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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively. Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively. On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs. In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc. During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.

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1990 - 199917
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Subject: Agricultural Engineering × Author: KAU × End date: 1999 × Start date: 1990 ×
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Now showing 1 - 9 of 17
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Optimum thresher parameters for high moist paddy
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1993) Hamza, Mollakadavath; KAU; Sivaswami, M
    The study undertaken by the newly development 1 hp paddy thresher to optimise its parameters for high moist paddy revealed that the peripheral velocity from 10.80 to 21.72 m/s on the rasp – bar, spike tooth, double directional spiral cylinders didn’t influence much on the threshing efficiency. When the moisture content was increased to 35 per cent, the threshing efficiency was brought down from 98.4 to 92 per cent for rasp – bar cylinder and was increased from 88 per cent to 94 per cent in the case of double directional spiral cylinder. The maximum threshing efficiency of 99 percent was achieved for spike tooth cylinder at 19.2 per cent moisture level. The maximum threshing efficiency of 94% and the maximum output of 340 kg/h were achieved with the double directional spiral cylinder when the moisture content was 35% per cent. The proto – type thresher was found to reduce the cost of threshing to 81 per cent and reduction in labour to 85.16 per cent compared to the manual threshing.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development and field evaluation of a cardomom polishing machine
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1999) Anu, Ray Mathew; KAU; Mohammad, C P
    Cardamom capsules when dried have a dried flower stalk which is hard to be removed by manual operation. For destalkinq, a power operated cardamom polishing machine was developed, tested and its performance was evaluated. A polishing drum with attached wooden blades seperated the dried capsules fed in. from the flower stalk attached and were collected seperately. A single phase 1 hp motor served as power source. A 3-factlJr, factorial experiment in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with drum speed, feed/batch, and retention time as independent variables was performed.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Design, fabrication and testing of a power operated paddy dibbler
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1996) Jayarajan, R; KAU; Jippu, Jacob
    A 2-row power operated paddy dibbler was designed, fabricated and tested at Kelapaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Thavanur. The main components of the dibbler were two seed boxes, plungers reciprocating within the seed tubes, fluted roller seed metering mechanism, dibbler wheels, stationary cam, frame and transport wheels. The seed tubes were fixed radially around the dibbler wheel with 45 mm of it projecting outwards for penetrating the soil. The plunger was actuated by a stationary cam and during its upward stroke it uncovered the farther end of the seed transfer tube and transferred the seeds into the seed tube and then into the holes made in the soil. In the downward stroke the plunger closed the seed transfer tube. Simultaneously the fluted roller transferred the seeds in to the seed transfer tube. The average speed of operation of the dibbler was 1.32 kmph and its field capacity and field efficiency were 0.031 ha/h and 78.18 per cent respectively. The average number of seeds dropped per hill was 5 and the seed rate obtained was 78 kg/ha. The seeds were placed within the confines of the holes made by the seed tube and plunger. There was absolutely no scattering. The depth of placement varied from 3.8 to 4.6 cm. The operating cost of the dibbler was Rs. 502.58/ha. This mechanism offers scope for developing dibblers with more number of rows for being operated more economically.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Modification and performance evaluation of six row rice transplanter for conventional seedlings
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1990) Bainu, T Kuzhively; KAU; Sivaswami, M
    The work was carried out at the Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur. The six – row rice transplanter was originally designed for mat type seedlings. Considering the importance of a transplanter using conventional type seedlings, the above transplanter was modified. The modifications were completed in three stages. The performance evaluation of the modified six row rice transplanter was conducted after each stage of modification. The average number of seedlings per hill could be reduced from the average value of six seedlings per hill before modification to 2.27 seedlings per hill after the modifications. The missing hills percentage was brought down from 20.83 per cent to 5.55 per cent and the floating hills percentage was reduced from 10 to 5.55. Percentage of damaged hills was reduced from 23.3 to 8.8. The field capacity of the machine was improved from 0.0139 ha/hr to 0.0162 ha/hr and field efficiency from 48.26 percent to 56.87 per cent. The use of the modified transplanter is profitable if it is operated beyond one hectare per annum. It gives a saving of Rs. 618.00 per hectare compared to the conventional hand transplanting giving a 2. 4 times reduction in total cost. The pay back period of the modified transplanter is 2.24 years when the annual utilization is 2 hectares per annum and 1.13 years when the annual utilization is 3 hectares per annum.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Design development and evaluation of a low cost paddy thresher
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1991) Mathew, John; KAU; Sankaranarayanan, M R
    Though several high capacity threshers are available in the country for different crops, no thresher is found suitable for small and marginal rice farmers. Hence a low cost portable paddy thresher was developed and tested. The power operated machine consists of base, side frames, front grain shield and wire-loop cylinder. The power from the 0.5 hp motor is transmitted to the cylinder shaft by belt and pully arrangement. The optimum cylinder speed is 400 rpm. The capacity of the thresher at 14.26 per cent moisture content is 451.84 kg paddy per hour and threshing efficiency is 95.08 per cent. The mechanical damage of the grain is negligible. Two labourers are required for the whole operation. The size of the thresher is 635 x 500 x 715 mm having a gross weight of 47 kg. The cost of the thresher was worked out to be around Rs. 3600 and the cost of operation for threshing paddy was Rs. 3.00 per quintal. The unit can be fabricated by local artisans from the readily available materials and can successfully be maintained by small and marginal farmers.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development and performance evaluation of a rotary tillage attachment to the KAU garden tractor
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1990) Jose, C M; KAU; Sivaswami, M
    Considering the advantages of rotary tillers over non-powered tillage tools, and in order to make the KAU garden tractor a versatile farm power unit, a rotary tillage attachment for the garden tractor was developed and tested. The main components of the rotary tillage attachment are mainframe, power transmission system, blade assembly, hitching mechanism and protective cover. The depth of tillage obtained is 10 to 15 cm and the effective width of field coverage is 30 to 32 cm. The actual field capacity of the machine is 0.054 ha per hr and the quantity of fuel required to operate the machine is 0.860 1 per hr. Operator can easily walk behind the rotary tiller and turn the garden tractor to either side. The cost of production of the rotary tillage attachment is Rs. 1500.00 and the total cost of ploughing per hectare using the machine is Rs. 450.00.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Erodibility and runoff potential of laterite soils under simulated rainfall conditions
    (Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1999) Sajeena, S; KAU; Kurien, E K
    Soil erosion is one of the most serious environment degradation problems. However reliable measurement of erosion remains limited and estimates of soil productivity are even rarer. Assessing the extent and seriousness of erosion therefore remains a difficult task Nevertheless, identification and assessment of erosion problems could have an important role in influencing better land use and conservation practices. Rainfall simulators are considered as an effective tool in soil conservation research. Simulators make it possible to produce predetermined storms at any desired time and location. They make the replication of research easier and facilitate the study of storm sequences. Laterite soils are by far the most important soil group occurring in Kerala and cover the largest area. The objective of this study was to estimate the erodibility and runoff potential of laterite soils of three well defined series under simulated rainfall conditions. The rainfall simulator designed and fabricated by Kurien and George (1998) was modified for better performance. The modified simulator could produce rainfall intensities varying from 741 to 23.00 cmlh. Also uniformity of the rainfall produced could be increased to higher values of 88.10 and 91.53 per cent, thus giving a better performance. Intensity of rainfall increased as the 11 pressure of supply water to the simulator increased and a relationship was established between intensity and the supply pressure of water as 1= -87.205 p2 + 108.61 P - 10.786 (R = 0.99) Experiments were also conducted to study soil loss and runoff from three different series of laterite soils, i.e.Mannamkulam series, Naduvattom series and Vellanikkara series. The soil loss and runoff increased with increase in the rainfall intensity for all slopes studied for each series of soil. A general trend of increase In soil loss and runoff with increase in the slope was observed for all the three series of soils. Empirical equations were developed for estimating soil loss (E) and runoff (0) for various intensities of rainfall and land slopes for the three series of soils selected for the study. The equations are: Mannamkulam series E = 1167.797 I + 835.109 S - 21686.07 (R = 0.90) Q = 65.0161 + 16.747 S - 235.923 (R = 0.99) Naduvattom series E = 324.766 I + 112.799 S - 3912.219 (R = 0.97) Q = 74.542 1+19.434 S - 394.323 (R = 0.99) Vellanikkara series E = 115.662 I + 431. 064 S - 11512.284 (R = 0.98) Q = 58.742 I + 26.837 S - 310.019 (R = 0.99) ii1
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Performance evaluation of high discharge low head pumps
    (Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1998) Rini Rani, S; KAU; John Thomas, K
    Paddy cultivation in Kuttanad and Kole lands is made possible only after large scale dewatering operations. These water logged lands have to be drained in the shortest possible time to initiate seed bed preparation. The short time available for seed bed preparation need adoption of high discharge low head pumps. The most commonly used centrifugal pump is incapable of giving corresponding increase in discharge rate even if the lift required is reduced to a minimum. So this study was undertaken to help to identify a suitable portable pump for meeting the specific requirement of drainage in Kerala. Mixed flow and axial flow pumps imported from Thailand were used for this purpose. The study included testing of lS-cm mixed and axial flow pump at the specially designed and constructed test bed at different speeds and at different water levels in the pumping sump. For each test, from the data obtained discharge, input power and efficiency were calculated. Using the calculated values performance characteristic curves were plotted and regression equations were developed for discharge efficiency, discharge - total head and discharge - input power relationship at each speed. Performance curves were also plotted keeping total static head const ant and regression equations of speed - discharge, speed - total head, speed - input power and speed efficiency relationships were developed. The maximum efficiency of IS-cm mixed flow pump was 42.16 per cent at a speed of 1000 rev/min, against a total head of 217.33 cm and a discharge rate of 49.47 L/s. The input power corresponding to this efficiency was 3.4 hp. The best performance of mixed flow pump was noted at a working speed of 1000 rev/min. The maximum efficiency of IS-cm axial flow pump tested was only 18.05 per cent at a total head of 160.55 cm and a discharge of 24.88 L/s. The corresponding speed was 2500 rev/min and input power was 2.95 hp. The best performance of axial flow pump was noted at a working speed of 2500 rev/min.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Synthetic generation of streamflow data using computer simulation model
    (Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1993) Leven , K V; KAU; Jobi V, Paul
    A Study has been made to develop a computer simulation model for the synthetic generation of streamflow data for Chaliyar, one of the larger basins of the state. The data were collected from different river gauging stations for different durations. A suitable mathematical model namely Thomas Fiering Model was developed for the generation of synthetic data. The model was fitted for the observed monthly steamflows. The validity of the model was checked by comparing the statistical parameters of historical and generated data and by comparing the flow duration curves. It is seen that the model preserves various statistical parameters like mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient. The study reveals that the computer simulation model developed is a very effective tool in the proper management of water resources system.