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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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Subject: Agronomy × Author: Rajanand Hiremath × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2018 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Productivity and soil health of rice based cropping systems under organic management
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2018) Rajanand Hiremath; KAU; Usha, K E
    The study entitled “Productivity and soil health of rice based cropping systems under organic management” was conducted in the Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2015-2017 to find out the suitable rice based cropping system under organic management. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Rice was grown under four different cropping systems for two consecutive years with and without foliar spray of liquid organic manures (LOMs). The rotations followed were rice-rice-njavara rice, rice-rice-salad cucumber, rice-rice- vegetable cowpea, rice-rice-amaranthus and rice-rice-fallow. The management practices were followed as per the Package of practices recommendations: (Ad hoc) for organic farming: Crops of the Kerala Agricultural University. Jeevamrurtham, Panchagavyam, green leaf extract and fish amino acid were the liquid organic manures sprayed at 15 days intervals after transplanting. The growth and yield parameters of all the crops were found to be better with the application of liquid organic manures. All the crops performed well in the second year due to the significant effect of crop diversification, residual effect of manures applied for the preceding crop and the improvement in soil health. There was significant reduction in the number of weeds, pests and diseases associated with rice due to crop rotation under organic management. Rice-rice-salad cucumber with and without LOMs produced significantly higher rice equivalent yield (29.58 and 24.67 t ha-1 respectively) and system productivity (81.03 and 67.58 kg ha-1 day-1 respectively) than rest of the sequences. Better sustainability yield index was recorded in rice-rice-vegetable cowpea with LOMs (0.26) followed by the same system without LOMs (0.20). With 300% cropping intensity, rice-rice-salad cucumber with and without LOMs recorded higher gross return (11,20,180/ 9,57,423 ₹ ha-1 respectively) and net return 237 (7,25,126/ 5,74,416 ₹ ha-1 respectively) compared to rice-rice-fallow with 200% cropping intensity (3,27,039 ₹ ha-1 gross return and 1,72,539 ₹ ha-1 net return). Among the sequences, the B:C ratio was found to be the highest in rice-rice-vegetable cowpea with and without LOMs (2.99 and 2.76 respectively). The soil characters were also significantly influenced by the treatments. The decreasing trend in bulk density is an indication of improvement in porosity and water holding capacity of the soil in the long run. Rice-rice-vegetable cowpea with LOMs recorded the highest organic carbon (1.46%), available N and P content (192.04 and 71.11 kg ha-1 respectively) while rice-rice-salad cucumber with LOMs had the highest available K content (332.78 kg ha-1). Total microbial biomass (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes) and dehydrogenase activity were found to be the highest with rice-rice- vegetable cowpea with and without LOMs followed by rice-rice-salad cucumber with and without LOMs. The highest soil health index was registered by rice-rice-vegetable cowpea with and without LOMs (3.34 and 3.00 respectively) followed by rice-rice- amaranthus. The study revealed that foliar application of liquid organic manures enhanced the soil health and productivity of rice as well as other crops grown in rotation. Rice-rice- salad cucumber was found to be the best rice based cropping system with maximum net return, whereas rice-rice-vegetable cowpea system improved the soil physical, chemical and biological properties and thus sustained the soil health.