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ThesisItem Open Access Comparative micromorphologial and physico- chemical study of the upland and midupland laterite soils of Kerala(Department of soil science and agricultural chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1986) Sankarankutty Nair, R; KAU; Aiyer, R SThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of bhindi hybrids for yield and its components(Department of Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1986) Sheela, M N; Manikantan, Nair, PThesisItem Open Access Exchangeable aluminium as an index of liming for the acidic upland soils of Kerala(Department of soil science and agricultural chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1987) Meena, K; KAU; Alice, AbrahamAluminium toxicity is the major factor limiting crop production in the acidic soils and the usual practice of alleviating aluminium toxicity is liming* / The present investigation was carried out to find out the distribution of water s dluhle and exchangeable aluminium in the acidic upland soils of Kerala and to test the suitability of exchangeable aluminium as an index for liming them* It was further programmed to find out the growth, yield and nutrient uptake pattern of two acid sensitive crops namely cowpea and fodder maize in soils under different levels of exchangeable aluminium brought out by the use of different levels of lime* Chemical analysis of eighty soil samples representing the five major upland soil types of Kerala viz* laterlte, alluvial, red loam, sandy and forest a oil have indicated the highest amount of exchangeable aluminium and percentage aluminium saturation in the laterite soils* The soil with 3 high level of exchangeable aluminium and percentage aluminium saturation was selected for conducting a pot culture experiment to test the suitability of using exchangeable aluminium as an index of liming* The exchangeable aluminium content of this soil was maintained at different levels by applying different levels of lime and the performance of these crops in this soil was compared by making biometric observations and by chemically analysing plant and soil samples* From the results of the study it was seen that higher levels of exchangeable aluminium adversely affected the growth, yield and nutrient uptake In cowpea and fodder maize* Maintenance of exchangeable aluminium at 1*26 me/100 g with a corresponding percentage aluminium saturation valua of around 30, by the use of 500 kg lime/ha appeared to be the optimum for maximising the yield of cowpea* But in fodder maize this level of lime was found to be insufficient and complete elimination of aluminium toxicity appeared to be essential for maximising production* Since the critical levels of exchangeable aiuainiua appears to be different for different crop3, it is desirable that lias levels to reduce exchangeable aluminium to such a critical level alono be applied. The results of the present study thus point to the advantage in adopting the exchangeable aluminium level of soil as a better index of liming for various crops grown in the upland acidic soils of Kerala.ThesisItem Open Access Forecasting models for crop yield in cashew (anacahdium occident ale l.)(Department of Statistics, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 1987) Usha, Menon R; KAU; George, K CThesisItem Open Access Effect of submergence on the soil testing parameters of paddy soils(Department of soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani., 1986) Usha, Mathew; Alice, AbrahamThesisItem Open Access Economics of coconut cultivation in Calicut district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Premaja, P; KAU; Mukundan, KA study on the economics of coconut cultivation in Calicut district was conducted during the period 1985-86, to evaluate the costs and returns, capital productivity, resource use efficiency of yielding plantation, the problems of coconut cultivators and the impact of incentives given by different agencies for coconut cultivation. Three stage random sampling was adopted for the study and data were collected from a sample of 120 cultivators by personal interview method. Coconut was cultivated mostly in small holdings and the average area under coconuts in the sample was 0.24 hectare. Most of the holdings were rainfed. Total cost of cultivation for 16 years was estimated to be Rs. 91,311 for the district, in terms of 1985-86 prices. The major item of expenditure was human labour constituting about 50.49 percent of the total cost. Fertilisers including farm yard manure accounted for 24.16 percent and harvesting charges for 9.90 percent of the total cost for 16 years. The total cost of bringing one hectare of coconut plantation up to bearing stage (initial 7 years’ expenditure) was estimated as Rs.38,773 and the maintenance cost per hectare per year was Rs.5,853. The average annual production of nuts per hectares during the stabilized period was estimated as 10049 nuts. Cost of production per nut was calculated as Rs.1.12. The estimated net returns on investment per hectare per year come to Rs.13,835 based on 1983-84 prices. Pay back period was found to be 13.18 years. Benefit cost ratio was calculated as 1.44. Net present worth was Rs.24.454 and internal rate of return was calculated to be 16.39 percent. The factors age, labour, fertilizer and plant protection were found to have significant influence on the gross income obtained from a coconut garden. High input costs, poor irrigation facilities and difficulties associated with marketing were some of the general problems faced by the sample farmers. The study showed that in general, incentives and subsidies given by different agencies have had very little impact on coconut cultivation in the study area.ThesisItem Open Access Productivity of capital finance in technological changes in agriculture in Trivandrum district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Jayan, K; KAU; Prabhakaran, TThis study on capital productivity and role of finance in technological changes in agriculture was carried out using data collected from sample holdings selected from the second and fifth wards of Chettivilakam panchayath and first and fourth wards of Ulloor panchayath under Trivandrum Rural Block in Trivandrum district, Kerala, through multistage random sampling technique. Two samples of size 35 each were selected, the first being that of beneficiaries of agricultural loans and the second being that of non-beneficiaries. The data collected from the two samples were analysed size group wise using production function analysis and Linear programming to estimate the productivity of capital and to generate optimum crop plans under existing and improved technologies. Fertilizer followed by irrigation came out to be the most productive forms of capital. Labour was found to be less productive. Productivity was found to be more in the smaller farms of the beneficiary category. Optimal crop plans developed using Linear programming had shown the potential for increasing the farm income even under the existing technology, by the re-allocation and judicious use of the existing resources. Provision of additional dose of capital showed the possibility of increasing the net farm income in substantial levels even in the existing level of technology. Adoption of improved technology with adequate capital has shown much higher potential for increasing the farm income and this increase was more in the non-beneficiary category. The credit gap for the adoption of the improved technology was also found to be more for the non-beneficiary category and in both the categories the credit gap was found to be the highest for the smallest size group.ThesisItem Open Access Response of modern varities of rice to nitrogen in kole lands(Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Premkumar, J; KAU; Sreedharan, CAn 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.ThesisItem Open Access Anatomy and utilization of two cane species of Kerala(College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 1988) Mohan, Varghese; KAU; Bhat, K MVariation in certain anatomical and physical properties has been investigated and compared in two rattan species, viz. Calamus thwaitesii and C. travancoricus, the former representing the larger diameter and the latter possessing small-diameter canes of kerala. Five stems possing more or less similar number of internodes have been sampled in each of two species. There were significant differences between the two species in certain physical properties such as length and diameter of internode, stem “wood” density and initial moisture content although volumetric shrinkage did not differ appreciably. Similarly, quantitative data for anatomical properties such as corted percentage, number of vascular bundles per unit area, vascular bundle diameter, xylem and phloem percentage, metaxylem vessel element and fibre dimensions were markedly different between the two species while the fibre percentage had almost similar values. With the exceptions of internode size and fibre width, the mean physical and anatomical properties in each species showed definite patterns of longitudinal variation, which could be best explained using quadratic regression models. However, patterns of longitudinal variation were different between the species in volumetric shrinkage, number of vascular bundles per mm2, vascular bundle diameter, phloem percentage, metaxylem vessel element and fibre length. The most important useful features in distinguishing between the two species are internode length, stem diameter, epidermal cell and its lumen shape, diameter and frequency of vascular bundles as well as the diameter of wide metaxylem vessels. The most important determining factors of “wood” density are fibre percentage, fibre wall thickness and lumen width as well as the diameter of metaxylem vessels although features like the size and number of vascular bundles per unit area also influences this property. Volumetric shrinkage and moisture content are inversely related to the density of “wood”. With higher density owing to more thick walled fibres and narrower wide metaxylem vessels, basal portion of the stem is harder and heavier than top portion.
