of 35 kg P2O5/ha and 75 kg K2O/ha and uptake of potassium by plants was maximum at 90 kg N/ha, 35 kg P2O5/ha and 75 kg K2O/ha. The study indicated that application of 90 kg N/ha 25 kg P2O5/ha and 50 kg K2O/ha recorded the maximum yield and net returns from bittergourd cv. VK-1 (Priya) under partially shaded conditions of coconut gardens in the red loam soils of Vellayani.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Slow release nitrogen in cassava nutrition
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1988) Vinod, G S; KAU; Muraleedharan nair, V
    An investigation was undertaken at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the year 1985-86 to study the effect of slow-release nitrogen sources on cassava. The variety used for the trail was Sree Visakha. The treatments consisted of four sources namely urea, neemcake coated urea, urea super granule and rubber cake coated urea each at five levels of nitrogen (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 kg/ha). The experiment was laid out in a 4 x 5 rectangular lattice design with three replications. Application of slow release sources of nitrogen like urea super granule and neem cake coated urea enhanced the growth characters of tapioca such as plant height, number of functional leaves, number of nodes and the leaf area index. Higher levels of nitrogen gave better results in the growth characters. The highest number of tubers, maximum tuber weight and the highest tuber yield were recorded by the urea super granule application, followed by neem cake coated urea. Among the levels of nitrogen tried, the level 150 kg/ha gave the highest yield. Starch content, crude protein content and the hydrocyanic acid contents were not affected by the slow-release source of nitrogen while higher levels of nitrogen application increased the hydrocyanic acid content and the crude protein content. Urea super granule recorded the highest nitrogen uptake and potassium uptake followed by neem cake coated urea. There was no significant difference in the total nitrogen content of the soil with the use of slor-release sources of nitrogen. The treatment combination of neem coated urea tried at 150 kg N/ha resulted in the maximum net return. Though urea super granule gave the maximum yield its cost of cultivation was higher than that of the other sources. So it is more economical to use neem cake coated urea than urea super granule. So in general, the slow-release sources of nitrogn like urea super granule and neem cake coated urea resulted in a better performance than prilled urea.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Biomass productivity and nutrient accumulation in sesbania rostrata inoculated with rhizobium
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1989) Murali, S; KAU; Muraleedharan Nair, V
    With a view to study the biomass productivity and nutrient accumulation of Sesbania rostrata, a field experiment was initiated at college of Agriculture, Vellayani during summer of 1988-’89. The investigation was carried out as two separate experiments. The objective of Experiment I was to assess the biomass productivity and nutrient accumulation of Sesbania rostrata in relation to other green manures, viz. Sesbania aculeata and Crotolaria juncea. The second experiment was intended to determine the effect of Rhizobium inoculation, Liming and phosphorus application on the biomass productivity of Sesbania rostrata. The experiment (s) were laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The soil of the experimental site(s) was sandy clay loam, low in available nitrogen and phosphorus and medium in available potassium. An abstract of the results is given below. Optimum time of harvest of the green manures during the third crop season in rice fallows was at flowering stage(50 DAS), since all the parameters investigated showed a maximum value at this period. Among the green manures tried, Crotolaria juncea proved to be superior in terms of green matter yield, dry matter yield and nutrient up take followed by Sesbania aculeata. At final harvest (50DAS) Crotolaria juncea plant, yielded 14.98 t/ha of biomass, 5.36t/ha of dry matter and yielded 103.78kg/ha, nitrogen. The performance of Sesbania rostrata was not at all satisfactory under the agro-climatic conditions of Trivandrum during the summer season. The present study indicated the superiority of Crotolaria juncea as a green manure under Trivandrum conditions during the summer, as compared with the other two green manures tried. Highest level of lime application (500kg/ha) tried in the experiment together with inoculation positively influenced the growth parameters, nutrient uptaken , soil content of nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium and Rhizobium population . Net returns and cost-benefit ratio also showed higher values for the said treatments. Though phosphorus application at 30kg/ha positively influenced the said parameters, its effect was negligible and greatly nullified by the cost of fertilizer which resulted in a lower net profit and cost-benefit ration. Thus, it is revealed from the present study that phosphorus application is not absolutely necessary for growth of Sesbania rostrata under the agro-climatic conditions of Trivandrum district.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of different levels of nitrogen phosphorus & potassium on the growth & yield of vegetable cowpea var. kurutholapayar grown as an intercrop in the coconut gardens & in the open
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1987) Rajesh, Chandran; KAU; Abdul Salam, M
    Field experiments were conducted at the college of Agriculture, Vellayani during 1986 to study the effect of three levels of nitrogen (10,20 30 kg/ha), three levels of phosphorus (20, 40, 60 kg P2 O5 /ha) and three levels of potassium (10,20 and 30 kg K2 O/ha) on the growth, yield and quality of vegetable cowpea Var. Kurutholapayar grown in the coconut gardens and in the open. The experiment was laid out in a 33 factorial experiment with two replications confounding NPK in replication I and NP2 K2 in replication 2. The same experiment was simultaneously laid out, both in the open and in the coconut garden. The abstract of the results is presented below. Nitrigen application upto 30 kg/ha or phosphorus application upto 60 kg P2O5/ ha increased the vine length, leaf number per plant, dry matter production, number of pods per plant and number of seeds per pod. Application of 30 kg N/ha or 60 kg P2 O5/ ha resulted in the highest uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus. The highest potassium uptake was noticed with the application of 20 kg K2 O/ ha. The fresh bhusa yield of vegetable cowpea var. Kurutholapayar increased with N application upto 30 kg/ha or P application upto 60 kg P2 O5/ha. Application of potassium had no significant effect on the fresh pod yield of vegetable cowpea in the red loam soils of vellayani containing medium amounts of potassium. A maximum net income of Rs. 11,044.80 was obtained from the plants raised in the open by the application of “30 kg N along with 60 kg P2 O5 and 30 kg K2 O/ha”. In general, vegetable cowpea grown in the open showed a much better performance compared to those raised under the partial shade.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Delineating the various agroclimatic zones of Kerala & identifying the cropping patterns for the different zones
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1986) Karmachandran, K M; KAU; Balakrishna Pillai, P
    An investigation was carried out for delineating the various agroclimatic zones of Kerala and for identifying the cropping patterns for the different zones. Meteorological data were collected from 100 stations in Kerala. Soil and crop data were collected for the whole state. The agroclimatic features of Kerala were studied. The water balance elements and indices of 14 representative stations in the state were computed and presented on annual basis. Six moisture availability regimes (MAR) were proposed and delineated following the guidelines of Hargreaves (1971 & 1975). Twenty agroclimatic zones were identified by superimposing the six moisture availability regimes over seven soil groups. The zones are (1) Dry-Forest loam (AF1), (2) Semi dry-Red loam (BR1) (3) Semi dry-Laterite (BLa), (4) Semi dry-Alluvium (BA1), (5) Semi dry-Black soil (BBs), (6)Semi dry-Forest loam (BF1), (7) Sub humid-Red loam (CR1), (8) Sub humid-Laterite (CLa), (9) Sub humid-Alluvium(CA1), (10)Sub humid-Saline (CSa), (11) Sub humid-Forest loam (CF1), (12) Humid-Laterite (DLa), (13) Humid-Alluvium (DA1), (14) Humid-Greyish Onattukara (DGo). (15) Humid-Saline (DSa) (16) Humid-Forest loam (DF1), (17) per humid-Laterite (ELa), (18) per humid-Forest loam (EF1), (19) Wet-Laterite (FLa) and (20) wet-Forest loam (FF1). Twelve cropping patterns of the state were also identified. Suitability of the existing cropping patterns for the agroclimatic zones were examined. It is found that the cropping patterns existing in almost all the agroclimatic zones are suitable to the zones. Coconut is not suitable for BBs zone and the eastern part of the BLa zone, while rubber is not congenial for the zone BF1. Mango and jack are not suitable for the high altitude areas of DF1zone. Coconut, tapioca and cocoa are suitable only up to 900 m above M. S. L. in the zone EF1. In FLa zone rubber grows well up to 600 m above M. S. L, while cardamom is better for higher elevations. Tapioca is not suitable for areas 800 m above M. S. L in the zone FF1. The important crops except tapioca are unsuitable for AF1 zone. It is felt that a detailed study with a denser network of meteorological stations is necessary for examining the suitability of crops to the zone CF1. Crops such as millets with low water requirement should be given more importance in the zones like BBS and AF1. Dry (A) type MAR demands great care of crops at least for six dry months. Perhumid (E) and Wet (F) types of MAR demand proper drainage for crops except rice. Proper soil conservation measures have to be taken up when tapioca is grown on the slopes, especially of the sub humid (C), Humid (D), perhumid (E) and wet (F) types of moisture availability regimes.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Influence of crop geometry on the growth and yield of rice variety jaya
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1985) Usha, K E; KAU; Balakrishnapillai, P
    Influence of crop geometry on the growth and yield of rice variety 'Jaya'. An experiment was conducted in the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Pattambi during the second crop season of 1983 to study the influence of crop geometry on the growth and yield of rice variety 'Jaya'. The experiment was laid out in split plot with three replications. The treatments consisted of six treatment combinations of two levels of spacing between plants (20 x 15 cm, 20 x 10 cm) and three levels of spacing between alleys (80 cm, 160 cm and 240 cm apart) in the main plot and four levels of crop orientation (north-South, East-West, diagonal planting North East-South West and diagonal planting North West-South East) in the sub plot. Observations on weather factors such as temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, sunshine hours, wind velocity and evaporation were recorded daily. Crop growth characters like height, number of tillers, leaf area index were recorded at different stages of development of the crop and yield components like number of productive tillers, length of panicle, and yield of girth and straw were noted during the harvest. The day time variation of albedo was also measured at frequent intervals. N-S oriented crop was significantly superior to others with regard to crop growth characters as well as yield components. Height, number of tillers, number of productive tillers, length of panicle and number of grain per panicle were influenced by the 20 x 15 cm spacing while the 20 x 10 cm spacing showed the maximum drymatter production, maximum thousand grain weight and highest value of grain and straw yields. The grain yield was not significantly influenced by the alley treatments. It was found that proper spacing and orientation had significant effect on overall growth and yield of the crop. Highest grain yield was recorded in plots with N-S orientation and with 20 x 10 cm spacing. The best performance is attributed to more effective utilisation of solar radiation with the uniform exposure of plants to sunlight. The albedo measurements were also higher over the closely spaced and N-S oriented plots indicating the better growth and performance of the crop. Results of the present investigation indicate that rice in Kerala during the second crop season can be grown most successfully if planted at a spacing of 20 x 10 cm and oriented in N-S direction.