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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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1987 - 198911
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Subject: Agricultural Engineering × End date: 1989 × Start date: 1986 ×
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Now showing 1 - 9 of 11
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Water balance study of Karuvannur river basin
    (Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1988) Santosh, G Thampi; KAU; John Thomas, K
    This study was undertaken to quantitavely assess the water resources of the Karuvannur River Basin and to study the monthly water balance in order to estimate the balance for ground waterrecharge or depletion during the period 1976 to 1985. The mean monthly rainfall over the basin during the period 1976-1985 was determined by Thiessen polygon method . Data regarding the amount of water released for irrigation from the Peechi reservoir was also collected. Due to lack of data, contribution from other sources was not taken into account. The total runoff from the basin during each month of this period was determined . The various crop combinations in the basin were identified and the area under each of these was estimated . The actual evapotranspiration during each month was estimated using the method outlined by Doorenbos and Kassam. The basin was regarded as an independent hydrologic unit . Hence surface and subsurface inflow and outflow were assumed to be negligible.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Designing and development of an insecticide applicator for the control of brown plant hopper
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1988) Ramachandran, V R; KAU; Muhammad, C P
    The brown planthopper Nilaparvata Lugens stal. is a dangerous pest which causes, quick and serious damage to rice in South East Asia. In India a serious damage occurred in Kerala during 1973-76, and the estimated loss in this was 12 cores of rupees. An investigation on the design and development of an insecticide applicator for the control of BPH, by spraying specifically the plant base, at a height of about 15-20 cm from the field surface, was carried out
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Forms of water loss and water requirement of rice in kole lands
    (Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1988) Lissy Devid, Chirayath; KAU; George, T P
    Rice is the most important and extensively cultivated food crop in Kerala. Efficient use of water for crop production has been a major concern for centuries. As the water needs of rice is many times greater than other crops, a precise knowledge of water requirement of crop attains importance for increasing production. The present investigation was taken up to estimate the losses through evaporation, transpiration, percolation and to asses the total water requirement of a medium duration rice variety jaya
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Hydraulics of KAU drip irrigation system
    (Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1988) Susan Cherian, K; KAU; George, T P
    Irrigation advancements within the last decade has been astounding. Drip irrigation is one of the latest innovations for applying water to the field and it represents a definite advancement in irrigation technology. An attempt was made to study the hydraulics of microtube emitters of 1-3 mm size, Black polyethylene tube of 1" was used as main line. In the main line, three laterals of 1/2 diameter were connected. Discharge measurements were taken at different pressure heads. The total energy drop (H) in a microtube emitter is the summation of friction loss (Hf) and minor loss (Hm). There was no empirical equation available for calculating the friction drop from a microtube of size less than 4 mm. With the help of a computer, analysis was made to establish the relationships between pressure head H, length L, diameter D and discharge Q. The empirical equations obtained are 1. Combind flow condition H = 0.01402 Q1.23938/D3.54926 L0.86030 2. Turbulent flow condition H = 0.00764 Q1.82655/D4.61537 L0.77823 3. Flow in transition region H = 0.00817 Q1.56882/D3.83531 L0.83541 4. Laminar flow condition H = 0.00796 Q1.23461/D3.59105 L0.98712 Where Q = discharge, 1/hr L = length of tube, cm D = diameter of tube, mm The minor losses, viz. exit, entry, losses due to fittings and sudden contration can be expressed as a function of velocity head. The minor loss was significant because of the smaller size and short length of the microtube. The numerical solution for minor loss coefficient K was obtained in order to make the power of L unity in the estimating equations for head loss due to friction. The equations obtained are 1. Combind flow Hm = 2.34 V2/2g 2. Turbulent flow Hm = 2.14 V2/2g 3. Flow in transition region Hm = 3.18 V2/2g 4. Laminar flow Hm = 0.84 V2/2g Where V = Velocity, m/s G = acceleration due to gravity, m/s2 The empirical equations for friction drop were developed for different flow condition by fitting multiple log linear regression equations. The equations obtained are 1. Combined flow Hf = 0.00737 Q1.18905/D3.58352 L 2. Turbulent flow Hf = 0.00359 Q1.74866/D4.80544 L 3. Flow in transition region Hf = 0.00397 Q1.46302/D3.74436 L 4. Laminar flow Hf = 0.00743 Q1.22546/D3.58420 Similar to Blasius and general equations, the following equations were developed for friction factor in turbulent and laminar regions. f = 0.248/Re0.25 and f = 67.2/Re where f = friction factor Re = Reynolds number The KAU drip system has an additional component ‘Distributor’. Experiments were conducted to study the effect of distributor on flow rate. It was observed that the discharge rate was higher from the system with distributor than that of microtube having the same length. The frictional losses and the combined loss of minor and distributor for different flow conditions were estimated. Few combinations which satisfy the requirements of discharge, length and pressure head were selected for the design purpose of KAU drip irrigation system. The effect of clogging on discharge rate was studies and it was found that clogging was higher in 1 mm tube than the 2 mm and 3 mm tubes. Experiments were conducted to estimate friction loss in laterals. Hazen – Williams equation was found suitable for turbulent region and not for laminar and transition region. By adopting drip system we can bring more area under cultivation by maximum utilisation of available water. By combining improved agronomic practices along with an efficient drip irrigation system, it is possible to bring about a substantial progress in the farm front.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development of ejector systems for increasing the discharges of centrifugal pumps
    (Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1988) Latha, A Koshy; KAU; John Thomas, K
    The pump capability requirement in agriculture especially in rice production is essentially one of low lift and high capacity. Because of the low lift conditions the full capacity of the centrifugal pump cannot be used. By attaching an ejector system, the centrifugal pump is brought to work under the best efficiency condition during low lift also.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Design, fabrication and evaluation of the performance characteristics of hydraulic ram by varying the various parameters
    (Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1989) Suseela, P; KAU; George, T P
    In India, the agricultural production in many areas especially in hilly areas is very much affected by the non – availability of adequate power to lift water for irrigation. Main problems in enhancing irrigation facilities in hilly regions are their highly uneven topography and non availability of conventional sources of energy. The rapid depletion of conventional sources of energy and increasing demands have now focussed the attention on the need for developing a new economical and effective water lifting device which does not use the conventional sources of energy. A hydraulic ram may meet these requirements in hilly regions and can lift water without any external source of energy in the form of fuel or electricity. A hydraulic ram was designed and fabricated with cheap and commercially available materials. A constant supply head of 1.955 m was provided. Ram was designed for a maximum delivery head of 10 m. Provisions were given to vary the weight and stroke length of both the delivery valve and waste valve. A flange joint was incorporated valve and waste valve. A flange joint was incorporated between the delivery valve and air chamber to facilitate the quick opening and reinstallation of air chamber. Air chamber was fabricated with provisions to alter the volume, by changing the length of air chamber – the diameter of the air chamber was kept constant. The performance of hydraulic ram was evaluated mainly observing the delivery head – delivery discharge relationships. In each case the efficiency of the ram was evaluated. Typical performance characteristic curves were plotted for each of the changes in the conditions of operation. Effect of volume of air chamber on the performance of hydraulic ram was studied. The study revealed that the efficiency of the ram increases 1. as the weight of delivery valve increases 2. as the stroke length of delivery valve decreases 3. as the volume of air chamber increases 4. as the stroke length of waste valve decreases There is a steep reduction in delivery discharge with unit increase in delivery head. For a particular combination of waste valve, delivery valve and volume of air chamber, the maximum efficiency occurs at a moderate delivery head. For an increase in the stroke length of waste valve, there is a large reduction in best frequency. The beat frequency increases as the delivery head increases. The rate of decrease of best frequency with respect to the stroke length is higher for lower weights of was to valve. The ram stops functioning at certain low value of delivery head. This low valve of delivery head increases with increase in weight of delivery valve. Corresponding to a certain weight of delivery valve, there is a minimum weight of waste valve at which the ram functions satisfactorily. Further investigations are necessary to standardise different parts of the hydraulic rams for optimising their performance under varying conditions.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Evaluation of drip and conventional methods of irrigation In amaranthus and brinjal
    (Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1988) Sheela, E V N; KAU; George, T P
    Well planned and efficiently utilized irrigation systems help to keep the food production in pace with the increasing population. Hence it is essential to design and adopt an efficient low cost economic irrigation system tailored to suit the local potential and needs. Out of the efficient methods of irrigation, drip method is the most promising. Drip irrigation is comparatively new to our country and needs popularization. The evaluation of a low cost drip irrigation system fabricated with the cheapest and locally available materials in relation to the conventional basin method of irrigation was done in this experiment taking amaranthus and brinjal as indicating crops. The irrigation schedule was based on TW/CPE ratios of 1.0, 0.75 and 0.5. in both the methods viz., drip and basin irrigation. In drip method, plots were irrigated every day and the depth of irrigation water given was based on the pan evaporation value of the previous day. In basin method, the depth of irrigation water given was 30 cm. Oil drums of 200 litres capacity were used as storage tanks for the drip irrigation system. 25 mm and 12 mm diameter black low density polyethylene pipes were used for main and lateral lines respectively which were embedded at a depth of 15 cm below the ground surface. Microtubes of 2 mm diameter were used as drippers or omitters. The heart of this drip system was the distributor developed in K.A.U.which could deliver irrigation water at a slow rate of 1 to 5 litres per hour from each microtube. Physical characteristics of the soil and biometric observations of the plants were taken during the experiment. With half the quantity of water given in basin method, drip method of irrigation gave significantly superior yield than basin method of irrigation. Practically no water was lost in drip irrigation system. The average loss of water due to conveyance in the field channel in the basin method of irrigation in one hectare of land was 27.7%. This means that the water required to irrigate one hectare of vegetables by basin method can be used to irrigate more than 2.5 hectare of the same vegetables by drip method and better yield could be obtained. Wood growth was found to be less in the plots irrigated by drip method. Special skill is not required for the fabrication, installation, maintenance and operation of the K.A.U. drip irrigation system.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Design and development of a high capacity Salvinia Harvester
    (Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1987) Hajilal, M S; KAU; John, Thomas K
    Salvlnla molesta locally known as 'African Payal* ia a noxious floating typo aquatic weed in many parts of the humid tropics. Kerala Agricultural university developed a mechanical device to harvest this menacing weed. An investigation on the performance of the prototype Salvinia Harvester was carried out under various conditions. Prototype ejector E1 with secondary flow straight and primary flow inclined at 900 ejectors E2 and E3 with primary flow straight end secondary flow inclined at 400 and 20° respectively and ejector E4 with secondary flow straight and primary flow inclined at 300 were tested along with circular mouth (M1), adjustable rectangular mouth (M2) and elliptical mouth (M3)• Experiments were also conducted to find out the optimum depth of mouth below the water level. The study revealed that clogging was a serious problem for the prototype Salvinia Harvester, where the weed was in the initial stages of third growth phase. Ejectors E1 and E2 showed clogging when tested with all the different feeding mouths. The E4-M2 and E4-M3 combinations yielded almost identical harvesting capacity of 11 t/hr at one metre static lift mad 12 t/hr at 40 cm static lift without any problem due to clogging. All these experiments conducted revealed that the ejectors E3 and E4 can be used under ell conditions of weed growth without clogging along with mouths M2 and M3. The machine is capable of removing weeds at the rate of 16 t/hr where the spread density value was around 16kq/m2 (160 t/ha) like Kuttanadu area. Hence the machine would be capable of Removing the weeds in one hectare in 10 hours. The estimated cost of operation amounted to Rs. 353/- per hectare which compared favourably with the reported costs of Rs.900/- to Rs.2700/- per hectare for manual collection and disposal.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Design, fabrication and testing of a savonius type windmill with a deflector augmentor
    (Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1989) Satyajith, Mathew; KAU; Wilson, K I
    The study was conducted with the objectives of developing and testing a savonius wind mill and analysing the effect of a deflector augmentor on the performance characteristics of the rotor. The wind mill was consisted of two rotors of 2 m x 3 m size fixed one below the other at 90 degree out of phase. A 100 mm galvanised iron pipe of 12 m length acts as the shaft. The shaft passes through two ‘30220’ taper roller bearings. Lower bearing was fixed on a I m x I m x I m foundation and the upper bearing was positioned by four 4 mm guy wires. The guy wires were equidistant and forms an angle of 45 degree with the shaft. This wind mill was tested under field conditions. Power developed by the wind mill was calculated by measuring the torque and rotor speed, and power delivered to the rotor was calculated by taking corresponding wind velocity. The coefficient of power and coefficient torque were calculated for different tip speed ratios. The wind mill was found to attain a maximum coefficient of power 0.155 at a tip speed ratio 1.0. Maximum torque coefficient attained was 0.185 at a tip speed ratio 0.75 Optimum tip speed ratio of the wind mill was found to be in a range of 0.5 to 0.9. A deflector augmentor of 6.93 m2 effective wind facing area was fixed at an angle of 60 degree with the wind direction. Wind mill was again tested with the deflector augmentor. Power coefficient was found to attain a maximum value of 0.32 at a tip speed ratio 1.54. The maximum torque coefficient was 0.385 at a tip speed ratio of 0.56. Optimum tip speed ratio of the wind mill with the deflector augmentor was found to be in a range of 0.5 to 1.5. When the deflector augmentor was attached to the wind mill, power coefficient was increased by 106.5 percent and torque coefficient was increased by 108 percent. The wind mill was found to work in higher tip speed ratios. The cut in velocity was reduced from 2.4 m/s to 1.4 m/s. Cost of operation of the wind mill was Rs.1.45 per bhp.hr which is comparable with diesel and electric power.