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
Combined application of granular preparations of pre-emergent herbicides and fertilizers in rice
(Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1995) Bindu, N K; KAU; John, P S
A field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Mannuthy under the Kerala Agricultural University during the first crop season of 1994 to find out the effect of pre-emergent herbicides and fertilizers in rice. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design and consisted of fourteen treatments with three replications. Broadleaved weeds and sedges dominated the field. Among broadleaved weeds, Mono choria vaginalis and sphenocleazeylanica were predomint. Shoenoplectus lateriflorus and Cyperus difformis were the prominent sedges present in the field and Echinochloa colonum,saccolepis interrrupta and Isachne miliacea were the important grasses present. Butachlor, anilofos and oxyflourfen under different methods of application reduced the weed Population. Though oxyflourfen recorded high weed control efficiency, it was highly phytotoxic to the rice crop and resulted in poor crop stand. Butachlor and anilofos applied as homemade granular (GP) preparation or as spray alone, or in combination with fertilizer was safe to the crop. The available nutrient in the soil was not affected by the different methods of application of butachlor and anilofos, alone or when combined with fertilizer. Butachlor and anilofos as spray or as GP applied alone, or in combination with fertilizer recorded similar crop growth characteristics, yield and yield attributes. Nutrient up taken by weeds was lower in butachlor and anilofos treatment. Lower weed index values were recorded in butachlor and anilofos treatment. The highest return per rupee was obtained from anilofos treatments. The highest return per rupees was obtained from anilofos treatments. In general, combined application of anilofos or butachlor GP with fertilizer gave efficient control of weed, produced higher grain yields and high return per rupee invested. It also reduced cost, energy and time of weed control operation.
Open Access
Standardisation of fertilizer schedule for export oriented production of bhindi
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Sajitharani, T; KAU; Pushpakumari, R
An experiment was conducted at the instructional farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani to find out the effect of different levels of fertilizers and their split application on the growth, yield, quality and nutrient uptake of bhindi. Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench. The treatments consisted of four levels of nutrients Viz. (330: 110: 220 kg N2 P2O5 & K2O), the present T & V recommendation, 2/3 of the T & V recommendation, 1/3 of the T & V recommendation and 50: 8: 30 kg NP2O5 & K2O per hectare the present package of practices recommendation and 3 methods of application viz. nutrients in 2 splits, 4 splits and 6 splits. The results revealed that nutrient levels significantly influenced most of the growth and yield contributing characters and yield of bhindi. Biometric characters like plant height, LAI, CGR, DMP and yield contributing characters like days to 50 percent flowering, number of flowers formed, number of fruits formed total yield of fruits and quality parameters like protein content and ascorbic acid content increased with increasing levels of nutrients, recording their maximum value at F1 level, (T and V recommendation). Uptake of nutrients by plants, fruits and total was also maximum for the same treatment. However yield attributes viz. setting percentage, length and girth of fruits etc. remain unchanged with increasing levels of nutrients. Application of fertilizer nutrients in different splits viz. 2,4 or 6 cause significant variation in some of the growth and yield characters. An increase in the plant height at 60 DAS, DMP, days taken for 50 percent flowering and uptake of nutrients was noticed when nutrients were supplied in two equal splits, viz half as basal and half 30 DAS (S1). On the other hand the ascorbic acid content in fruits was maximum when nutrients were applied in six splits. Application of nutrients in 6 splits caused a significant reduction in the crude fibre content also. From the economic point of view, the maximum net profit of Rs.13682.54 was obtained by F3 level (2/3 of T and V recommendation) and Rs.14710.8 by S1 (2 equal splits half as basal and half 30 DAS).
Open Access
Time of application of pre-emergence herbicides in dry-sown rice
(Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1989) Suja, G; KAU; Abraham, C T
Open Access
Spatial arrangement and nutrient management for maize- fodder cowpea intercropping in rice fallows
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture Vellayani, Trivandrum, 1989) Geetha Kumari, S; KAU; Mohamed Kunju, U
An investigation was carried out during the summer season of l987-88 in the instructional farm attached to the College of Agriculture Vellayani to determine the best crop arrangement for a grain maize fodder cowpea inter cropping in summer rice fallows under different fertility levels • The different crop arrangements. tried were pure crop of maize at normal row arrangement, maize at normal row arrangement, + one, row of cowpea in between the maize pure crop of maize at paired row arrangement two rows of cowpea in the interpair spaces maize at paired rows of cowpea.
Open Access
Investigation on allelopathic influence and control of purple nuts edge
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1999) Ameena, M; KAU; Sansamma, George
Lab and field experiments were conducted at the Instructional farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani to study the allelopathic influence of Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotund us L) on important field crops; to investigate the effectiveness of systemic herbicides for control of nutsedge and also to assess the effect of chemical weed control on growth and yield of subsequent field crops. In Ex. no. I, allelopathic influence of purple nutsedge on important field crops like rice, ragi, cowpea, green gram, bitter gourd and bhindi were studied. The treatments comprised of aqueous extracts and blended extracts of fresh and dry plant parts of nutsedge. The results revealed that aqueous extracts of nutsedge inhibited germination of rice, ragi, bitter gourd and bhindi while it had some stimulatory effect on germination of cowpea and green gram. The early growth characters of the field crops were found suppressed by the aqueous extract treatment while the blended extract showed no effect. In general, the dry plant parts showed greater effect than the fresh material. Under Ex.no.Il, field studies were made to investigate the effectiveness of systemic herbicides viz. Glyphosate and 2,4-D for control of nutsedge. The treatments included different doses of the herbicides with and without adjuvants and Glyphosate combined with sublethal dose of 2,4-D. The results revealed that lowest dose of the herbicides were sufficient for complete kill of the purple nutsedge plants in the experimental area and there was no regrowth upto 6 weeks. There was significant reduction in viability of tubers collected one month after herbicide application, but the tubers tested 45 days after spraying showed an increase in germinability over the record on 30th day. Tubers from treatments involving Glyphosate with sublethal dose of 2,4-D recorded the lowest sprouting percentage indicating the possibility for weed control for a longer period. In Ex. no. In, the persistence of the herbicides in soil were monitored and it was observed that early growth of cucumber sown on the same day of herbicide application was affected while that sown on soils collected 10 days after spraying recorded growth characters comparable to that of control. From Ex.no.IV, it could be inferred that chemical weed control did not show any deleterious effect on growth and yield characteristics of ragi and cucumber sown 15 days after the treatments. Application of 2,4-D for nutsedge control was found superior to other treatments in terms of net income and B:C ratio and the lower unit cost of the chemical was precisely the reason for its superiority.
Open Access
Economising nitrogen in rice production with sesbania rostrata
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1992) Shalinipillai, P; KAU; Muraleedharannair, V
With a view to assessing the influence of in situ growing and incorporation of Sesbania rostrata on the growth and productivity of rice and to study the economy of nitrogen use by rice, a field experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the period from July 1991 to December 1991. The experiment was laid out in Randomised Block Design with three replications. Three levels of Rhizobium inoculation for Sesbania rostrata (i1-seed inoculation, i2 - stem inoculation, i3 – seed + stem inoculation), five levels of nitrogen to succeeding crop of rice raised after incorporation of Sesbania rostrata (n0 – no nitrogen, n1 – 25 percent of the recommended dose, n2 – 50 percent of the recommended dose, n3 – 75 percent recommended dose, n4 – 100 percent recommended dose) and one control plot of rice (treated as per KAU package of practices recommendations) were fixed as treatments. The rice variety used was Jyothi. The soil of the experimental site was sandy clay loam, medium in available nitrogen and phosphorus and low in available potassium. An abstract of the results is given below. Among the three different levels of inoculation, seed + stem inoculation was found to influence, the green matter and dry matter yields of Sesbania rostrata positively, though not significantly. The number and dry weight of root nodules and shoot nodules, nitrogen uptake, phosphorus uptake, potassium uptake, calcium uptake and magnesium uptake were not found to be influenced significantly by the different inoculation levels. From these results, it can be concluded that, the easiest method of inoculation viz. seed inoculation is sufficient for satisfactory growth and nitrogen fixation by Sesbania rostrata. The present study also revealed that the growth and nodulation of Sesbania rostrata is not satisfactory under conditions of continuous submergence, as that prevailed during the cropping period of the present experiment. Rhizobium being an aerobic bacteria might have got inhibited under the anaerobic conditions created by continuous water logging. Furthermore, the acidic condition of the soil of the experimental site might have also inhibited the activity of Rhizobium. Thus it shows that liming is absolutely necessary for the satisfactory growth of Sesbania rostrata in acid soils. Among the different treatments tried, though the control (KAU package of practices recommendations) gave the maximum yield, it was on par with the treatment comprising 50 percent of the recommended dose of nitrogen along with Sesbania rostrata incorporation. This shows that there is considerable scope for economising nitrogen by the substitution of chemical nitrogen applied to rice by Sesbania rostrata.
Open Access
Root Distribution patterns of Banana and Colocasia in Coconut Gardens
(Department of Agronomy, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1994) Suja Eapen, KAU; Abdul Salam, M
An investigation was undertaken at the College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 1993-94 to study the root disribution patterns of banana and colocassia in coconut gardens. The experiments were aimed to study the root distribution patterns of banana var. Palayankodan growth in the open and in the coconut garden under rainfed and irrigated conditions. It was also aimed to study the variation in the root distribution patterns of colocasia var. Cheuchempu grown in the coconut garden and in the open. A 32p plant injection technique and a direct profile excavation technique were employed to study the root distribution patterns. The salient results of the investigation are abstracted below. BANANA Root production of banana grown in the open was considerably more compared to that grown in coconut garden. Rainfed banana produced more roots compared to irrigated banana. The root distribution patterns of banana vary with growing condition. In the coconut garden, the root system of rainfed banana was spreading and that of irrigated banana was compact. When grown in the open condition, the root system of rainfed banana was compact and that of irrigated banana was spreading. The active root zones of rainfed banana grown in the open, irrigated banana grown in the open, rainfed banana grown in the coconut garden and irrigated banana grown in the coconut garden were the root zones comprising L0-60 D0-60, L0-60 D0-80, L0-80 D0-60 and L0-60 D0-60 respectively. COLOCASIA Root production of colocasia was more with the plants grown in the open compared to that grown in the coconut garden. Root distribution patterns of colocasia differ between the plants grown in the coconut garden and in the open. The root system of colocasia grown in the coconut garden is deep compact and that of the plants grown in the open is deep spreading. The active root zone of colocasia in the open and in the coconut garden are the root zones comprising L0-20 D0-40 and L0-10 D0-40 respectively. 32P plant injection technique is an efficient method for root system studies in both banana and colocasia.
Open Access
Resmi S
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Muraleedharan V
With a view to assess the role of Azospirillum on growth and productivity of rice as ameans of economising fertilizer nitrogen application, a field experiment was conducted at the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the period from June 1992 to September 1992. The variety used as Red Triveni. The experiment was laid out as 4x3x2+1 factorial experiment in randomised block design with two replications. The treatments includes four methods of inoculation of Azospirillum (seed, seedling root dip, soil and combined inoculation), three levels of nitrogen (50, 75 and 100 per cent recommended dose of nitrogen) and two levels of lime (without and with lime) along with a control (KAU Package of Practices). An abstract of the results is given below. Among the different methods of Azospirillum inoculation, combined application influenced almost all the growth characters significantly. Application of 100 per cent recommended dose of nitrogen and lime application also influenced the growth characters significantly. Among the yield attributes, productive tillers per square metre, and panicle weight were significantly influenced by various treatments. The combined application of Azospirillum recorded the highest grain yield. Similarly 75 per cent recommended dose of nitrogen and liming also recorded higher grain yields. A significant change in harvest index was also observed due to various treatments. Uptake of nutrients was significantly influenced by all the treatments. Among the inoculation methods, combined method of inoculation recorded the maximum uptake. Similarly highest level of nitrogen and lime application showed the highest uptake of nutrients. Combined method of inoculation, highest level of nitrogen and lime application recorded the highest value of protein content. Economic analysis of data revealed that combined application of Azospirillum plus 75 per cent nitrogen plus lime produced a net income which is comparable with the highest net income produced by combined application of Azospirillum plus 100 per cent nitrogen plus lime. When compared to control the net income produced by these treatments are higher, indicating the superiority of the above treatments. Thus it is seen that we can save atleast 25 per cent of the fertilizer nitrogen by incorporating the Azospirillum through combined application.
Open Access
Evaluation of low cost techniques in potted vegetables grown in roof gardens
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Roshni, C C; KAU; Geethakumari, V L
A pot culture study was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani to evaluate the lowcost techniques in potted vegetables and to compare the efficiency of various techniques for economising water use in vegetables. The experiment was conducted with chilli cultivar ‘Jwalasakhi’ as test crops. The treatments included three levels of irrigation (I3-60, I2-80 and I1-100 per cent field capacity), two methods of irrigation (M1- indigenous auto irrigator using hospital drip and M2-pot watering) and three moisture conservation methods (c0-control without any conservation, C1-application of coir pith and c2-application of Jalasakhti). One absolute control viz., wick irrigation was compared with other treatments. Potting mixture prepared by mixing sand, soil and cowdung in 1:1:1 proportion by weight was used as the rooting medium. The medium was low in available nitrogen, high in available phosphorus and low in available potassium. The field capacity and permanent wilting point were 18.4 and 7.4 per cent respectively. The experiment was laid out in completely randomised design with six replications. The results of the investigation are summarised below. Plant height, branches, LAI at harvest, DMP, S: R ratio and root dry weight at different growth stages differed significantly with methods, levels of irrigation and conservation methods. All these parameters were better under wick irrigation, 100 per cent FC and coir pith mulching. Whereas drip irrigation recorded maximum LAI at initial stages and tap root length. All yield parameters like number of flowers plant-1, fruit plant -1, fruit girth, fruit volume and hundred fruit weight were better under wick irrigation followed by drip irrigation. Among the moisture regimes 100 per cent FC registered better values for all the yield attributes. Coir pith mulching top seeded with respect to these characters. Maximum yield was obtained for wick irrigation, 100 percent FC and coir pith mulching. With respect to WUE, coir pith mulching followed the same pattern as yield. Whereas drip irrigation recorded maximum WUE and 80 per cent FC resulted in higher WUE compared to the other two irrigation regimes. Uptake of N, P and K were maximum in wick irrigation and coir pith mulching. N and K uptake were maximum at 100 per cent FC, but P uptake was high at 80 per cent FC. Under all levels of irrigation, maximum yield and WUE were obtained by drip irrigation and coir pith mulching. Coir pith mulching revealed its superiority under both methods of irrigation with respect to yield and WUE. Maximum yield was obtained at drip irrigation at 100 per cent FC with coir pith mulching while maximum WUE was obtained at drip irrigation at 80 per cent FC with coir pith mulching. Maximum profit was realised by drip irrigation at 100 per cent FC with coir pith mulching. With drip irrigation and coir pith mulching 20 per cent water can be saved without much reduction in yield.

Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

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