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Anand Agricultural University, Anand
Anand Agricultural University (AAU) was established in 2004 at Anand with the support of the Government of Gujarat, Act No.(Guj 5 of 2004) dated April 29, 2004. Caved out of the erstwhile Gujarat Agricultural University (GAU), the dream institution of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. K. M. Munshi, the AAU was set up to provide support to the farming community in three facets namely education, research and extension activities in Agriculture, Horticulture Engineering, product Processing and Home Science. At present there seven Colleges, seventeen Research Centers and six Extension Education Institute working in nine districts of Gujarat namely Ahmedabad, Anand, Dahod, Kheda, Panchmahal, Vadodara, Mahisagar, Botad and Chhotaudepur
AAU's activities have expanded to span newer commodity sectors such as soil health card, bio-diesel, medicinal plants apart from the mandatory ones like rice, maize, tobacco, vegetable crops, fruit crops, forage crops, animal breeding, nutrition and dairy products etc. the core of AAU's operating philosophy however, continues to create the partnership between the rural people and committed academic as the basic for sustainable rural development. In pursuing its various programmes AAU's overall mission is to promote sustainable growth and economic independence in rural society. AAU aims to do this through education, research and extension education. Thus, AAU works towards the empowerment of the farmers.
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ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF DIGESTIVE ENZYMES IN PANCREATIC JUICE AND DUODENAL FLUID OF COW CALVES AND BUFFALO CALVES FROM BERTH TO EARLY RUMINANT STAGE(AAU, Anand, 1996) Christi, K. S.; VADODARIA, V. P.Healthy 22 calves (10 cow calves; 12 buffalo calves) maintained at Veterinary college, Anand, with an objective of establishing physico-biochemical profile of pancreatic juice and duodenal fluid from birth to fifteen week of age were studied in relation to different physiological factors like age, feeding and diurnal variations. There is no report of research work carried out simultaneously both in cow calves and buffalo calves as well as on panoreatic juice and duodenal fluid at same age, feeding schedule and for diurnal variations in various parameters. The research data were classified and tested with the help of standard statistical procedures. Work on buffalo calves has not been found reported fluid, therefore the present work provides the basic informations for future research endeavor.ThesisItem Open Access COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GROSS, HISTOLOGICAL, HISTOCHEMICAL AND BIOMECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LOCOMOTORY APPARATUS OF THE BUFFALO AND THE OX(AAU, Anand, 1996) DUBAL, SUBHASH C.; Vyas, K. N.The present study was carried out to investigate and compare the anatomical and the biomechanical characteristics of bones and muscles of forelimbs and hindlimbs of male of Surti buffalo and Kankrej ox (5 to 10 months old calves and 5 years or more old adults, six in number, in each age group of each species). Study on walking gait characteristics were made from the videographs of six live adult animals of each species. The forelimbs of the buffalo were found to bear significantly (P < 0.05) more body weight (57.89 ± 0.82 %) than those of the ox (55.96 ± 1.05 % ). The cortical thickness, bone density and elastic modulus of the bones of the forelimbs, did not differ significantly (P < 0.05) from those of the hindlimbs of the animals of both the species within the same age groups. The pooled mean values of the cortical thickness,the bone density and the elastic modulus of the bones of the calves, were significantly (P < 0.05) lower (0.18 ± 0.001 cm; 2281.27 ± 14.21 - 2 kg/cm and 118.37 ± 0.11 kg/cm2, respectively) than those of the adult animals (0.54 ± 0.002 cm, 2510.54 ± 9.28 kg/cm2 and 166.33 ± 0.17 kg/cm2 , respectively). The ultimate compressive and tensile stresses, and ttie strength and stiffness economics, increased significantly with the advancement of the age. Most of the gross anatomical and the biomechanical characteristics of the bones and the muscles studied, increased significantly (P < 0.05) from the calfhood to the adulthood in both the species.ThesisItem Open Access EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEILLANCE, CLINICO PATHOLOGY. DIAGNOSTIC AND TECHNOECONOMIC ASPECTS OF FASCIOLIASIS IN BUFFALOES(AAU, Anand, 1997) RAVAL, SUNANT KANTILAL; Patel, P. R.The epidemiological surveillance is a urgent need of today. The study was carried out from 1st January to 31st December, 1996 in the five villages of Anand district by visiting rural herd on a regular basis. In the present study the efforts were made to generate and analyse epidemiological data for fascioliasis from rural buffaloes. The epidemiological data on disease incidence in relation to season, meteorological factors. Physiological status, nutritional status, body condition score, housing and hygienic condition were analysed. The visit of the slaughter house was also made. The incidence of fascioliasis was 11.71 per cent in survey group and 22.26 per cent in slaughter group. The higher incidence was observed in August and September in both the group of buffaloes. A significant correlation was observed between the monthly incidence of fascioliasis in slaughtered and survey group. The lymnea species of snails was present in the nearby area of canals and ponds. Higher incidence was recorded in aged buffaloes (15.52 per cent) than young-esters below one year (3.10 per cent )whereas non-lactating buffaloes have more incidence of fascioliasis than lactating buffaloes. A positive significnat correlation of disease incidence with morning and evening relative humidity, minimum temperature has been noticed. A negative correlation of disease incidence with maximum temperature, pan evaporation and bright sunshine has been recorded. Clinically buffaloes suffering from fascioliasis were found to be weak, anorexic debilated, emaciated and having submandibular edema. On clinical observation respiration rate was increased and ruminal movements decreased in infected animals in compared to healthy animals. The respiration rate was higher in infected animals (26.90/minute) as compared to healthy one ( 16.30/minute) . Ruminal movements were also significantly decreased in infected animals (1.20/5 minutes) as compared to healthy one (3.08/5 minutes). The overall accuracy observed by faecal sample examination was 78.07 per cent. The egg count per gram of faeces was found to be in between 275 to 410. The haematobiochemical changes in blood and serum of infected buffaloes were investigated in comparison to healthy control, in both the groups. Infected buffaloes had low haemoglobin and erythrocyte count. The blood haemoglobin content in control group was 11.42±0.14 g/dl while in infected group it was 9.43±0.07 g/dl in survey group of animals.ThesisItem Open Access PHYSIOPATHOLOGICAL STUDIES ON SUMMER STRESS IN BROILERS(AAU, Anand, 1997) Ghodasara, D. J.; Prajapati, K. S.The present study was under taken to know the effects of summer temperature on physiology, viability and performance of broilers. The study was made on commercial broiler birds at Anand Poultry Farm, Palana, District Kheda. Broiler birds of 46 to 49 days of age were used for the study. The study was conducted during extreme hot period of summer. For comparison, base level data were obtained by conducting similar study during comfortable environmental temperature of the winter season. Samples like blood, serum, plasma and tissues were collected at morning and afternoon hours. Pathological study was also made on the natural cases of heat stroke. Concentration of thyroid hormones were decreased during high temperature of summer, indicating reduced activity of thyroid gland during summer stress. The plasma concentration of Cortisol and relative weight of adrenal gland increased during high environmental temperature of summer, suggesting increased activity and hypertrophy of adrenal gland. The serum cholesterol level decreased in summer as well as during afternoon hours in summer. The level of blood glucose was found to be decreased in the birds exposed to summer temperature. The activity of AKP and ALT increased during summer. The ALT activity in the afternoon serum samples also increased during high cyclic temperature of summer. The level of total serum protein was found to be decreased in the summer season. A significant decrease in total serum protein was also noticed at afternoon hours during the cyclic temperature of summer. High environmental temperature of summer caused a decrease in the levels of serum electrolytes. During the cyclic temperature of summer, the levels of K and Ca were also found to be decreased at afternoon hours. The values of Hb, PCV and RBC count decreased during the summer stress. The total leucocytic count as well as absolute count of heterophil, lymphocyte and eosinophil were found to be decreased in summer. The TLC as well as absolute count of heterophil and lymphocyte also decreased at afternoon hours during the summer season. A significant increase was observed in H : L ratio in the summer season. The increase in body temperature directly correlated with the increase in the environmental temperature. A non-significant difference of FCR was observed between the high environmental temperature of summer and comfortable temperature of winter. Birds sacrificed in the afternoon during summer showed mild congestion of trachea and lung. Severity of these , lesions increased in the birds died due to heat stroke. The microscopic lesions in the form of congestion and haemorrhages were observed in lung, trachea, liver and kidney along with lymphoid aggregations in liver and kidney. A variable degree of hyperplasia and vacuolization was noticed in the cortical cells of adrenal gland. The thyroid acini were lined by flattened epithelium. Similar microscopic lesions with more severity were also observed in the birds died due to heat stroke. The autopsy incidence of heat stroke was found to be 3.76 % with maximum mortality during sixth, seventh and eighth weeks of age.ThesisItem Open Access SEROEPIDEMIOLOGY, ISOLATION AND PATHOGENICITY OF BLUETONGUE VIRUS(AAU, Anand, 1996) Chandel, Bharat Singh; Kher, H. N.Bluetongue (BT) is an infectious, non contagious disease of domestic and wild ruminants. Bluetongue virus ( BTV ) causes severe disease in sheep, which i s transmitted by insect vectors (Culicoides spp.) . The ability of BTVs to inflict pathological changes in susceptible sheep depends on the virulence of a particular viral isolate , susceptibility of the host and a number of environmental factors related to climatic conditions. The present study was aimed at the seroepidemiology, prevalence of BTV serotypes in sheep, isolation, propagation and identification of local isolates and pathogenicity of BTV in natural and experimental cases of sheep. This study also covered the seroprevalence of epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) in cattle and buffaloes as it is related to orbivirus group. A seroepidentiological survey of BTV precipitating antibodies was carried out by agar gel immunodiffusicm ( AGID ) test in different species of livestock in Gujarat. Out of 1623 sera tested, 407 (25.07%) were found to be positive for BTV antibodies.ThesisItem Open Access Bioecological studies on Geocoris ochropterus Fieber (Hemiptera : Lygaeidae) , an important predator in cotton ecosystem(AAU, Anand, 1996) SHARMA, URMILA; Yadav, D. N.Bioecological studies on the big eyed bug, Geocoris ochropterus Fieber, an drnportant predator in the cotton ecosystem, were made during 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons at the Anand Campus of Gujarat Agricultural University, Anand. Biological observations revealed that the predator laid yellowish white eggs singly on the plant parts which took 8.33 ± 0.27 days at varying temperature of 29.62 ± 0.38 to 30.36 ± 0.12°C, RH 84.26 + 1.25 % and L : D, 12:12 to hatch. Maximum hatching (82 %) was observed when the temperature tanged between 21.61 ± 0.23 to 23.5 + 0.76°C and RH 71.03 + 2.38 %. The predator passed through five nyraphal instars. The duration of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth instar was 5.5 + ©.22, 5.6 ± 0 . 20 , 5.6 + 0.20, 5.9 + 0.33 and 9.25 ± 0.23 days respectively. Total nymphal duration was 29.7 + 1.43 days. Nymphal mortality was high in the fifth instar (39.21 % ). Sexes can be differentiated from their size. Males are usually smaller. The sex ratio in the laboratory population and field population was 1:1.10 (male : female) and 1.29 :1 (male : female) respectively. Mating accomplished easily and lasted for 15m to 4h in the laboratory. The preoviposition, oviposition and postoviposition periods averaged 3.4 ± 0.47, 19.2 ± 2.84 and 3.6 ± 0.69 days respectively of the mated female. Fecundity, when reared on A. gossypii averaged 42.4 + 5.09 eggs. The daily rate of oviposition of laboratory reared female was 1.21 eggs/day and that of field collected female was 0.91 eggs/day. Daily rate of oviposition was greatly affected (6.2 eggs/day) when the females were fed on eggs of Earias vitirella + cotton leaf. Longevity of male and female was 19.9 ±3.68 and 29.5 ± 3.55 days respectively. The female lived longer when fed on eggs of Spodoptera litura + fresh cotton leaves and A. gossypii nymphs + fresh cotton leaves studies on predatory potential showed that maximum consumption was observed during fifth instar. The nymphs consumed an average 1 05 + 4.33 aphid nymphs before reaching maturity. The male and female consumed on an average 530.28 ± 61.74 and 634.14 ± 71.02 nymphs of A. gossypii respectively in their life span. Further, female of G. ochropterus consumed on an average 32.60 and 19.80 eggs of H. armigera and E. vitiella respectively per day. The predator was found to prey on twenty one species of pests occurring on thirteen crops and two weeds but there were about eight species of plants with which it was not found associated. Cannibalism, phytophagy and necrophagy was also observed. G. ochropterus was found fairly well distributed in cotton growing areas of Gujarat. The predator was found relatively free from natural enemies. Only in one case, egg parasitisation by an unidentified eulophid was recorded. The adult was predated upon by an unidentified reduviid bug and a spider. Insecticides such as Methyl-o-demeton, endosulfan, quinalphos, monocrotophos, fenvalerate and cypermethrin, normally used in cotton were found to have detrimental affect on the natural population of the bug. A large population of G. ochropterus survived and flourished on relay crops like maize and sunnhemp and was able to shift to cotton crop which was sown early. The predator appeared to exhibit habitat preference. In nature the predator occurred in the first fortnight of September during 1994-95 and in the second fortnight of August during 1995-96. The predator population reached its peak during the first fortnight of December. The activity of G. ochropterus was found negatively correlated with relative humidity. They remained active until the crop was removed. Off season survival of the predator was recorded on crops ajid weeds like ratoon cotton, maize, sunnhemp, mungbean, okra, brinjal, potato, summer groundnut, cowpea, Chenopodium album and Gyanandropsis spp. Greater population was observed on ratoon cotton, maize, sunnhemp, okra, brinjal, cowpea and lucerne. Developing effective mass rearing techniques and efficient relay cropping system and other methods to conserve the predator in nature are suggested.ThesisItem Open Access BIOECOLOGY, BIOEFFICACY AND RESIDUAL STATUS OF SOME READY MIX INSECTICIDES IN RELATION TO PEST COMPLEX OF OKRA [ABELMOSCHUS ESCULENTUS (LINNAEUS) MOENCH](AAU, Anand, 1997) Shah, Bharat R.; Vyas, H. N.Investigations were carried out on the bioecology, bioefficacy and residual status of ready to use insecticides on okra at B.A. College of Agriculture, Gujarat Agricultural University, Anand, during 1995 and 1996. The population dynamics of insect pests viz., aphids, jassids, shoot arid fruit borer as well as the coccinellid predator were studied in relation to abiotic and biotic factors. The aphid count ranged from 0.48 to 63.51 and 0.91 to 49.28 per leaf during 1995 and 1996, respectively. The correlation and regression studies revealed nonsignificant correlations of abiotic factors with aphid population, however the latter showed highly positive correlation with the biotic factor viz., coccinellid predator, M.sexmaculatus during 1995. The activity of the predator increased with the increase in aphid population.The population of coccinellid predators was absent during 1996.The correlation coefficient analysis revealed that the predator population was negatively correlated with morning and evening vapour pressure as well as with mean vapour pressure.ThesisItem Open Access DYNAMIC MODELING OF DAILY WATER USE BY SUMMER PEARL MILLET ' (Pennisetum americanum L.)(AAU, Anand, 1995) Bodapati, Papuji Rao; Savani, M. B.Crop water use is a complex function of the climatic conditions, stage of the crop development and the soil water content. Models have been developed earlier using various approaches and levels of details to improve the prediction of evapotranspiration. Functional models with some empiricism can be used for routine applications than the mechanistic models. Transpiration from the pearl millet was found to be strongly influenced by leaf area than by stomatal conductance. Field experiments during the summer season of the years 1994 and 1995 were conducted with pearl millet cv. GHB-30. The experiments were laid out in split-plot design, with three dates of sowing as the main plot and four irrigation levels as the sub-plot treatments which were replicated four times. The results obtained in this investigation revealed that, air temperature had a profound influence on the growth and development of summer pearl millet. The optimum date of sowing was found to be February 15th , which would provide optimum environmental conditions for the growth and development of the crop. Different dates of sowing did not show any significant effect on the grain yield. Irrigating the crop at 25% depletion of available soil moisture gave the highest grain and biomass yields but its WUE was lower than that for the other irrigation levels. Pearl millet required about 310 GDD in summer season to build considerable GLAI and about 800 GDD to attain the maximum GLAI. A second-order polynomial was developed for estimating GLAI using the accumulated GDD. The FAO Kc, values had over-estimated ET rates and a second-order polynomial was developed to estimate daily Kc values from the accumulated GDD for non-stressed pearl millet. The rate of ET in pearl millet was found to decrease with an increase in soil moisture deficit and approached zero at a soil moisture depletion of 65% of the available soil moisture. PLANTGRO and MCD models when evaluated against the field data collected through this experiment, predicted ET reasonably better for nonstressed treatments than for stressed treatments. Of the two models, the MCD model predicted better for stressed condition than the PLANTGRO model. The functional relations for the PET estimation and root water uptake in the MCD model needed substantial modification. The separation of the PET in the PLANTGRO model did not suit the summer pearl millet. A one-day time step model BAJRAWAT had been developed in the 'C' language during the course of the present study, and was made User-friendly. Irrigation amount and the PET being its main driving forces, the partitioning of PET into soil evaporation and transpiration had been accomplished in BAJRAWAT by GLAI. The actual evaporation and transpiration depended on the availability of water in the surface soil and in the root zone and also on the depth of root penetration. The evaporation was assumed to take place from the surface soil only and the soil was further divided into four layers, from which water was assumed to have been removed by transpiration and drainage. Infiltration was assumed to have been taking place depending on the amount and the location of water already in the soil layers. The transpiration was computed as a function of GLAI and the available moisture in the root zone. The development of GLAI was considered to be controlled by thermal time and a moisture stress factor. The BAJRAWAT model when validated along with PLANTGRO and MCD models predicted ET better than the latter two models. The relative transpiration of summer pearl millet was found to be more closely associated with relative dry matter yield than with the relative grain yieldThesisItem Open Access ASSESSMENT OF IRRIGATION REQUIREMENT OF NARMADA COMMAND USING SOIL-CROP-CLIMATE DATA(AAU, Anand, 1997) GIRI, JAYANT DATTATRAYA; PATEL, G. R.The assessment of irrigation requirement of Narmada Command covering an area of 18 lakh hectares (1.8m ha) has been carried out using data on soil available water capacity and evapotranspiration data on crops viz., pearl millet, groundnut, pigeonpea, cotton, castor, mustard and wheat. The crop evapotranspiration (ETc) is computed using crop coefficient values (Kc). While ETc has been found to be mainly dependent on the climatic component, the Net Irrigation Requirement (NIR) has been found to depend on climate mainly effective rainfall and the soil available water capacity (AWC). Differences between the Crop Water Requirement (CWR) and NIR were wide for the monsoon season, but narrowed down considerably in the winter and summer seasons. The AWC and the length of growing period of crop have also contributed to the NIR values. Soils with higher AWC had lower NIR while crops with longer growing season showed higher NIR. The AWC of soils has been found to be mainly governed by the soil texture more so by the clay + silt or clay contents. In general, medium textured soils had higher AWC than either coarse or fine textured soils. The 60 per cent level of depletion of AWC has been used to initiate irrigation. The number of irrigations required and the quantity of water applied depends on the overall evaporative demand of climate, the length of growing season of the crop and the AWC of soils. Seasonal evaluation of the scheme water supply efficiency revealed that in general the values were below 1.0 and tended to be around 0.5. The values were around 0.5 during the months of high evaporative demand and considerably less during the monsoon and cooler months when the evaporative demand is lower. However, these values are expected to be higher once all the crops grown will be considered. Scheme efficiency (relation between supply required and actual supply) can be improved by growing perennial crops like sugarcane and banana and such other crops having a high requirement for water. Such crops are recommended to be grown on as soils with no root zone limitations or other limitations imposed by the physical and chemical properties of soils. During months of low water requirement use of exploitable ground water is also recommended. Such conjunctive use will help in saving water which otherwise will go as wasteful flow and also help to keep the ground water level well below problematic levels. Use of data on soil-crop-climate to achedule irrigations for the various crops revealed it to have substantially leas NIR values as compared to the IW/CPE ratio for monsoon season crops and compared well for the winter crops. In the summer, it predicted a less NIR than IW/CPE for groundnut but gave higher values than IW/CPE for pearl millet. The redeeming feature of the model is that it takes into consideration the effective rainfall (Total rainfall less that lost through run-off or deep percolation). The soil-crop-climate model compared well with the other methods of irrigation tried, for the yield of grain in all the crops studied. It gave less WUE than the critical stages approach for all the crops except wheat, where Ife gave higher WUE values. In case of pearl millet and mustard it gave less WUE than the IW/CPE ratio. This may be attributed to the fact that these crops have basically less requirement for water and hence, gave no significant response to any increase in water supplies beyond a certain level. Studies on the behaviour of the model as compared to the other schedules for the nutrient depletion pattern Indicate that no definite pattern with respect to nutrient uptake has emerged and the results had a fair measure of inconsistency. The inherent variability of the crops studied for their capacity of derive nutrition, the natural relationships among the nutrients and the inherent difference in the soil's capacity to supply nutrients can be attributed to the observed inconsistency. Since the model gives moderate dry matter production, it causes moderate depletion of nutrient and hence with proper management and monitoring of the soil fertility, it is expected to give sustained agricultural production. Study on evolving alternative irrigation management practices in areas suffering from problems of rising water table were carried out. Results revealed that for groundnut use of sprinkler system of irrigation with an application depth corresponding to 2.5 cm per irrigation at two stages of crop growth viz. pegging (55 DAS) and pod development (85 DAS) with two irrigation of 5 cm each as pre-sowing and pre-harvest proved to the most beneficial (5.7 t/ha kernel yield). Growing groundnuts without Irrigation (4.6 t/ha) except a pre-sowing irrigation was the next best alternative. Irrigating groundnut at pre-sowing, 55 DAS, 85 DAS and pre-harvest stages with 5 cm depth of application each time had serious negative effects on yield (2.6 t/ha). Under such situations use of sprinklers appears to be a promising alternative as besides giving higher yield it may also help in keeping the ground water level within manageable limits. Growing groundnut without irrigation appear to be the next best alternative. From the study conducted It can be concluded that the soil-crop-climate model, can be used as an effective tool for predicting regional estimates of irrigation requirement inspite of the wide diversity of climate, soil and crops grown In any region, because it takes into consideration these very variables. It is also easy to compute the requirement and has the added advantage of using minimum data sets. The data collected once can be applied without the need for recurrent data collection for a reasonably long time. However, before final conclusions can be drawn, the model needs to be validated for larger number of crops, wider variety of soils and different climatic situations. Because of its requirement of minimum data sets, however it appears to be an attractive alternative tool for making regional estimates of water requirement and merits scientific attention.