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Open Access
GIS integrated site-specific fertigation recommendations for Instructional farm, KCAET, Tavanur
(Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Subhasree, N; Sajeena, S
Excessive application of fertilizers can cause wastage of fertilizer which increases input cost and environmental pollution. Implementation of Precision Agriculture through site specific nutrient management is the best suitable solution to increase nutrient application efficiency and thereby increase crop productivity. Site Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) is the real time feeding of crops with nutrients while recognizing the spatial variability within the fields. In this context a study on “GIS Integrated Site-Specific Fertigation Recommendations for Instructional Farm, KCAET, Tavanur” was conducted. Delineation of the study area was done with the help of cadastral map of KCAET campus and coordinates of the corner of the study which were found using hand held GPS during the study. Sampling points were located by using gridding tool. The soil samples were collected at the 40 sampling points and analysed for the soil chemical properties such as pH, Electric Conductivity, Available Nitrogen, Available Phosphorous, Available Potassium, Boron and Sulphur by using standard methods. Spatial variability maps of soil chemical properties were prepared by using Inverse Distance Weighing method of interpolation tool in spatial analyst tool of Arc tool box in ArcGIS. Based on soil analytical values, site specific nutrient recommendations were calculated to each grid for Coconut, Banana and different vegetables by Site Specific Soil Nutrient Calculator (SSSNC). It is a winForm Windows application created with the help of Objective-C using Visual studio 2019. Based on nutrient index rating given by Meena et al., (2006), potassium and phosphorous were found in the range of ‘medium fertility’ (1.67-2.33), nitrogen and sulphur were under ‘low fertility’ (<1.67) and boron was found to be under high fertility range (>2.33) in the study area. According to the criteria given by Wilding et al., (1985), pH was found to be least variable whereas nitrogen and boron were moderately variable and the remaining parameters such as organic carbon, phosphorous, potassium and sulphur were found to be most variable parameters in the study area. The maps and the Site-Specific Soil Nutrient (SSSN) App which were developed during the study will help farmers to make better site-specific nutrient recommendations. From this study, it can be concluded that implementation of site-specific fertigation recommendations can eliminate the excessive application of fertilizers and a significant amount of fertilizer can be saved when compared to Package of Practice/ adhoc recommendation.
Open Access
Assessment of greenhouse cultivation problems in Kerala
(Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Deepthi S, Nair; KAU; Jinu, A
Greenhouses are framed or inflated structure covered with transparent or translucent material large enough to grow crops under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions to get optimum growth and productivity. Greenhouse have many advantages and some limitations also. Due to this farmer are abandoning this cultivation method citing crop failures after the initial phase. Thus, a survey was conducted to explore the reasons of failures of greenhouse farmers in Kerala covering all fourteen districts. Major problem faced by farmers was crop failure due to ageing of cladding material. So that fungal growth and dust deposit over the cladding material reduce the light transmission to the greenhouse which affect its microclimate and growth and yield parameters. To prove this, a field experiment was conducted during the period from April to June 2021 in the instructional farm of KCAET, Tavanur, Kerala. CO-1(Amaranthus green variety) was planted inside both cleaned greenhouse and uncleaned greenhouse (greenhouse without cleaned cladding material) and compared the microclimate and performance of Amaranthus in both conditions. Mean monthly values of light intensity and temperature were higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the uncleaned one while relative humidity was higher inside the old greenhouse. Thus, crop growth parameters like plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and average yield per plant were higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the old one whereas the inter nodal length of the plant was higher inside the old greenhouse. From this experiment, it was clear that the aging of cladding material has much influence on crop performance under the greenhouse. Other major problems faced by farmers were a decrease in soil fertility, Fungal/Insect attack inside the greenhouse, high maintenance cost 101 and structural problems of greenhouse, no demand and marketing facility of greenhouse products, etc. From the statistical analysis of survey details, it was clear that farmers are not satisfied with the greenhouse.
Open Access
Assessment of greenhouse cultivation problems in Kerala
(Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Deepthi S, Nair; KAU; Jinu, A
Greenhouses are framed or inflated structure covered with transparent or translucent material large enough to grow crops under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions to get optimum growth and productivity. Greenhouse have many advantages and some limitations also. Due to this farmer are abandoning this cultivation method citing crop failures after the initial phase. Thus, a survey was conducted to explore the reasons of failures of greenhouse farmers in Kerala covering all fourteen districts. Major problem faced by farmers was crop failure due to ageing of cladding material. So that fungal growth and dust deposit over the cladding material reduce the light transmission to the greenhouse which affect its microclimate and growth and yield parameters. To prove this, a field experiment was conducted during the period from April to June 2021 in the instructional farm of KCAET, Tavanur, Kerala. CO-1(Amaranthus green variety) was planted inside both cleaned greenhouse and uncleaned greenhouse (greenhouse without cleaned cladding material) and compared the microclimate and performance of Amaranthus in both conditions. Mean monthly values of light intensity and temperature were higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the uncleaned one while relative humidity was higher inside the old greenhouse. Thus, crop growth parameters like plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and average yield per plant were higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the old one whereas the inter nodal length of the plant was higher inside the old greenhouse. From this experiment, it was clear that the aging of cladding material has much influence on crop performance under the greenhouse. Other major problems faced by farmers were a decrease in soil fertility, Fungal/Insect attack inside the greenhouse, high maintenance cost 101 and structural problems of greenhouse, no demand and marketing facility of greenhouse products, etc. From the statistical analysis of survey details, it was clear that farmers are not satisfied with the greenhouse.
Open Access
Development and evaluation of a pneumatic extruder for production of fortified rice noodles (idiyappam)
(Department of Processing and Food Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Dilsha, Suresh; KAU; Prince, M V
The traditional food products of various regions are now developing into food processing business. Marketing of these kind of culinary products will enhance the more income, jobs as well as minimizes post-harvest. Traditionally rice noodles or idiyappam is prepared by pressing the rice flour water mix through the die with holes of required diameter manually. It is a time consuming and energy intensive laborious process. There are motorized idiyappam machines are available. But such motorized extruders are complicated in design, energy intensive and lacking in precision with more moving parts and associated gear mechanisms. Pneumatic engineering is based on the compressed air or compressed inert gas. In this study a pneumatic extruder was developed for the production of fortified rice noodles, which composed of frame assembly, pneumatic cylinder, compressor, air filter regulator, double solenoid valve, pneumatic pipes/tubes, pneumatic fittings, timer, flow control valve, extruder die, dough cylinder , noodle collecting plate, plate holding section and DC motor. In order to evaluate the developed system towards extrusion fortified rice noodles, the effect of process parameters which would influence the capacity, energy and rate of extrusion such as pneumatic pressure of 600, 700 and 800 kPa, speed of the piston 0.05,0.06 and 0.07 m/s, jackfruit seed flour proportion in the blend of 5, 8 and 11% were studied. Physical properties, cooking properties, nutritional profile and sensory scores were analysed. The optimised operating condition of pneumatic pressure, speed of the piston and jackfruit seed flour proportion in the blend were found to be of 800 kPa, 0.07 m/s, 5 % respectively. From this study, it may be derived that the jackfruit seed flour fortified rice idiyappam prepared through the pneumatic extruder developed under this study at optimised operating condition of 800 kPa of pneumatic pressure, speed of the piston 0.07 m/s and 5% fortification of jackfruit seed flour in the rice powder resulted in production of higher capacity of noodles at lower energy level and higher rate of extrusion. These noodles were found to be on par with cooking and physico-chemical qualities, nutritionally rich and organoleptically superior with that of traditionally prepared rice idiyappam.
Open Access
Effect of combined treatments of ultrasound and ultraviolet radiation for preservation of pineapple juice
(Department of Processing and Food Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Anjaly, M G; KAU; Prince, M V
Ultraviolet (UV) treatment is an alternative tool for food preservation. UV radiation inactivates microorganisms by DNA denaturation and is widely used for disinfect water and liquid food products. The application of UV radiation is limited due to its low penetration depth. Ultrasound (US) is another promising technique which can be employed for preservation of fruit food products. The microbial inactivation in US is mainly due to cavitation. Cavitation leads to destruction of cells, production of free radicals, formation of shock waves and denaturation of enzymes.US preserve the organoleptic and nutritional qualities of food products. Even though UV radiation and US treatment has their own potential as a preservative method, but application of any single treatment would not be competent enough to kill all microorganism. Therefore, a new concept has been extensively evaluated to combine ultraviolet and ultrasound. This combined treatment would optimize the strength of each individual treatment and reduce each of their individual weaknesses. This present study envisages development of US assisted UV radiation treatment system for pineapple juice and evaluation of developed system in retaining the quality characteristics and microbial safety. The system consists of ultrasonic bath with chiller (Sonicator), storage tank, ultraviolet treatment system and recirculation system. The treatments were carried out with three different US time intervals 10 min, 20 min and 30 min and three different UV dosages 1000 mJ/cm2 , 1300 mJ/cm2 , and 1600 mJ/cm2 . Combined US and UV treatments with US exposure 20 min and UV dosage 1600 mJcm-2 were found to be superior based on physicochemical, microbiological and organoleptical characteristics.
Open Access
Development of a machine vision system to identify matured pepper spikes
(Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2021) Meera, T; KAU; Sindhu, Bhaskar
Black pepper is a perennial crop and one of the most economically significant spices in India. It has a high commercial value in the market all around the world. Its fruit is harvested, dried and powdered for many cuisines and processed for many value added products. Black pepper is a flowering vine growing up to 4 m in height. The berries turns from green to red on maturity and are harvested when it starts to turn red. For achieving good quality and good sized pepper, it should be harvested at its proper matured state. Farmers for their time saving and due to heavy work intensity, harvest almost all the fruits which are in a range of maturity along with the real matured ones. This eventually affects the crop yield and quality. Hence employing an automated identification system in this case would be effective. An application programme interface was developed for this, using the fruit features like the shape, colour and size. By using the machine learning techniques and computer vision technology, two programmes were developed in python language, one using OpenCV library and Haar Cascade classifier, and other platform with TensorFlow as library and faster-RCNN as classifier. Studies were also carried out to analyse the physical properties of black pepper. Using image acquisition, a dataset was created and was used for training and preparation of both the models. The hardware part of the system comprised of a webcam as sensor, Raspberry Pi processor, a RPI display unit and some accessory parts. The hardware and software parts were installed and assembled, and subjected to performance evaluation. It was revealed that the Tf-RCNN platform had better performance and efficiency. The performance evaluation parameters viz., sensitivity, specificity and accuracy values were 78%, 71% and 75% respectively for the second model. It was statistically verified that there is a significant difference between the two platforms and the second model had better consistency.
Open Access
Development of small scale parboiling cum drying unit for paddy processing
(Department of Processing and Food Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2021) Ann Annie, Shaju; KAU; Sudheer, K P
Parboiling is an optional unit operation in paddy processing, which results in enhanced milling efficiency with improved nutritional quality of the rice. It is accomplished through the process of soaking, steaming and drying, to gelatinize the starch. Technological advancement in the industrial parboiling has resulted in extensive improvisation of process controls in large-scale industrial parboiling units. But enormous initial investments required for infrastructure, along with the time, labour and energy involved in paddy parboiling made it uneconomical for small scale milling and processing units to undertake parboiling. In this scenario, a small scale parboiling cum drying unit with reduced drudgery and less human interventions was fabricated in this present study for paddy processing and its evaluation was done. The unit mainly consists of two soaking cum steaming chambers (100 kg/tank), LSU dryer, bucket elevator, steam boiler and heat furnace. Soaking and steaming was carried out in the same chamber and drying was carried out in the LSU dryer. The paddy crop variety Jyothi was parboiled at different soaking and steaming times (20, 25 and 30 min) and drying temperatures (50, 60 and 70 ° C) in both hot soaking and cold soaking methods. The performance evaluation of the developed unit was done by analysing the milling and cooking qualities of the parboiled paddy. The treatments were optimised using the Response Surface Methodology (Box Behnken) method. An increase in steaming time exerted a significant effect on milling and cooking qualities of parboiled paddy. The increase in drying time decreased the milling efficiency, head rice yield and hardness of the parboiled milled rice. After optimisation, for hot soaking, milling efficiency of 65.43% and head rice yield of 87.78% were obtained with a soaking time of 7 h, steaming time of 26.07 min and drying temperature of 52 ° C. In case of cold soaking, milling efficiency of 62.15% and head rice yield of 81.93% were obtained with a soaking time of 60 h, steaming time of 27 min and drying temperature of 52 ° C. The processing cost of parboiling one-kilogram paddy in the developed unit were Rs. 2.55/-. The benefit cost ratio for the parboiling process was found to be 1.33:1, which revealed that the developed unit was economically feasible.
Open Access
Water conservation measures and cropping pattern for a watershed using geospatial techniques and swat modelling
(Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2020) Panchamy Balan; KAU; Asha, Joseph
The Manali watershed located in Thrissur district of Kerala with a drainage area of 140.94 km2 receives an average annual rainfall of 2501.08 mm. But the watershed experiences increased water level rise during monsoon and scarcity of water during non-monsoon season. In order to address the problem of water scarcity in the watershed, an attempt was made to plan conservation measures and cropping pattern using geospatial techniques and SWAT modelling. SWAT model was used effectively for the hydrologic water balance assessment and water availability in the watershed. Water demand was estimated as the sum of agricultural and non-agricultural water demand. Agricultural water demand was estimated using CROPWAT 8 model. An analysis of monthly water availability and water demand was carried out to know the status of water in the watershed. Site suitability modelling was done using GIS to locate water conservation measures and IMSD guidelines were applied to select the type of water conservation measures. Cropping pattern was proposed based on existing crops, soil type, physiography and aridity index. The model was calibrated and validated satisfactorily for the watershed with NSE values 0.71 and 0.61 and R2 values 0.81 and 0.61 during calibration and validation respectively. The highest water availability (71.57 Mm³) was found in the month of June and lowest (1.28 Mm³) in the month of January. Water demand was highest in the month of January (8.91 Mm³) and lowest in the month of June (1.23 Mm³). Water surplus was observed in almost all the months of the year except January, February, March and December. The annual total water surplus in the watershed was obtained as 227.43 Mm3. Hence conservation measures were proposed for the watershed. Thus 32 farm ponds, 7 percolation ponds and 4 check dams were suggested to construct in the watershed area. Farm ponds were found to be the most suitable conservation measure in the area. Suitable cropping pattern like sequential cropping and intercropping were also suggested to improve the productivity and economic status of the watershed.
Open Access
Modelling the impact of land use land cover changes on the runoff processes of Chalakudy basin using HEC-HMS model
(Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2020) Nchumbeni M, Odyuo; KAU; Rema, K P
Fast development of urbanization alongside other expanding anthropogenic factors have been distinguished as significant reasons for land use changes and land transformations. This eventually causes several devastations like floods, droughts, water contamination and soil debasement. There is a need for target evaluation and investigation on the land utilization patterns and the mode of operation of water conserving structures in order to take up any preventive and additional healing measures. The state of Kerala in particular is notable for significant level of development as far as socio–monetary components, education, human services and so forth are considered. The broad financial changes have prompted expanded pace of framework, building development and several land use changes in the most recent decade. Evaluating the spatial and temporal changes in land use and land cover (LULC) of a basin is one of the analytic strategies to comprehend the issues continuing in a basin and gives significant understanding of its effect on runoff processes. The Chalakudy river basin in Kerala was one of the worst affected basins during the floods of 2018 and has experienced unaccountable damages to human life, ranches, gardens, domesticated animals, buildings, roads etc. The present study compares the LULC changes over two different decades 1997- 2007 and 2007-2017 by analysing the LULC maps and the effect of these changes on the runoff processes in Chalakudy river basin. From the LULC maps, the area under each class, the percentage area coverage and decadal percentage change for each class were calculated. The Hydrologic Modelling System HEC-HMS, developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Centre (HEC) was used to model the flood flows of the basin. Calibration and validation of the model was done by employing the SCS CN as the loss method. Calibration of the model was done for five years (2003- 2007) to discover the best parameters of HEC-HMS model while validation of the model was done for three years (2015- 2017). The final analysis of the model showed CN to be the most sensitive parameter for simulating the runoff in the basin. The Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (E) for the calibration period was found to increase from 0.726 to 0.766 and 0.816 for the validation period. The correlation coefficient (R2) value was observed to increase from 0.80 to 0.83 before and after the calibration and a value of 0.85 was obtained for the validation period respectively indicating good performance of the model. Simulation runs of the model were done separately for another three years i.e., 1997, 2007 and 2017 in order to analyze the changes in runoff with respect to land use changes. It was observed that the vegetation area decreased consequently from 886.21 km2 to 803.09 km2 while the urban area was found to increase from 31.74 km2 to 41.93 km2 (1997-2017). Aside from that the annual rate change for each class was calculated and results showed an increment in the class of paddy, palm, barren land and urban area while a decrease in annual rate change of vegetation class was also observed. LULC transition matrix was also prepared for 1997-2007 and 2007-2017. From the net loss and gain calculation it was observed that the highest loss from 1997-2007 was found to be for vegetation (-52.52 km2) and the highest gain was of Paddy (54.39 km2). In between 2007-2017 the highest loss was noticed to be for vegetation (-30.59 km2) while the highest gain was for barren land (54.39 km2). The study highlights a disturbing observation in the last two decades and how this change has prompted the occurrence of floods and runoff. After analyzing the decadal land use changes and the simulated runoff values, it was understood how, loss of vegetation cover and increase in urbanization being the most significant reasons for LULC changes have altered the overall basin ecology.

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