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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Open Access
Understorey productivity of agrisilivicultural systems as affected by tree population density and fertiliser regimes
(Department of Silviculture and Agroforesty, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 1996) Joseph, Thomas; KAU; Mohan Kumar, B
A split plot experiment, involving ailanthus (Ailanthus triphysa (Dennst.) Alston.) at various population densities (3333, 2500, 1600 and 1111 TPHA) and fertiliser regimes (0:0:0, 50:25:25, 100:50:50 and 150:75:75; kg N:P2O5: K2O ha-1 Yr-1), initiated in June, 1991 was intercropped with ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Additional treatments included monocultures of ginger and ailanthus. Objectives were to assess the productivity of ginger as a component of an agrisilviculture ststem involving ailanthus, besides analysing the partitioning of solar radiation among the different components of the system and characterising the nature of below ground interactions between the field and tree crop components. Ailanthus growth and its foliar chemical composition was not influenced by tree population density and fertiliser regimes. Light availability below the canopy was, however, strongly altered by tree population density. Availability of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was inversely proportional to stand density. Available PAR ranged from 35-72 per cent and 40-75 per cent of that in the open, at 50 and 150 cm above the ground level respectively. A strong relationship however, could not be established between light availability and foliar nitrogen content of the tree. Ginger grown in the interspaces of ailanthus exhibited better growth as compared to the sole crop situation. Tissue nutrient content of ginger in the later stages were higher when grown as mixed crop. The tree population density of 2500 trees per hectare (TPHA) registered better growth of understorey ginger. Fresh and dry rhizome yield of ginger also was maximum at this density. However, no strong relationship could be established between light availability and rhizome yield of ginger. Fertilisers applied to the tree component of the system, did not influence the growth, yield and quality of ginger. Three years of tree growth significantly reduced soil nutrient status below trees. A reduction in soil PH also was observed. Radiophosphorus recovered by ginger and ailanthus were not substantially altered by tree population density, lateral distance of application and cropping situation. However, ailanthus absorbed a substantial portion of the fertilisers applied to the ginger crop. Root activity of ailanthus suggests that 41-53 per cent of active roots are situated at about 40 cm from the tree trunk. Neighbouring trees in the high density stand registered a high recovery of 32P as compared to the low density stand, which may have important management implications.
Open Access
Diversity, structure and standing stock of timber in the homegardens of Thrissur district, Kerala
(Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2017) Subu, R Unnithan; KAU; Kunhamu, T K
Tropical homegardens are time-tested land use systems which have evolved through generations of crop intensification. Homegardens of Kerala are traditional agricultural systems that were closely related to the livelihood and nutritional security of small and marginal farmers of Kerala. A study was carried out to investigate the functional and structural status of the homegardens in Thrissur District, Kerala. Study was conducted in selected homegardens of 10 panchayths and one peri urban area of Thrissur district. The study was based on comparison of homegardens of three size classes such as small (<0.2 ha), medium (0.2-0.4 ha) and large (>0.4 ha) from three eco regions (highland, midland and coastal land) and one peri urban area (municipality). A total of 330 homesteads were selected from selected panchayths based on a stratified random sampling. There was a great variability in diversity, abundance and standing stock of different tree species belongs to different use categories among three homegarden size classes and across different eco regions. There were 163 total species present in the entire Thrissur district that included 122 trees species and 41 agricultural crop species. Contrary to earlier studies, consistent decline in diversity was observed with decrease in homegarden size. Highest number of taxa was observed from large homegardens (102 species) which was followed by medium (95 species) and small (85 species). Population pressure and skewed land availability may have negatively affected the species diversity in homegardens. Most abundant functional group of trees found in surveyed homegardens were medicinal trees (62 species) followed by timber species (53 species). Economically important functional groups such as timber, fodder, fuel, green manure and other MPTs were abundant in large homesteads. Eco-region wise comparison of tree diversity suggested high diversity in the midland and highland regions while lower in coastal land and peri-urban areas. Mangifera indica was the predominant timber tree species in terms of abundance and standing stock in Thrissur district with a total stand number and standing stock projected to the Thrissur district as 15,98,849 and 18,84,356.3 m3 respectively. Other dominant timber trees in terms of standing stock were Artocarpus heterophyllus, Tectona grandis, Swietenia macrophylla, etc. Standing stock per hectare of total timber species identified in Thrissur district was 55.12 m3 ha-1 and projected standing stock of all timber species in the district was 81,38,931.6 m3. Vertical diversity of the studied homegardens suggested high species richness associated with middle storey. Also all three strata of large homegardens were more diverse than medium and small homegardens irrespective of eco-region. In total there were 41 species of agricultural crops and medicinal plants identified from selected homegardens. Musa sps., Areca catechu and Cocos nucifera were the predominant species of all size holds. Simpson Index and Shannon Diversity Indices of agricultural crops of all size holds showed no large difference. Attempts to study the socio-economic factors of homegarden functioning revealed land fragmentation as the principal agent of their decline. The most frequent constraints of homegardens included high wage of the labourers involved in homegarden maintenance, less labour availability, large expense/less profit, pest and disease, etc. Wood quality assessment of Tectona grandis, Artocarpus heterophyllus and Swietenia macrophylla using NDT showed that oven dry specific gravity (SPGo.d) has no influence on eco-regions and tree size classes. The dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOEdyn) showed significant differences for Artocarpus heterophyllus and Swietenia macrophylla across eco-regions. However, this was not prominent for Tectona grandis. On the whole, the functional and structural analysis of the homegardens in Thrissur district of Kerala revealed their potential contribution to the agro-biodiversity. However concerted efforts are required to revitalize these unique traditional agricultural practices in terms of their ecological and economic viability.
Open Access
Fine root dynamics and associated carbon and nutrient flux in 12 year old acacia mangium at varying stand densities
(Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2017) Delphy Rocha; KAU; Kunhamu, T K
Fine root production has been estimated to account for up to 33% of global annual Net Primary Production, NPP (Gill and Jackson, 2000). Thus, fine root turnover has important implications for individual plant growth, plant interactions, and below-ground carbon and nutrient cycling. Direct and indirect methods for measuring fine root production and turnover in 12 year old Acacia mangium Willd. at varying stand densities were studied. Fine root production estimated ranged from 3.8 - 5.75 Mg ha-1 with a turnover of 4 yr-1. It was estimated that through fine root decomposition about 1.36-2.39 Mg C ha-1, 34.56- 102.52 kg N ha-1, 1.46-3.3 kg P ha-1 and 19.94-33.60 kg K ha-1 is released to soil. Even though fine root constitutes only 1.7-2.14% of the total tree biomass its contribution to the system productivity is very high. Attempts were also made to relate fine root production with various growth variables and in general most of the variables (DBH, basal area per tree, volume per tree, aboveground biomass per tree and leaf area per tree) gave good correlation (R>8**) with fine root production when considered on per tree basis. Average annual litter production was estimated to a range of 9.99-11.69 Mg ha-1. Interestingly, annual litter production had a high correlation (R=0.9**) with fine root production. Through litter decomposition, 1.4-2.07 Mg C ha-1, 36-48 kg N ha-1, 1- 4 kg P ha-1 and 3-6 kg K ha-1 is released to the soil. Total soil carbon stock up to 1m soil depth was estimated and it was significantly different across different density regimes. Invariably the SOC concentration was relatively lower in treeless plot compared with A. mangium at different density regimes. Soil C sequestration was 15.96 - 34.58 Mg C ha-1 and the nutrient content of soil estimated as 2343.811-948 kg N ha-1, 13.12-21.92 kg P ha-1, 313.52-261.25 kg K ha-1. Total system C content estimates in the ranges from 148.93 -263.79 Mgha-1. So Density manipulation plays a significant role on productivity in 12 year old A. mangium. Hence, management objectives should be based on assessment of their impact on various productivity attributes
Open Access
Performance of selected medicinal herbs under typical homegarden and pure coconut plantation
(Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2015) Niyas, P; KAU; Kunhamu, T K
A field research was undertaken at Vellanikkara, Kerala to assess the understorey productivity of coconut and homegarden through intercropping with three selected herbaceous medicinal crops viz. Zingiber officinale (ginger), Curcuma longa L. (turmeric) and Kaempferia galangal L. (galangal). These landuse systems by virtue of spatial and temporal advantages offer good scope for integrating shade tolerant crops and thereby offer supplementary returns to the farmer. The biochemical changes in the understorey crops and the biophysical attributes influencing the productivity of the land management systems were studied. Additionally soil carbon sequestration in both the given land use systems and a treeless open plot was estimated. The intercrop growth considerably varied among the land use systems both in vegetative growth and rhizome yields. Growth observations at various sampling period revealed considerably higher plant heights of ginger and turmeric in shaded condition than treeless open. As regards leaf spread galangal performed well in the coconut garden followed by homegarden and treeless open. All the intercrops exhibited higher root length in treeless open plots, except galangal for which coconut was the best. Invariably root production was lowest in homegarden. Tiller production at final stages showed highest in treeless open. Contrary to the plant height growth trends, homegarden recorded lowest tiller production at final stages of sampling. Understorey productivity for ginger in terms of rhizome yield at final harvest followed the order treeless open (3.45 Mg ha-1), coconut (2.86 Mg ha-1), and homegarden (1.49 Mg ha-1). Turmeric rhizome production showed considerable variation with intercropping system with highest yield from open area (7.01 Mg ha-1) and the lowest from homegarden (1.77 Mg ha-1). Highest Galangal yields were reported in the treeless open (3.05) while homegarden represented lowest production (2.04 Mg ha-1). Understorey photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) transmittance presumed to have a cardinal influence on intercrop growth which was highest for coconut (37%) and lowest under homegarden (17%). Turmeric and galangal showed strong positive correlation with understorey PAR. Regression equation relating PAR with rhizome yields showed statistical soundness with high value of coefficient of determination (r2). Leaf Area Index varied between the homegarden and coconut considerably with higher value for homegarden (3.84) while the same for pure coconut plantation was considerably low (2.21). The oleoresin concentration in all the intercrops was found to be greatest in homegarden followed by coconut and treeless open. Soil physico-chemical attributes were assessed at periodic intervals in all the landuse system and results indicate overall better condition prevailed in the homegarden in terms of organic carbon content, soil bulk density, total N, available P and exchangeable K which however registered lowest values in the treeless open. Similar was the trend in soil carbon sequestration with homegarden giving higher values (67.45 Mg ha-1) followed by coconut (59.65 Mg ha-1) lowest by treeless open soil (55.1 Mg ha-1). Result converges to the generalisation that despite better soil physico-chemical attributes, understory productivity in the homegarden is by and large decided by the PAR availability. Hence there is need to develop stand structure that optimize the productivity in homegarden through judicious stand density regulation and tree management practices.
Open Access
Diversity, structure and standing stock of timber in the homegardens of Thrissur district, Kerala
(Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2017) Subu, R Unnithan; KAU; Kunhamu, T K

Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

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