Loading...
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.
Browse
10 results
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Performance and ergonomic evaluation of direct pady seeder and mechanical rice transplanter in wet lands(Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2013) Rathod Sachin, Ravsu; KAU; Sureshkumar, P KAn experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the ‘Aiswarya’ 8 row direct seeder and ‘Mahindra PF455S’ 4 row walk behind mechanical transplanter with ‘Jyothi’ rice variety in wet lands from the ergonomic point of view. It conducted with selected male and female subjects in the age group of 25–35 years. The performance of these machines was compared with manual transplanting. The results show that the seed rate for direct seeder was very low with 37 kg ha-1 as compared to the mechanical transplanter (55 kg ha-1) and manual transplanting (72 kg ha-1). EFC found for direct seeder and mechanical transplanter was 0.11 ha h-1and 0.12 ha h-1 respectively. The field efficiency was found to be 69% for direct seeder and 74% for mechanical transplanter. Fuel consumption of the mechanical transplanter was found 3.7 l ha-1. The grain yield and straw yield in mechanical transplanting method was higher 2652 kg ha-1 and 3482 kg ha-1 as compared to 2265 kg ha-1 and 2885 kg ha-1 in the case of direct seeding. But in the case of manual transplanting, the yields were 2025 kg ha-1 and 2508 kg ha-1 respectively. The mean value of WHR and OCR with direct seeder was 145.5 beats min-1 and 0.95 l min-1 for male and 148.9 beats min-1 and 0.98 l min-1 for female. But in case of mechanical transplanter, the mean value of WHR and OCR was 131.6 beats min-1 and 0.80 l min-1 for male and 134.1 beats min-1 and 0.83 l min-1 for female. There was complete recovery of HR after 8 min with direct seeder and 6 min with mechanical transplanter. In case of direct seeder ODR, OSR, OER, BPDS values were given by male 6.5, 0, 6.0, 40.8 and by female 7.5, 0, 7.5, 45.6. The corresponding values for mechanical transplanter were 3.0, 1.5, 3.5, 36 by male and 3.5, 1.5, 5.0, 36. As per the grading of energy cost of work, direct seeder categorized as “very heavy type” and mechanical transplanter as “heavy type”. The 8 row direct seeder is not suitable for female subjects. A 4 row Mahindra walk behind mechanical transplanter could be used successfully not only to improve the yield but also to provide operator comfort as compared to the 8 row direct seeder.ThesisItem Open Access Development and evaluation of modified atmosphere packed passion fruit(Passiflora edulis)(Department of Post harvest technology and agricultural processingKelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2012) Madhana Supriya, R; KAU; Sudheer, K PPassion fruit is a tropical fruit which is extensively used in juice processing. The fruit is highly perishable and losses its quality immediately after the second day of harvest. The postharvest loss in quality and commercial value is due to the intense respiratory activity and significant moisture loss. Hence a study was undertaken to develop a wax applicator to extend the shelf life of passion fruit by adopting the postharvest technologies. A simple and efficient wax applicator with a capacity of 250 kg.hr-1 was developed based on the physical properties of the fruits. Various samples of the passion fruits were treated with bee wax and commercial wax packed in LDPE bags of 200 and 400 gauge. The effect on the shelf life extension of fruits was investigated individually and in combination of wax and LDPE bags. In the case of LDPE bags, different levels of perforations such as 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 2% were used. The samples were kept in ambient condition viz., 32 - 35°C and 70 - 80% RH and at cold conditions as 7ºC and 90% RH. The physicochemical characteristics of samples were tested periodically at an interval of 5 and 7 days, under ambient and cold storage conditions, respectively. The results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. From the results it was revealed that the samples kept in non-perforated polythene covers were found to be better than those kept in perforated bags and in normal atmosphere. A maximum shelf life of 40 days was obtained for passion fruits at 7oC coated with commercial wax emulsion. Thus, commercial wax coating in combination with LDPE bags acted as a barrier against moisture loss and respiration rate of fruits. However, the fruits kept as control had lost consumer acceptability after the tenth day of study at cold condition and within two days at ambient storage conditions.ThesisItem Open Access Modelling the hydrology of watershed by using HEC-HMS(Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2016) Makkena, Jyothi; KAU; Vishnu, BA hydrological model is a commonly used tool to estimate the hydrological response of a watershed to precipitation. Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) is a physically based semi-distributed hydrologic modelling software developed by the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is designed to simulate the complete hydrologic processes of dendritic watershed systems under various widely varying geographic conditions.ThesisItem Open Access Investigations on energy conversion of waste coconut water through an Up-flow Anaerobic Hybrid Bioreactor(Department of Farm Power, Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2016) Dayanand, Kumbar; KAU; Shaji, James PMany Agro-industries discharges considerable amount of wastewater to water bodies. Anaerobic digestion of organic effluents from agro-industries has a great importance in pollution abatement as well for renewable energy production. Waste coconut water (WCW) is a medium strength waste water for which high rate anaerobic treatment is an affordable technology. This technology offers simultaneous production of energy in the form of biogas along with pollution control. Conventional biogas plants are slow in operation with long Hydraulic Retention Times (HRTs) in the order of 35 to 55 days, necessitating very large digester volumes. Hence, anaerobic treatment of WCW is technically and economically feasible only through high rate bioreactors, where we can reduce the HRTs in the range of 6 to 8 days. Hence, an investigation was taken up to study the performance of a high rate bioreactor viz. Up-flow Anaerobic Hybrid Bioreactor (UAHBR) for biomethanation of WCW. It was revealed that the WCW had a low pH along with high Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Solids (TS). The semi-continuous digestion WCW was carried out in a lab scale floating gas holder digester. The digester was operated at different HRTs of 35, 30 and 25 day and performance evaluated. During all HRT there was a profound effect of pH over the working of the digester. The maximum daily biogas production and biogas productivity were 21.9 L and 3.5 L.L-1 during 30-day HRT. The TS reduction had the maximum value of 51.94 at 35-day HRT. The performance of the digester deteriorated at 25 day HRT and the minimum reduction was only 1.38 %. The system showed signs of failure. Existing full scale UAHBR was operated at different HRTs of 16.67 and 15 day and performance evaluated. The reactor was stable in operation throughout the period of operation and revealed high organic reduction with biogas production. The maximum specific biogas production and biogas productivity were 354.31 Lkg1TSadded and 13.50 L.L-1 during 15-day HRT. The TS reduction was in the range of 79.35 and 81.40 during the period of 15-day HRT.Experimental UAHBR was fabricated and performance evaluated at different HRTs of 15, 12, 10, 8 and 6 day. Reactor was stable in operation during 15, 12, 10, 8 and 6 day HRTs and exhibited high process efficiency characterised by good organic reduction and biogas production. The performance was slightly deteriorated with 8 and 6-day HRT. The maximum daily biogas production and volumetric biogas production were 114 L and 877 L.m-3 for 6-day HRT. The maximum specific biogas production and biogas productivity were 225.73 L.kg-1TSadded and 8.7 L.L-1 during 15-day HRT.ThesisItem Open Access Development of seedling uprooting unit for system of rice intensification(Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2016) Sreerag, P M; KAU; Shivaji, K PThe present study was conducted to develop a seedling uprooting machine for System of Rice Intensification (SRI). System of Rice Intensification is a method developed in Madagascar in the early 1980’s, where, it has been shown that yields can be enhanced by suitably modifying certain management practices such as controlled supply of water, planting of younger seedlings and providing wider spacing. In this method 12 to 15 days old root washed seedlings are transplanted on the well puddled field. Only one younger seedling is transplanted per hill with row to row and hill to hill spacing of 25 cm. The preparation of seedlings for this method involves uprooting from nursery and washing the roots. This is done manually and no mechanical device for uprooting seedlings is available at present. In this circumstance, there is a need for the mechanization in the uprooting, washing and feeding the seedling to root washed transplanter. On this ground a seedling uprooting unit for system of rice intensification was developed and field tested. The seedling uprooting unit was consists of four major components namely bed cutting tool, conveyor unit, main frame and power unit. In order to cut the required thickness of soil bed, cutting tool was developed and fabricated with MS flat sheet of 2mm thickness. It consists of a rectangular base plate (25×30 cm) placed horizontally beneath the cutting blade. The cut seedling beds were conveyed through a slatted belt type conveyor having two adjacent roller chains inter linked with MS flat linkages giving overall belt width of 25 cm and 155 cm belt length. In order to drive the conveyor belt, a power unit from the existing vertical conveyor reaper was chosen. It consisted of 4 hp gasoline engine. According to the geometry of power unit a suitable frame was fabricated using MS angles (3×3 cm) to attach the cutting and conveying unit. The developed seedling uprooting unit was tested in the field to optimize the speed of operation and angle of cutting. Three levels of angle of blade viz., 20, 30 and 40 degrees and three levels of engine speed viz., 1000, 2000 and 3000 rpm were selected for the study. The thickness of bed, time of operation, wheel slip and plant damage were tested with respect to the above selected cutting angles and engine speeds. From the field observations it was found that cutting angle of 30° with engine speed of 2000 rpm was best for the effective seedling uprooting in terms of bed thickness, time of operation, wheel slip and plant damage. For this final prototype field performance characteristics like field capacity, field efficiency and fuel consumption were assessed. The theoretical field capacity was computed as 163.33 m2h-1 and field efficiency was found to be 81.2 per cent. The observed fuel consumption for the final prototype was in the range of 0.51 to 0.53 l.h-1. At the present wage rate of Rs 300 per day, the total cost for uprooting and washing of seedlings for cultivating an area of one hectare by manual method is about Rs 750. The total cost for uprooting and washing of seedlings for cultivating an area of one hectare by using machine is Rs 250. Hence a saving of Rs 500 can be expected by using the developed machine for preparing the seedlings required for cultivating one hectare.ThesisItem Open Access Suitability of drip automation systems for optimal irrigation scheduling(Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2015) Manasa, K; KAU; Rema, K PAutomation in irrigation management refers to those innovations which partially or fully replace manual intervention from watering operations. Automized irrigation includes automation at regional level or farm level. Recently, technological advances have been made in soil water sensors for efficient and automatic operation of irrigation system by which exact quantity of required water can be supplied to the crop. Automatic soil water sensor-based irrigation seeks to maintain a desired soil water range in the root zone that is optimal for plant growth.The present study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of drip automation systems for optimal irrigation scheduling. The field experiment was done in the rain shelter in the research plot of Nodal Water Technology Centre, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, during the months of October 2014–March 2015. The experiment was done for tomato variety Akshaya in rain shelter with 4 treatments of irrigation levels. The experiment was laid out in CRD with 3 replications. The main objectives of the study were to evaluate the performance of sensor based automated drip irrigation systems, scheduling irrigation for tomato based on the best performing drip automation system and to evaluate the cost economics of drip automation system with optimal irrigation scheduling. Irrigation was provided using sensors through drip automation system at 40 per cent, 50 per cent and 60 per cent moisture depletion levels (MDL) from the available moisture content. Control was irrigated at the rate of 2 l/plant/day. Crop growth parameters such as height of the plant, number of days to first flowering, number of days to initial budding, number of days to first harvest, root length and root dry weight were observed. During all the stages, plant height significantly varied in all treatments. All the parameters were found to be better in 50 per cent MDL treatment compared to other treatments. Yield parameters such as number of fruits and total yield were recorded. There was no significant difference in number of fruits per plant in all the treatments. Yield was significantly higher in 50 per cent MDL than that of other treatments. Water use efficiency was significantly different in all the treatments. WUE in T2 and T3 was on par which showed better performance than other treatments. The analysis of the data of soil moisture content at 2 and 6 hours after irrigation was monitored at distances of 0, 15 and 30 cm from the emitter laterally and at a depth of 0, 10, 20 and 30 cm from the surface. Soil moisture contour maps for the longitudinal section of the soil were plotted using computer software “Teraplot 1.3.02” version. The pattern was more uniform for T2 (50 per cent MDL) two hours after irrigation. Benefit cost (B/C) ratio for each treatment was calculated. The maximum benefit cost ratio of 2.57 was noted in T2. Hence it can be concluded that for tomato (Akshaya) grown in rain shelter, 50 per cent MDL can be fixed as the optimum level for scheduling irrigation. As 60 per cent moisture depletion also gave good yield and WUE on par with 50 per cent level, 60 per cent MDL can also be suggested for scheduling irrigation in water scarce areas.ThesisItem Open Access Development and quality evaluation of retort pouch packed tender jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.)(Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2015) Praveena, N; KAU; Sudheer, K PJackfruit is a seasonal organic fruit and it is popularly used as vegetable in its tender stage. Though it is a highly nutritious commodity, post harvest wastage is huge due to its perishable nature. ‘Koozha’ jackfruit can be better used in tender stage since the wastage of ripened ‘Koozha’ variety jackfruit is more compared to ‘Varikka’. The significant wastage of ‘Koozha’ variety is because of less consumer acceptance due to its poor texture after ripening, necessitated the design of a viable processing and packaging technology to extend its shelf life. Hence the present study on “Development and quality evaluation of retort pouch packed tender jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.)” was undertaken with specific objectives of standardization of blanching process, standardization of thermal process in retort pouch package, shelf life study and quality evaluation of retort pouch packed tender jackfruit. Blanching treatment was optimized as three minutes with 0.3% citric acid preservative based on the enzyme test and the results of the quality parameters like texture, colour and crude fibre content. The standardized thermal process time for pasteurization at 90°C to reach F10 was 24 minutes and for sterilization at 121°C for attaining F0 value one was 15 minutes. After optimal blanching, the samples were packed in retort pouches with prior addition of preservatives like brine (2%), citric acid (0.3%), KMS (0.1%) and their combination using the optimized thermal process time - temperature. Shelf life study and quality evaluation in terms of TSS, titrable acidity, pH, vitamin C, crude fibre, texture and colour were done. The experiments were statistically analyzed with one way ANOVA. The samples preserved in citric acid exhibited good quality attributes and better acceptability in sensory evaluation. Microbial analysis also showed that the product was safe upto 90 days of storage. It was concluded that 0.3% citric acid blanching and 0.3% citric acid preservative as filling solution was best in terms of quality parameters and microbial analysis for the development of thermally processed and retort packed tender jackfruit. The cost of operation per pouch (140 g) for tender jackfruit was calculated as Rs. 11.51/-. This study is useful for the production of good quality, safe, affordable priced tender jackfruit in ready to cook form throughout the year.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of fertigation and drip system layout on performance of chilli(Capsicum annum)(Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2012) Nadiya, Nesthad; KAU; Kurien, E KThe study “Impact of fertigation and drip system layout on performance of Chilli (Capsicum annum)” was taken up with the objective of determining the effect of fertigation, drip system layout and different levels of irrigation for chilli under plastic mulch. Different fertigation equipments like ventury injector, dosmatic fertigation unit and fertilizer tank were tested to study the hydraulic performance of the system. Ventury injector for fertilizer application was found to have high suction rate in comparison with dosmatic fertigation unit. The suction rate and motive flow rate was found to vary directly with respect to the pressure drop between the inlet and outlet of the fertigation equipment. Ventury injector can be used only if the discharge rate is above 14.6 L/min. Dosmatic fertigatrion unit and fertilizer tank can be used if the discharge rate is above 1.1 L/min and 6.6 L/min. The moisture distribution pattern under different drip field layout was observed. The moisture content near to the plant base was found to be high and decreases as the distance from the emitters increased. The effect of different irrigation levels and drip system layout under plastic mulch on the performance of Chilli (Capsicum annum), Ujwala variety was also studied. The number of branches, stem girth and yield showed significant difference between the treatments. The yield showed significant difference with different levels of irrigation and drip system layout. Maximum yield of 18.32 t/ha was observed for the treatment T5. The treatments T6 (17.952 t/ha) was on par with the treatment T5. The benefit cost ratio for treatment T5, 85 per cent of the irrigation requirement with one lateral for each row of crop was 3.8 and treatment T6, 85 per cent of the irrigation requirement with one lateral in between two rows of crop was 3.9. Even though the yield for the treatment T5 was high, the benefit cost ratio stands high for treatment T6. The high value of benefit cost ratio for treatment T6 was due to the reduction in the quantity of material for drip irrigation systemThesisItem Open Access Development and quality evaluation of extruded RTE snack food from starch based food products(Kelappaji college of agricultural engineering and technology, Tavanur, 2012) Aneeshya Kamal, K S; KAU; Sudheer, K PAs the eating patterns are changing day by day, snack foods play very important role in the diet of the modern consumer. Extrusion cooking has been used increasingly in the production of food and food ingredients such as breakfast cereals, baby foods, snacks, meat and cheese analogues, as well as modified starches which have a pivotal role in the food industry. With the increased demand of extruded RTE snacks in the modern food industries, an extruded product was developed and standardised with starch based food products such as rice, cassava and banana. The raw materials mixed in different proportions of rice: banana and rice:cassava:banana were extruded under various process parameters viz. die temperatures, extruder screw speeds, feed rates and feed moisture content. Quality evaluation of the developed 96 extrudates along with control was done for standard engineering properties including physical, functional, textural and machine parameters. MAP of the extrudates were carried out in 400 gauge aluminum bags and kept for 3 months period for shelf life studies. Based on puffing characteristics, 17 samples were selected as best products. At the end of storage studies, the quality evaluation of these extrudates in terms of textural and organoleptic properties were analysed and yielded satisfactory results. The subjective analysis with good overall acceptability was also noted. The study concluded that rice: cassava: banana combination of R10:C80:B10 with extrusion done at temperatures of 180ºC to 200ºC at higher screw speed (100 and 120 rpm) could be considered optimum. The proposed product technology was found feasible with 37% IRR with a calculated unit cost of ₹ 3/- per 20g pack. So this product will be a snack cum breakfast kit for the consumers with a balanced mix of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals which will ensure nutritional security and food safety.