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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Biology and management of weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea)
(College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2015) Nimmy, Jose; KAU; Abraham, C T
Weedy rice is the complex of morphotypes of Oryza species widely distributed in the commercial rice fields in more than 50 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, especially in areas where farmers have switched to direct seeding due to labour shortage and high cost. Taxonomically, Indian weedy rice is identified as Oryza sativa f. spontanea which belongs to the indica group. Invasion and spread of weedy rice in the cultivated rice fields have forced the farming community to abandon rice farming, leading to socio economic and ecological impacts in the rice bowls of Kerala. Management of weedy rice infestation is complex mainly because of its morphological similarities to cultivated rice and lack of herbicides for selective control of weedy rice in cropped fields. Hence, the present research programme was undertaken to estimate the extent of infestation of weedy rice in rice bowls of Kerala, to study the biology and ecology, and to chalk out strategies for integrated management of weedy rice. Survey conducted in the major rice belts of Kerala, viz., Kole, Kuttanad and Palakkad, revealed that more than 65 percent of the area has low to severe weedy rice infestation. In the major rice bowls of Kerala there was severe, moderate and low infestation of weedy rice in 26, 36 and 49 panchayaths, respectively,. The extent of infestation was more in Kuttanad in Alleppey, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts and Kole lands of Thrissur district. In Palakkad region, the infestation was more in panchayaths of Alathoor and Nemmara blocks. Survey revealed the presence of weedy rice variants with respect to morphological characters like number of tillers per plant, height of plant, length of ligule, panicle characters, colour of grains, and length and colour of awns. Studies conducted on the germination of weedy rice seeds revealed that there was no significant difference between the germination of weedy rice in the presence and absence of rice seeds in the soil. It was noticed that seed germination was higher at the surface and 2 cm depth of the soil and there was drastic reduction in the germination from deeper layers of 4-8 cm. Investigations on dormancy revealed that hull induced dormancy in weedy rice could be broken by exposing seeds to 20ºC for 48 hours, treating with 0.6% nitric acid for six hours, rupturing seed coat, or maintaining electrical conductivity of 5 dS m-1 for six hours in the growing media. Scanning electron microscope studies confirmed that lesser overlapping of lemma and palea contributed to quicker germination of half mature straw coloured weedy rice grains whereas, slow germination in black coloured mature seeds is due to the clear overlapping of lemma and palea. Presence of more number of stomata both on adaxial and abaxial surface, silica deposits and hairy out-growths on leaf, and high root volume in weedy rice contributed to its early vigour, growth and competitiveness. Management options found effective for the control of weedy rice in direct seeded puddled rice include (1) pre sowing surface application of oxyfluorfen @ 0.2 kg ha-1 three days before sowing in thin film of water (2) selective drying of weedy rice panicles with nonselective broadspectrum herbicides glufosinate ammonium or glyphosate @ 15 % - 20 % concentration at 60-65 DAS using specially designed wick applicator/wiper device (3) stale seed bed technique with (wet tillage in between two stales under heavy infestation) application of broad spectrum herbicide followed by flooding for exhausting soil seed bank (4) straw burning after harvest of infested fields followed by zero tillage in succeeding crop and (5) soil solarisation for more than 30 days during summer months using 100 micron transparent polythene sheets. A novel hand held wiper device was developed for the direct contact application of nonselective broadspectrum herbicides for selective drying of weedy rice panicles at 60-65 days after sowing, when rice and weedy rice plants maintain height difference of 20 cm. The device was filed for Indian Patent at Patent Office, Chennai (Application No. 1763/CHE/2014 dated 01.04.2014). Effective and economical management of weedy rice is possible by the integrated use of different options for management depending on the intensity of infestation. Various weedy rice management options standardized in the present study were demonstrated in farmers’ fields in a participatory mode. The demonstrations have given good results and many farmers have already adopted the package for the integrated management of weedy rice.