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Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa
In the imperial Gazetteer of India 1878, Pusa was recorded as a government estate of about 1350 acres in Darbhanba. It was acquired by East India Company for running a stud farm to supply better breed of horses mainly for the army. Frequent incidence of glanders disease (swelling of glands), mostly affecting the valuable imported bloodstock made the civil veterinary department to shift the entire stock out of Pusa. A British tobacco concern Beg Sutherland & co. got the estate on lease but it also left in 1897 abandoning the government estate of Pusa.
Lord Mayo, The Viceroy and Governor General, had been repeatedly trying to get through his proposal for setting up a directorate general of Agriculture that would take care of the soil and its productivity, formulate newer techniques of cultivation, improve the quality of seeds and livestock and also arrange for imparting agricultural education. The government of India had invited a British expert. Dr. J. A. Voelcker who had submitted as report on the development of Indian agriculture. As a follow-up action, three experts in different fields were appointed for the first time during 1885 to 1895 namely, agricultural chemist (Dr. J. W. Leafer), cryptogamic botanist (Dr. R. A. Butler) and entomologist (Dr. H. Maxwell Lefroy) with headquarters at Dehradun (U.P.) in the forest Research Institute complex.
Surprisingly, until now Pusa, which was destined to become the centre of agricultural revolution in the country, was lying as before an abandoned government estate. In 1898. Lord Curzon took over as the viceroy. A widely traveled person and an administrator, he salvaged out the earlier proposal and got London’s approval for the appointment of the inspector General of Agriculture to which the first incumbent Mr. J. Mollison (Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay) joined in 1901 with headquarters at Nagpur
The then government of Bengal had mooted in 1902 a proposal to the centre for setting up a model cattle farm for improving the dilapidated condition of the livestock at Pusa estate where plenty of land, water and feed would be available, and with Mr. Mollison’s support this was accepted in principle. Around Pusa, there were many British planters and also an indigo research centre Dalsing Sarai (near Pusa). Mr. Mollison’s visits to this mini British kingdom and his strong recommendations. In favour of Pusa as the most ideal place for the Bengal government project obviously caught the attention for the viceroy.
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ThesisItem Open Access Development of low cost portable Corn Roaster-cum-Boiler(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Thokchom, Dinesh; Kumar, VishalIn India, roasted or boiled sweet corns are sold by the street vendors very highly and also the roasted and boiled corns are popular snacks enjoyed by many people. Many have tried and various technologies have been created for the process of quicker and easy, low cost, stress-free roasting to be obtained. The limitation of unavailability of an integrated corn roasting cum boiling unit is mainly due to the huge gap between the affordability of Indian street vendors and the high cost of the machines for roasting and boiling corns. Beside from this, the Indian vendors also experience another drawback in the form of drudgery involved during roasting and boiling where they are constantly exposed to heat. At times when the corn is over or under roasted, the traditional roasting process affects the outer beauty or attractiveness of the corn. The use of power driven and automated equipments are impossible for Indian street vendors due to their economic conditions. Therefore, developing of a corn roasting device with increased efficiency, productivity and with affordable price is very much needed in order to face the stress and limitations during roasting. A low cost portable corn roaster-cum-boiler was designed and developed and its performance evaluation was evaluated. It was designed and fabricated which can roast around 20 corns and can boil 24 corns in an hour. The average heat utilization factor in no load condition was found to be 0.14 while at full load condition it was 0.26. An average thermal efficiency of 51.05 per cent was obtained for the unit. The mean roasting efficiency of the developed corn cob roaster cum boiler was determined to be 95.09%.Total cost of the functional prototype is Rs 20,000.The net present worth calculated for next 5 years was Rs 1, 64,990, internal rate of return 243 per cent, benefit cost ratio 1.44 and payback period 0.40 years inferring that the developed unit is economically viable.ThesisItem Open Access Development of ready to use powder from plant based clarificants for production of quality jaggery(DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Tekam, Amit; Kumar, VishalSugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is commercial cash crops used for the Jaggery production. The process involves extraction of juice, clarification and concentration. The raw juice contains impurities and non-soluble solids which affect the quality of the jaggery. Hence clarification process is done. Plant based clarificant are effective clarificants and produces good quality jaggery. Due to non-availability of any plant based clarificants during jaggery manufacturing period, an attempt was made to develop ready-to-use clarificant powder prepared from different plant based clarificants which can be available throughout the year. The selected clarificant materials - fenugreek seeds, flax seeds, soybean seeds, semal bark and okra stem were dried and milled into powder using grinder. The mucilage was prepared from seeds and plant sources powder by soaking in water at ratio of 1:5 (w/v) for 6 h, then boiling in water bath for 5 h and then cooling below 20 oC. The mixtures were then filtered with muslin cloth and the filtered was used for jaggery production at three different concentrations namely 0.1%, 0.3% & 0.5% (w/w) to sugarcane juice. The effect of the clarificants and their levels on each quality parameters such as moisture content, jaggery yield, processing time, scum removal, TSS, pH, colour, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar and sensory score were found using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5 per cent level of significance. It was observed that jaggery yield, processing time, scum removed, colour and sensory were affected significantly by the type of clarificants used while reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, pH, TSS and moisture content had non-significant effect. Okra stem clarificants had maximum effect on quality parameters in order to yield-12.2%, processing time-72.33 min, colour-74.56%, non-reducing sugar-83.14%, reducing sugar- 8.02%, TSS-81.3% and moisture content-5.34%. Soybean seeds had maximum effect on scum removed and pH. Sensory attributes were maximum for fenugreek seeds. Okra stem, soybean seed and fenugreek seeds were selected for the preparation of mixture clarificants which will bear all the quality parameters for the production of quality jaggery. The mixture clarificants were optimized using Response surface methodology to determine the mixtures proportion based on quality parameters. A total 16 combinations were formed with three levels of each clarificants [okra stem-0.1, 0.3 and 0.5%, soybean seeds-0.1, 0.3& 0.5%, Fenugreek seeds-0.1, 0.3& 0.5%] and the effect of mixtures were determined on different dependent variables like yield, processing time, scum removal, colour, and sensory score of these independent variables. Second order multiple regression equations were also developed for all the dependent variables. The optimize mixture clarificant of okra stem- 0.5 per cent, soybean seeds- 0.1 per cent and fenugreek seeds - 0.4 per cent emerged out as better than other mixture in order to obtain optimized yield - 12.16 per cent, scum remove - 6.58 percent, colour-74.31 per cent, sensory score-8.72, and minimum processing time-75.42 min.ThesisItem Open Access Study of Osmotic dehydration of Pointed Gourd (Trichosanthesdioica)(Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, 2018) Kumari, Nisha; Sharma, P. D.Fresh, good quality Swarnarekha variety of pointed gourds were procured from the local market of Pusa and washed under running water followed by cutting into discs of size approximately (30 mm diameter and 4 mm thickness). Osmotic dehydration experiments were conducted employing CCR Design for three independent variables with five levels each [Salt Concentration (SC) -5, 10, 15, 20, 25%; Solution Temperature (ST) -30, 35, 40, 45, 50oC; Immersion Time (IT) -30, 60, 90, 120, 150 min.]. A total 20 combinations of these independent variables were formed to see their effect on different dependent variables like Water Loss (WL, %), Solute Gain (SG, %) and Moisture content of osmo-dehydrated product (MC, %). Out of total 20 experiments, the best combination was selected on the basis of optimization by Response Surface Methodology. Second order multiple regression equations were developed for all the dependent variables which were optimized using Response surface methodology. A laboratory model tray dryer was used for drying pointed gourd discs. Three different samples of pointed gourd discs viz. untreated, blanched and osmosed (optimized) were taken for drying experiment at each level of drying air temperature (50, 60 and 70oC). Drying time, drying rate and moisture reduction were calculated later on the basis of observed data. The dehydrated pointed gourd discs were taken for quality evaluation by sensory method, rehydration and proximate composition analysis. Osmotic dehydration treatment facilitated better results with optimum solution of SC-10.27 %, ST- 45oC and IT- 120 minutes with an optimized yield as WL- 43.113%, SG- 8.304% and MC of osmo-dehydrated sample- 74.604 %. Drying of osmosed pointed gourd samples at 60oC drying air temperature provided shortest drying time to produce best quality dried product as compared to blanched and untreated pointed gourd samples. The drying time of osmosed sample was reduced to 480 minutes as compared to 600 and 840 minutes taken by blanched and untreated pointed gourd samples respectively. The above osmotically dehydrated pointed gourd samples showed best rehydration characteristics to yield good quality rehydrated sample which can be preserved and used during off-season.ThesisItem Open Access Storage behaviour of Green Gram (Vigna radiata) in Hermetic and other types of Storage Bags.(Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2017) Kumari, Asha; Shrivastava, M.Green gram (Vigna radiate) grains were procured from local market, cleaned and graded by two screen cleaner-cum-grader. Large sized grains were divided in three sub-lots of 70 kg each to prepare experimental lots of three different initial moisture contents (12.32, 14.04, 16.04 % w.b.). Storage study was conducted by storing 10 kg green gram grains in 4 types of bags (jute, plastic, polythene, hermetic) with and without treatment (aluminium phosphide tablets) at 3 different initial moisture contents. Total 21 such bags were kept in laboratory for 33 weeks duration during September, 2016 to April, 2017. Daily observation of ambient temperature and relative humidity was taken throughout the study period. Weekly observations of five dependent quality parameters - water activity, 1000 grain weight, moisture content, germination and grain damage were recorded for 27(jute bags) to 33 weeks (hermetic bags). All standard methods/instruments were used to measure/determine dependent parameters. It was observed that water activity, moisture content, and grain damage goes on increasing with increasing storage duration, while 1000 grain weight and germination decreased with advancement of storage duration across all 21 experimental combinations. The overall variation range for water activity was 0.551 - 0.989, for 1000 grain weight was 49.04 - 33.20 g, for moisture content was 12.32 – 25.67 % w.b., for germination was 81.7 to 1.3 %, and for grain damage was 2.33 to 78.67 %. Variation was more in case of untreated samples as compared to treated samples. Hermetic bags stored green gram was found better in all quality parameters even after 33 weeks of storage duration. On the contrary, green gram stored in jute bags got damaged with heavy infestation of pulse beetle in 27 weeks of storage duration. Statistical analysis through UNIANOVA revealed that initial moisture content emerged as most significant independent variable to affect 1000 grain weight, moisture content, germination and grain damage with exception of water activity which was affected by treatment the most. The interaction of bags*imc affected 1000 grain weight, germination and grain damage, while the interaction of bags*trt and trt*imc affected water activity and moisture content respectively. Hence the hermetic bag could be recommended safely for storing green gram for longer duration without affecting its quality.ThesisItem Open Access Design, Development and Evaluation of Continuous type Ohmic Heating Unit for Liquid Foods(Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2016) Kumar, Chandan; Kumar, VishalThe concept of ohmic heating obeys Ohm’s law (V = IR). The passage of electric current through an electrically conductive food material results in heat generation due to the electrical resistance of the foods on basis of joule’s law [H= I2Rt = .A continuous type ohmic heating unit was designed for volumetric/processing capacity of 10±5 l/s and which can be able to elevate the temperature up to 25±5 0C. Concentric tubes (2 Nos) with inner tube diameter 5 cm; outer pipe 7.5 cm and length 1.25 m was selected based on preliminary trials (Joule’s law and Ohms law) for considering various piping combinations to get the desired capacity and elevated temperature. The selected pipe sizing provided a 1.25 cm gap between the pipes for the liquid flow. The thickness of the two stainless steel pipes were calculated using Lame’s stress analysis and it was found that pipe thickness of 1.15 mm is sufficient against the pressure exerted by liquid food. The velocity head loss was determined using Darcy-Weisbach equation and Bernoulli’s law. The support frame was designed considering the various loads at the different section in the frame, shear force acting and the bending moments. All the sections of the frame including the legs were fabricated using angle iron plates 37.5 mm width and 2.25 mm thickness. The designed and fabricated ohmic heating section was tested for its performance in batch mode and continuous mode at different potential difference (25, 30 and 35 V). The experiments were done in triplicate. The unit was tested for three liquid foods i.e. sugarcane juices, milk and watermelon juice at a voltages 25, 30 and 35 V and temperature increase was measured at every three minute interval at 3, 6 and 9 minutes using the thermocouples. The ohmic heating was evaluated for its performance in continuous mode on sugarcane juice, milk and watermelon juice at frequency (A) of alternating current at 40, 45 and 60 Hz; applied voltage (B) at 25, 30 and 35 Volts and volumetric flows rate (C) at 12, 18 and 24 l/h. Experiments were performed for each liquid food as per the experimental combination of Behnken design. All the observed data from 17 combinations of Box Behnken design were used to calculate the effect of different dependent parameters for ohmic heating of liquid foods by developing multiple regression polynomial equations.. For ohmic heating of sugarcane juice in continuous mode, the optimized process conditions emerged out as frequency (A) – 45 Hz, applied voltage (B) – 31.1 V and flow rate (C) – 12 l/h in order to obtain optimized yield as temperature (T) – 19.840C; and system performance coefficient (SPC)-67.12 % with desirability of 0.699. For ohmic heating of milk juice in continuous mode, the optimized process conditions emerged out frequency (A) – 38.75 Hz, applied voltage (B) – 30 V and flow rate (C) – 24 l/h in order to obtain optimized yield as temperature (T) – 25.160C; ; and system performance coefficient (SPC)-89.16 % with desirability of 0.967. For ohmic heating of watermelon juice in continuous mode, the optimized process conditions emerged out as frequency (A) – 42 hertz, applied voltage (B) – 30 V and flow rate (C) –24 l/h in order to obtain optimized yield as temperature (T) – 31.540C; ; and system performance coefficient (SPC)- 76.84 % with desirability of 0.825.ThesisItem Open Access Development of Process Technology for Preparation of Maize- Finger millet-Bengal gram Extrudates(Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur), 2014) Raman, Akanksha; Sharma, P. D.Extrusion cooking process is a high temperature and short time process in which moist, soft food material is fed to the extruder for desired temperature, pressure, and residence time. Finger millet being a “nutria-cereal” was used to develop Ready-To-Eat (RTE) snack food through extrusion cooking. Composite mixes were prepared using Maize flour, finger millet flour and Bengal gram flour in varying proportions. Extrusion cooking was carried out using a Twin Screw Extruder. Extrusion cooking experiments were conducted employing CCRD for four independent variables with five level each (feed proportion – 60:10:30, 60:12.5:27.5, 60:15:25, 60:17.5:22.5, 60:20:20; feed rate – 9, 10, 11, 19, 13 kg/h; screw speed- 250, 275, 300, 325. 350 rpm; Barrel temperature 100, 110, 120, 130, 140oC ). A total 30 combinations of these independent variables were formed to see the effect on different dependent variable like Expansion ratio. Bulk density (kg/h), Water activity (Aw), Water absorption index, Total colour index, Hardness (N) and Overall acceptability. During experiments the best combination was generated on the basis of optimization by response surface methodology (Liang et al., 2012). Second order multiple regression equations were developed for all the dependent variables which were optimized using response surface methodology. The best product was prepared at optimum solution such as feed proportion- 60:20:20 (60% maize, 20% finger millet, 20% Bengal gram), Feed rate - 9 kg/h, Screw speed - 250 rpm and Barrel temperature - 120o C , produced the most acceptable extrudates.. The prepared optimized extrudates also have well balanced acceptable range of the nutrition (total carbohydrate-72.62%, Protein- 11.90%, fat- 8.28%, fibre- 3.12% and ash- 1.23% ).The optimized extrudates can be stored for three months in ziploc polyethene ( 0.02µm gauge size ) without any deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics.
