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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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20172
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Subject: Agroforestry × Author: Subu, R Unnithan × Start date: 1980 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen 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.
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    ThesisItemOpen 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