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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: Aquaculture × Author: KAU × End date: 1992 × Start date: 1992 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Detritus of plant origin as a food source for Penaeus indicua H. Milne Edwards
    (Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Panangad, 1992) Unnikrishnan, R; KAU; Thampy, D M
    The objective of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of using plant detritus as an exclusive food source for the juvenile of Penaeus indicus and also to find out the level of its in corporation in a standard diet for the prawn in place of animal protein sources. When four plant detritus were simultaneously presented to p.indicus juvenile of size 25-32 mm and 110-150 mg, they exhibited best preference for detritus from Rhizophora apiculata, followed by chromolaena odorta, Pistia stratiotes and paddy detritus. Two better preferred plant detritus sources viz. R.apiculata and C.odorata, were subjected to bulk digestion and the improvement in protein level by way of microbial growth during the process of decay was recorded. Since C.odorata showed a better protein level (Max.av.25.716%) on the fifteenth day than R.apiculata (Max.av.7.528%) on the twentieth day, C.odorata detritus was used for the next two feeding experiments: the first to find whether it could be used as exclusive protein source and the second to find the level at which this could be used to replace animal protein source in a standard diet for P.indicus. The first feeding experiment, for a period of 28 days, to evaluate the feasibility of using plant detritus as sole protein source revealed that an exclusively detritus based diet is not suitable for P.indicus juveniles. The detritus based diet produced lower survival, growth, protein sufficiency ratio, protein digestability and high food conservation ratio when compared to that of control diet prepared with clam meal. The second experiment done with eight diets for a period of 21 days revealed that plant detritus could be used for substituting upto a level of 50% of the animal protein source in a standard prawn diet, without producing any adverse effect on growth and survival. While, a diet containing 10% plant detritus fared even better than a diet which was totally devoid of detrital protein. The growth, food conversation ratio, protein efficiency, apparent digestibility and protein digestibility values obtained for various diets did not vary significantly upto a stage where 50% of the animal protein was substituted with detrital protein, beyond which the values declined. The best values were obtained for the diet FD2 and the lowest for the diet FD8.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Protein requirement of the postlarvae and juveniles of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man)
    (Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Panangad, 1992) Sahadevan, P; KAU; Sebastian, M J
    Three sets of experiments were conducted with the postlarvae and juveniles of the giant freshwater prawn. Macrobrachiumrosenbergii (De Man). The first experiment was conducted to determine the quantitative protein requirement of the two life stages of the prawn using casein and amino acid based purified diets having graded levels (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%)of protein. Each experiment was conducted for 40 days and the effect of protein concentration on the survival, growth, food intake, food conversion efficiency, protein digestibility, nitrogen exeretion, nitrogen retension, body carcass composition, efficiency of protein utilization and oxygen – nitrogen ratio was studied. Among the different diets the one with 30% protein produced the best results in the postlarvae and juveniles of the prawn. Using second order polynomial regression analysis and differential calculus methods the protein requirement for maximum growth in the postlarvae and juveniles of the prawn was calculated as 34.5 and 28.5% respectively. In absolute terms these represent 787.9 and 529.0mg protein per 100g body weight of the prawn per day. The economic protein requirement of the postlarvae and juveniles was found to be 27.5 and 23.0% respectively. The maintenance protein requirement of the postlarvae and juveniles was determined to be 17.95 and 18.69mg protein per 100g body weight per day assuming an efficiency of utilization of protein very close to 100%. The metabolic faecal nitrogen excretion was found to be 198 and 151mg N per 100g body weight per day for the postlarvae and juveniles respectively. In the second set of experiments, short term (10 days each) studies were conducted to determine the efficiency of assimilation of certain locally available sources of protein by the postlarvae and juveniles of M. rosenbergii. These experiments were conducted also to help fix the levels of protein to be maintained in the third set of experiments. The protein sources evaluated were casein, prawn meat, clam meat, soybean, ground nut oil cake and black gram. The results of the study indicated that the apparent protein digestibility is not influenced by animal or plant origin of the ingredient. The third set of experiments was conducted to evaluate the effect of substitution of protein of animal origin with that of plant origin in the postlarvae and juveniles of M. rosenbergii. Each experiment was conducted for 40 days and on the basis of data on survival, growth, food intake, food conversion efficiency, protein digestibility, carcass composition, efficiency of protein utilization and oxygen – nitrogen ratio, substitution of 50 and 75% protein of animal origin with that of plant origin was found to result in no significant decline in the overall performance of the postlarvae and juveniles respectively of M. rosenbergii.