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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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ThesisItem Open Access Invasion impact of greater club rush (Scirpus grossus L.f) on wetland rice ecosystem(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Gayathri Karthikeyan, P; KAU; Sansamma GeorgeThe study entitled “Invasion impact of greater club rush (Scirpus grossus L. f) on wetland rice ecosystem” was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2015-2017. The objectives were to study the invasive characteristics, habitat affinity and distribution of greater club rush, to assess its invasion impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of the wetland ecosystem and also to develop an ecofriendly management strategy for recovering the invaded fields. To achieve the objectives, the study covered four aspects, i.e. Part I. Weed mapping and habitat analysis, Part II. Study of invasive characteristics of greater club rush, part III. Invasion impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of wetlands, Part IV. Management of greater club rush. A preliminary survey on the presence of the emergent hydrophyte in Thiruvananthapuram district indicated that the invasion was mainly concentrated in some pockets in the wetlands adjoining the Vellayani fresh water lake. Hence, the wetland ecosystem of the Vellayani lake watershed was selected as the geographical unit for conducting the investigation. Under Part I, the extent of greater club rush invasion in the wetlands of Thiruvananthapuram district was assessed and mapped using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS). As per local enquiries, the invasion was noticed for the first time about 15 - 20 years back and was spreading fast in waterlogged paddy fields. However, it was not clear how this alien weed was introduced and naturalised in Kerala. The results of the weed mapping studies revealed that greater club rush invasion was concentrated mainly in the north - western side of wetlands adjoining the Vellayani lake. From the drainage and land use maps, it was inferred that there was a flood plain formed in the locality due to indiscriminate wetland reclamation resulting in impeded drainage. The total area under invasion was approximately 65 ha (47.70 per cent of the rice fallows). During the mapping studies, it was also observed that the ownership of a major portion of these paddy fields was vested with absentee landlords who leave the land uncultivated for a long time thus providing open niches for further spread of the weed. Correlation studies on weed density and dry weight with soil and water parameters of the invaded fields indicated that the weed has high level of habitat tolerance and ecological flexibility and was able to thrive under a wide range of field conditions. Under Part II, the invasive nature of greater club rush was assessed by observing the growth and development characteristics of the weed under field conditions. From the results, it was inferred that, tall stature (1.52 m), dense growth habit (342.23 ramets m-2), low light infiltration (4.36 per cent), high relative growth rate (0.028 g g-1 day-1), efficient propagation (rhizomes, stolons and corms combine for multiplication and perennation), huge biomass (30 t ha-1) and abundance of aerenchyma along with ecological flexibility imparts intense competitiveness for greater club rush making it a successful invader. The major part of the study was to assess the impact of greater club rush invasion on the wetland ecosystem (Part III). Based on the weed mapping and habitat analysis, three heavily infested padasekharams, located within a distance of 5 km were selected for the impact study and monitored for two years. The methodology used was Multisite comparison of the co- existing flora and fauna community, between invaded vs uninvaded sites. Alterations in nutrient cycling and microbial activity due to the invasion were studied by collecting and analyzing soil samples from selected sites during three seasons. The results indicated that greater club rush invasion was depleting the diversity of native vegetation in the wetland ecosystem in terms of species richness and also density. Soil seed bank studies also confirmed the negative impact of the invasion on flora diversity. However, the invaded fields were observed to be rich in faunal diversity and an ideal home for several water birds especially purple moorhen. The thick stand of the weed was found to provide refuge to small animals like rats and snakes also; and these in general were causing trouble to rice farmers in adjacent areas. Contrary to several earlier reports, the impact on the ecosystem functioning parameters was negligible, probably due to occasional flooding and sedimentation in the selected locality. To develop an eco-friendly strategy for managing the weed, an experiment was undertaken in a heavily infested paddy field (Part IV) with eight treatments and three replications and the design was RBD. The treatments were: T1 - (Bensulfuron methyl + Pretilachlor) @ 660g ha-1 on the next day of tilling., T2 - (Bensulfuron methyl + Pretilachlor) @ 1320g ha-1 on the next day of tilling, T3 –Azimsulfuron @ 35g ha-1 at 3-5 leaf stage , T4 -Azimsulfuron @ 70 g ha-1 at 3-5 leaf stage, T5 - (Glyphosate @ 1.0 kg ha-1 + 2, 4 – D sodium salt @ 2.0 kg ha-1) at active growth stage, T6 - (Glyphosate @ 0.5 kg ha-1 + 2, 4 – D @ 1.0 kg ha-1) at reproductive stage, T7 -Tillage (Farmer’s practice) and T8 – Control (Uninterrupted weed growth). Among the various treatments, application of Glyphosate @ 0.5 kg ha-1 + 2, 4 – D @ 1.0 kg ha-1 at the reproductive stage was found to be the best, giving complete weed kill with no further regrowth. The opportunities for utilising the weed and thereby managing it were also investigated during the study. The results revealed that greater club rush with its huge biomass production (>30 t ha-1) could remove many of the heavy metals (arsenic, copper, zinc, lead, chromium, cobalt, nickel and chromium) from contaminated soils more efficiently than water hyacinth which is a well known phytoremediator. The nutritive value of the weed biomass (crude protein - 7.5 per cent, crude fibre- 26.79 per cent) was shown to be comparable with that of guinea grass (crude protein - 8 to14 per cent, crude fibre - 28 to 36 per cent). The K/(Ca+Mg) ratio was 1.39 which is considered to be within safe limits in a livestock feed. However being a phytoextractor, further studies needs to be done for justifying its use as a forage. The study revealed that greater club rush has high level of ecological flexibility and competitiveness which make it a successful invader. The weed has already invaded considerable area of wetland rice ecosystem and is likely to spread further in areas left fallow for long periods. It was found that the invaded fields could be efficiently recovered by application of a tank mixture of glyphosate @ 0.5 kg ha-1 + 2, 4 – D sodium salt @ 1.0 kg ha-1 at the reproductive stage. The major negative impact of the invasion on ecosystem was the decline in species richness and density of native weed community. At the same time, the thick weed growth provided ideal habitat for many faunal species. The weed was found to have the potential to be used for phytostabilisation of heavy metal contaminated soils and the luxuriant biomass had reasonable nutritive value also. The overall conclusion is that greater club rush invasion can become a potential threat to the wetland rice ecosystem, if left undisturbed.ThesisItem Restricted Acidity amelioration and nutrient management practices for mitigating yield constraints of rice in Vaikom Kari(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Devi, V S; KAU; Kumari Swadija, OAn investigation entitled “Acidity amelioration and nutrient management practices for mitigating yield constraints of rice in Vaikom Kari” was carried out as two field experiments in Vaikom Kari soils of Kuttanad during the period from 2014 to 2017 to standardize acidity amelioration and nutrient management practices for rice to overcome yield constraints in Vaikom Kari and to work out the economics of cultivation. Experiment I entitled “Evaluation of acidity amelioration practices for rice in Vaikom Kari” was conducted in farmer’s field in Kallara panchayat in Kottayam district during November 2014 to March 2015. The experiment was laid out in RBD with seven treatments in three replications with rice var. Uma. The treatments included lime, dolomite and rice husk ash (RHA) applied as two splits- as basal + 30 DAS or as basal + one week before third dose of fertilizer application and a control without ameliorants. Lime, dolomite or RHA, irrespective of time of application, could produce taller plants with higher LAI and tiller number at maximum tillering (MT), panicle initiation (PI) and harvest stages. The same treatments recorded higher number of panicles m-2 and 1000 grain weight and lower sterility percentage. Lime, dolomite or RHA as basal + 30 DAS produced significantly higher grain yield over control. Grain yield was significantly and positively correlated with LAI at MT and PI stages and panicle number m-2. Higher straw yield was obtained with lime or dolomite as basal + 30 DAS and RHA treatments. Application of lime, dolomite or RHA as basal + 30 DAS resulted in higher dry matter production at harvest. Soil ameliorants improved the uptake of macronutrients and micronutrients. Uptake of N and K were significantly higher for lime, dolomite or RHA applied as basal + 30 DAS while dolomite as basal + 30 DAS recorded the highest P uptake. The highest uptake of Ca was found with lime as basal + 30 DAS and that of Mg and S with dolomite as basal + 30 DAS. The highest uptake of Mn and Zn were observed with lime as basal + 30 DAS, Cu with RHA as basal + 30 DAS and that of B with lime, dolomite or RHA applied as basal + 30 DAS. The control treatment and RHA applied as basal + one week before PI registered lower Na uptake and both RHA treatments registered higher Al uptake. There was significant and positive correlation of grain yield with uptake of nutrients except Fe, Zn and Al. Lime and dolomite treatments were more effective in reducing soil acidity and improving dehydrogenase activity and nutrient availability in the soil. The ameliorated plots showed higher organic carbon status compared to control. Lime as basal + one week before PI and dolomite treatments recorded higher soil available N at seedling stage and at tillering and PI stages, any treatment except control could register higher available N in the soil. Any liming material applied as basal + 30 DAS improved soil available P status. No significant effect of treatments on available K was observed. Lime or dolomite treatments resulted in higher availability of Ca while dolomite treatments registered higher availability of Mg in the soil. At all stages except harvest, the control plots recorded significantly higher status of available S and Fe and lower status of Mn in the soil. Significant and positive correlation of pH with available Ca and negative correlation with available Fe was observed at all stages of crop growth. Soil available Cu status was the highest with control at PI stage and with dolomite at harvest stage. Dolomite treatments recorded higher available B in the soil. The highest Na content in the soil was registered by dolomite treatments at seedling stage and by control at tillering stage. There was an increase in the availability of Na at all stages of experimentation but the content was below the critical level of toxicity. Soil exchangeable Al status was significantly higher in the control. Lime, dolomite or RHA applied as basal + 30 DAS gave higher net income and BCR while the control recorded the lowest net income and BCR. Experiment II entitled “Standardization of nutrient management practices for rice in Vaikom Kari” was conducted during August to December 2015 and 2016 in farmers` fields in Thalayazham panchayat in Kottayam district. The experiment was laid out in RBD with 16 treatments (formulated based on the results of the Experiment I) in three replications with rice var. Uma. The treatments were dolomite, lime + MgSO4 or RHA + MgSO4 along with 100% POP alone or with 100% POP + foliar spray of 13:0:45 (1%) or borax (0.5%) or 13:0:45 + borax at PI stage. Lime + MgSO4 + 75% POP + 13:0:45 + borax as well as lime without MgSO4 + 100% POP combined with 13:0:45 or borax or both were also included as treatments. The treatments involving dolomite and lime with or without MgSO4 produced taller plants, higher tiller number m-2 and higher LAI during both the years. Dolomite + POP + 13:0:45 produced the highest number of panicles m-2. Higher test weight and lower sterility percentage were observed with dolomite + POP + 13:0:45 and dolomite + POP + 13:0:45 + borax. Higher grain yield of 5.42 and 5.57 t ha-1 during 2015 and 2016 respectively were produced by dolomite + POP + 13:0:45 followed by dolomite + POP + 13:0:45 + borax and lime + MgSO4 POP + 13:0:45. Grain yield was significantly and positively correlated with LAI at MT and PI stages and with panicle number m-2. Pooled analysis also proved the significance of the above treatments in producing higher grain yield. Lower yields were produced by the treatments involving RHA and 75% POP during both the years and in the pooled data. In general, higher straw yields were noticed with the treatments involving dolomite or lime along with foliar spray of 13:0:45 or 13:0:45 + borax. Higher dry matter production was noticed with dolomite + POP along with 13:0:45 or borax during first year and with dolomite + POP or lime + MgSO4 + POP along with 13:0:45 or 13:0:45 + borax during second year. In general, higher uptake of macronutrients and micronutrients was observed with dolomite or lime + MgSO4 treatments along with 100% POP during both the years. Uptake of Na was the highest with RHA + MgSO4 + POP + 13:0:45 during first year and with dolomite treatments during second year. Higher Al uptake was observed with lime + POP + 13:0:45 with or without MgSO4. Significant and positive correlation of grain yield with uptake of P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Mn, Zn, Cu and B and negative correlation with Fe was observed during first year. During second year, the yield was significantly and positively correlated with uptake of nutrients except Na and Al. The treatments involving dolomite, lime with or without MgSO4 performed better in ameliorating soil acidity than RHA treatments during both the years. The treatments involving RHA showed higher EC values. All the treatments except those involving RHA helped in improving dehydrogenase enzyme activity in the soil during the cropping period. The initial soil organic carbon status was maintained during the cropping period due to nutrient management practices. Availability of N in the soil improved due to treatments involving dolomite + POP during seedling stage and due to those involving lime + POP without MgSO4 at other stages. The treatments involving dolomite + POP and lime + POP with or without MgSO4 recorded higher available P during all crop stages. In general, higher status of available K was registered by the treatments involving RHA or lime without MgSO4. All treatments involving lime or dolomite registered higher soil available Ca and those involving dolomite or lime + MgSO4 showed higher availability of Mg in the soil. In general, available S in the soil decreased from initial status during the cropping period. The treatments involving dolomite registered lower status of soil available Fe and higher status of available Mn and B. Higher status of available Zn was registered by the treatments involving dolomite or lime + MgSO4. The treatments involving dolomite, lime + MgSO4 or RHA + MgSO4 along with POP registered higher available Cu in the soil. Dolomite treatments recorded lower status of Na and exchangeable Al in the soil. Soil pH was significantly and positively correlated with available P and significantly and negatively correlated with available Fe and exchangeable Al in the soil. The economics of cultivation in terms of net income and BCR were the highest with dolomite + POP + 13:0:45 during both the years which was closely followed by dolomite + POP + 13:0:45 + borax. The treatments involving RHA and 75% POP registered lower net income and BCR. The results of the study revealed the superiority of dolomite for ameliorating soil acidity in Vaikom Kari soil compared to lime or rice husk ash. Split application of dolomite as basal dose and at 30 DAS proved more effective than application as basal dose and one week prior to fertilizer application at panicle initiation stage. Soil acidity amelioration with dolomite @ 500 kg ha-1 (300 kg as basal dose and 200 kg ha-1 at 30 DAS) and soil application of 90:45:45 kg NPK ha-1 (full P as basal and N and K in three equal splits at 20 DAS, 35 DAS and PI stage) along with foliar spray of 13:0:45 (1%) or combined spray of 13:0:45 (1%) and borax (0.5%) at panicle initiation stage resulted in higher productivity and profitability from rice cultivation in Vaikom Kari soil.ThesisItem Open Access Precision farming in banana (musa AAB nendran ) for productivity enhancement(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Pintu Roy, Vattakunnel; KAU; Sheela, K RAn investigation entitled “Precision farming in banana (Musa AAB Nendran) for productivity enhancement” was undertaken during 2014-2017 to assess the influence of land management practices and lime application on growth and yield of banana, to standardize the fertigation schedule for yield improvement, to work out the economics and to study the nutrient dynamics under soil and fertigation systems of nutrient application. The study consisted of two experiments carried out simultaneously for two years from March 2015 to May 2017 in the farmer’s field at Pirappancode, Thiruvananthapuram. The first experiment on “Soil management and fertigation studies in banana” was laid out in split plot design with 12 treatment combinations and two controls each replicated thrice. The main plot treatments were the combinations of land management practices (l1- conventional land management and l2- land management for precision farming) and lime application{c1 – as basal at the time of pit preparation and c2 – applied in 2 splits (1/2 basal+1/2 at 4 MAP)} and the sub plot treatments were three levels of fertigation (n1-60 % recommended dose (RD) of N & K; n2- 100 % RD of N & K and n3-140 % RD of N & K). The two controls maintained were KAU adhoc recommendation for precision farming (control 1) and KAU POP (control 2). Lime requirement was calculated based on initial pH and applied as per the treatment. As the P status of the soil was high, P was applied @ 75 % RD for all treatments except control 1. Basal application of FYM @ 15 kg plant-1 and two bunch sprays with 3 % SOP were given uniformly for all the treatments. Precision land management practice (L2) improved growth attributes viz. LAI and total dry matter production (TDMP) and yield attributes like number of fingers in D hand (9.89) during first year and number of fingers bunch-1 (67.71) during second year. L2 also improved quality attributes like TSS and total sugar during second year and reducing sugar and total P uptake during both the years. Pooled analysis indicated the superiority of precision land management practice on yield (28.3 t ha-1). Basal application of lime (C1) resulted in higher LAI, TDMP, number of fingers bunch-1 (67.78), number of fingers D hand-1 (11.08), D finger weight (163.26 g), bunch weight (11.27 kg) and total K uptake during second year. Quality parameters viz. TSS, and sugar acid ratio during first year and pulp peel ratio during second year were also more for C1. Basal application of lime significantly increased the second year yield (28.19 t ha-1) and pooled yield (28.96 t ha-1). Higher growth attributes viz. LAI and TDMP and NPK uptake were observed with N2 during first year and N3 during second year. However, N2 and N3 were on par with respect to N uptake during first year and P uptake during second year. Among yield attributes, weight of D finger (223.71 g) was more with N2 during first year and higher number of fingers bunch-1 was obtained with N2 (66.66) and N3 (68.19) during second year. Fertigation of 60 % RD of N & K significantly improved fruit quality. Pooled yield was higher with fertigation of 100 % and 140 % RD of N & K (28.68 t ha-1 and 27.63 t ha-1 respectively). All treatment combinations resulted in improved growth and yield over control 2. Precision land management and basal application of lime with fertigation of 60, 100 or 140 % RD of N & K recorded higher yield (30.38, 30.87 and 28.77 t ha-1 respectively). Fertigation treatments and adhoc recommendation resulted in yield improvement by 30.83 % and 21.61 % respectively over soil application. Precision land management practices and fertigation of 100 % RD of N & K significantly improved water use efficiency (WUE) and water productivity during the first year while fertigation of 100 % and 60 % RD of N & K recorded higher water productivity application during second year. Application of entire quantity of lime as basal enhanced WUE during both the years. Drip irrigation enhanced WUE and water productivity over basin irrigation. Compared to soil application of 100 % RD of N & K, fertigation with the same nutrient level resulted in higher nutrient use efficiency and agronomic efficiency. All treatment combinations recorded higher gross income, net income and B: C ratio when compared with controls. Among the combinations, precision land management with basal application of lime and fertigation with 60 % RD of N & K recorded higher B: C ratio (3.75). The second experiment on “Nutrient dynamic studies in banana” was carried out with the treatment combinations involving fertigation of 100 % RD of N&K (l1c1n2, l1c2n2, l2c1n2 and l2c2n2) of the first experiment along with controls. Observations on pH, organic carbon (OC), primary, secondary and micro nutrient status in both soil and plant were taken at bimonthly interval. Dynamics on soil pH duirng first year and NH4-N and S during both the years indicated an initial increase upto 4 MAP followed by a decline at 6 MAP and again a slight increase at harvest stage of the crop. However for pH during second year and K content during first year, a slight decrease was noticed towards the harvest stage. In general, an increasing trend in NO3-N content in the soil was observed from initial stage to harvest stage of the crop. An increasing trend in OC and P contents were also observed in the soil. In general, build up of Ca and Mg in the soil was noticed after two years of experimentation. Changes in soil pH and nutrient content under fertigation and soil application of fertilizers indicated that soil application resulted in higher pH during first year while fertigation enhanced pH during second year especially during grand growth phase (6 MAP). The OC content recorded varying response during both the years. Fertigation resulted in higher NO3-N content in soil throughout the growth stages except at 6 MAP during first year and 6 MAP and at harvest during second year. Soil application of fertilizers resulted in higher K content in the soil throughout the growth stages during first year while fertigation enhanced K availability during early crop growth stages during second year. Availability of Ca and Mg in the soil was more for fertigation compared to soil application of fertilizers especially during grand growth phase. Fertigation improved S availability only at 4 MAP and at harvest. Correlation study revealed significant and positive correlation of bunch weight with Mg content and N/K ratio in the soil during first year and N, K, Ca and Mg contents and N/P, Mg/P, Ca/Fe and Ca/Mn ratios during second year. Significant and positive correlation of bunch weight was also observed with K, Mn and B contents in the plant during first year and Ca and Cu contents and Ca/Fe and Ca/Mn ratios during second year. The results of the present study revealed that precision land management practice (deep ploughing to a depth of 50 cm, raised beds to a height of 30 cm, taking pits and planting) along with basal application of FYM, P (based on soil P status) and lime (based on soil pH) and fertigation of 60 % RD of N & K (urea @ 390 g plant-1 and MOP @ 450 g plant-1) is the best management practice to increase yield and profitability of Nendran banana. Fertigation can be given at weekly interval starting from the first month of planting. Soil nutrient dynamics was found to be influenced by rainfall pattern, growth stage of crop and nutrient interactions. In general, fertigation improved the nutrient availability over soil application.ThesisItem Open Access Tillage and nutrition for productivity enhancement in tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifolium"(L.) schott)(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Atul Jayapal; KAU; Kumari Swadija, OAn investigation entitled ‘Tillage and nutrition for productivity enhancement in tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott)’ was undertaken at College of Agriculture, Vellayani to identify ideal tillage system for productivity enhancement in tannia, to study the effect of soil conditioners and to compare the effects of integrated and organic nutrition on growth, yield and quality of tannia and to work out the economics of cultivation. The field experiments were conducted in the Instructional Farm attached to College of Agriculture, Vellayani from August 2014 to May 2015 and repeated during May 2015 to February 2016. The field experiment was laid out in split plot design with 24 treatment combinations and four replications. The main plot treatments consisted of four tillage systems (l1- conventional tillage followed by pit system, l2- conventional tillage followed by mound system, l3- deep tillage followed by pit system and l4- deep tillage followed by mound system) and sub plot treatments were combinations of two soil conditioners along with a control (s1- control, s2- coir pith @ 500 g plant-1 and s3- rice husk @ 500 g plant-1) and two nutrient management practices (n1- integrated nutrient management (INM) – FYM @ 25 t ha-1 + 80:50:150 kg NPK ha-1 and n2- organic nutrition- FYM @ 37.5 t ha-1 + wood ash @ 2 t ha-1).In the case of INM, half the quantity of FYM and full P were applied as basal dose and remaining FYM and full N and K were applied in three equal splits each at two, four and six months after planting along with interculture and earthing up. For organic nutrition, 2/3rd quantity of FYM was given as basal dose and remaining FYM and wood ash were given in three equal splits each at two, four and six months after planting along with interculture and earthing up. Dolomite @ 1 t ha-1 was applied uniformly to all plots at land preparation. Growth characters like plant height, leaf number plant-1and leaf area index were improved by deep tillage followed by pit system of planting. Application of coir pith as soil conditioner profoundly influenced growth characters. Organic nutrition was found superior to INM in improving growth characters. Yield components like cormel number plant-1, cormel and corm yield plant-1 and cormel: corm ratio were significantly higher due to deep tillage followed by pit system of planting. Application of coir pith as soil conditioner registered significantly higher values of yield components. Organic nutrition proved its superiority over INM in influencing the yield components. Cormel yield was found to be significantly and positively correlated with leaf area index at five months after planting, cormel number plant-1 and cormel : corm ratio. Significantly higher cormel yield (5.15 t ha-1) and corm yield (7.73 t ha-1) were obtained due to deep tillage followed by pit system. Deep tillage resulted in 24 per cent increase in yield over conventional tillage and pit system of planting registered 28 per cent increase in yield over mound system. Coirpith as soil conditioner resulted in higher cormel yield of 4.51 t ha-1 (11 per cent increase in yield over control) and corm yield of 6.99 t ha-1. Organic nutrition significantly improved cormel yield (4.52 t ha-1 which was 12 per cent higher than due to INM) and corm yield (7.07 t ha-1) compared to INM. Pooled analysis indicated that interaction of deep tillage followed by pit system with coir pith as soil conditioner and organic nutrition (l3s2n2) recorded the highest cormel yield (5.77 t ha-1) and the same treatment, but with rice husk as soil conditioner (l3s3n2) recorded the highest corm yield (8.3 t ha-1). Deep tillage followed by pit system, application of coir pith as soil conditioner and organic nutrition compared to INM recorded significantly higher dry matter production and harvest index. Quality characters of cormel like dry matter, starch and protein contents were improved due to deep tillage followed by pit system among tillage systems, application of coir pith as soil conditioner and organic nutrition compared to INM. In general, a shelf life of one month for cormel was observed without any microbial decay, sprouting and appreciable physiological loss in weight. Higher uptake of N, P and K were noticed due to deep tillage followed by pit system. Coir pith as soil conditioner proved its superiority in enhancing nutrient uptake. Uptake of nutrients was significantly higher under organic nutrition than under INM. Tillage systems, soil conditioners and organic nutrition profoundly influenced the physico-chemical properties of the soil after the experiment. Bulk density was lowered and porosity and water holding capacity were improved due to deep tillage, application of rice husk as soil conditioner and organic nutrition. Correlation study revealed significant and negative correlation of yield with bulk density and significant and positive correlation with porosity and water holding capacity of the soil. Organic nutrition resulted in significantly higher status of organic carbon and available N, P and K in the soil compared to INM. Significantly higher net income and benefit cost ratio could be realized due to deep tillage followed by pit system among tillage systems, application of coir pith as soil conditioner and organic nutrition compared to INM. Considering interaction effects, deep tillage followed by pit system without soil conditioner under organic nutrition (l3s1n2) registered higher net income and benefit cost ratio. It is evident from the present study that deep tillage to a depth of 30 cm followed by pit system of planting is ideal for productivity enhancement in tannia. Application of coir pith as soil conditioner and organic nutrition improved the growth, yield and quality of tannia.Deep tillage followed by pit system and organic nutrition (FYM @37.5 t ha-1 + wood ash @ 2 t ha-1) can be recommended for economic production of tannia. Wherever coir pith or rice husk is available at a cheaper rate, it can be applied as soil conditioner @ 500 g plant-1 for enhanced productivity of tannia.