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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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20193
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Subject: Floriculture and Landscaping × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2019 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Evaluvation of China aster [Callistephus chinensis (L.) Nees.] for cultivation in tropical plains
    (Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Alfin, Santhosh; KAU; Anupama, T V
    China aster [Callistephus chinenesis (L.) Nees.] is one of the most important annual flower crops grown in India for cut flower as well as loose flower purposes. It ranks third next to chrysanthemum and marigold among the annual flowers and has gained popularity due to ease of cultivation, diversity of colours and good vase life. It is also used for bedding purpose in landscapes and as pot plants. In Kerala, the demand for annual flower crops is on the rise, however the cultivation is limited. China aster due to its hardy nature can be grown as a pure crop as well as intercrop in coconut gardens. The investigation entitled ‘Evaluation of China aster [Callistephus chinenesis (L.) Nees.] for cultivation in tropical plains’ was conducted at the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping during 2018-2019 with an objective to evaluate the performance of China aster for cultivation in tropical plains. Ten varieties of China aster viz. Arka Kamini, Arka Shashank, Arka Archana, Phule Ganesh White, Phule Ganesh Violet, Phule Ganesh Pink, Phule Ganesh Purple, AAC-1, Local Pink and Mat White were evaluated for vegetative, floral and post harvest characters. The varieties showed significant variation for vegetative characters. In all the varieties, leaf dentation was present and leaf shape was ovate for all varieties except Arka Shashank which had linear leaf shape. Stem colouration and leaf mid rib colouration were absent in varieties such as Arka Shashank, Arka Archana, Phule Ganesh White and Mat White and the rest of the six varieties showed the presence of purplish stem and mid rib colouration. The variety Phule Ganesh Pink was superior in plant height (68.86 cm) at 3 months after planting. The characters like plant spread (50.08 cm), number of leaves (56.48), number of primary branches (14.25) and stem girth (11.09 cm) were also highest in variety Phule Ganesh Pink. Leaf area was the highest in variety Phule Ganesh White (34.31 cm2). The variety Mat White was significantly inferior for all the vegetative characters observed. Floral characters showed significant variation among the varieties. Powderpuff flower type was observed in Arka Shashank and all the other varieties had semi-double type flower. Days to bud initiation was minimum in variety Arka Shashank (44.40 days) and maximum in Phule Ganesh White (73.67 days). The same trend was observed for days to complete flower opening and days to 50 per cent flowering. The variety Local Pink had the highest duration of flowering (62.40 days) and variety Mat White (45.20 days) had the lowest duration of flowering. The variety Arka Shashank produced highest number of flowers per plant (20.20). The flower stalk length (21.13 cm), flower weight (6.94 g) and flower diameter (7.07 cm) were the highest in the variety Phule Ganesh Pink. The variety Phule Ganesh White was superior in terms of number of disc florets per head (251.00) whereas Phule Ganesh Pink had the highest number of ray florets per head (201.20). The flower yield per plant was highest in variety Phule Ganesh Pink (55.99 g). The variety Phule Ganesh White recorded the highest seed yield per flower (1.27 g) and seed germination (65.27 %). Longest shelf life was observed in variety Phule Ganesh Pink (3.67 days) which was on par with Phule Ganesh White (3.33 days) and physiological loss of weight was recorded highest in Phule Ganesh White (35.70 %). The variety Phule Ganesh Pink had the longest vase life (13.93 days) and total water uptake was also maximum in variety Phule Ganesh Pink (20.27 ml). Anthocyanin content of flowers was recorded highest in the variety Phule Ganesh Violet (51.87 mg/g) followed by Arka Kamini (48.62 mg/g). Dendrogram based on D2 statistics considering qualitative and quantitative characters indicated that high amount of variability is present among the varieties. Correlation and path analysis revealed that the characters such as number of primary branches (0.978), plant spread (0.894), leaf area (0.796) and flower weight (0.933) were having significant positive correlation with flower yield per plant with a direct effect of 0.150, 0.199, 0.281 and 0.498 respectively. Ranking of varieties was done individually for loose flower and cut flower types. In ranking for loose flower types, variety Phule Ganesh Pink scored first position which was followed by Phule Ganesh White and Local Pink. When varieties were ranked for cut flower types, first position was scored by Phule Ganesh Pink while second position was shared by Phule Ganesh White, Phule Ganesh Purple and Local Pink. In overall ranking the variety Phule Ganesh Pink occupied first position followed by Phule Ganesh White and Local Pink and these can be recommended for commercial cultivation in tropical plains of Kerala during winter season.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Standardization of growing media and growth regulators for rose (Rosa ssp.) under top ventilated rain shelter
    (Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Sijo, John; KAU; Mini, Sankar
    Rose is acclaimed as ‘Queen of flowers’ because of its colour, fragrance and elegance. Cut roses are having very high demand in domestic as well as international market due to versatile uses. Roses can be successfully cultivated under top ventilated rain shelters in Kerala. Soilless media consist of vermiculite, perlite, and rockwool are popularly used for commercial production of rose under protected condition. These are costly and not easily available to farmers. Thus, there is a need to develop a cost effective growing media with locally available materials. Exogenous application of plant growth regulators improves the yield and quality of cut flowers by manipulating hormonal regulations in the plant system. Even though commercial formulations of different growth regulators are available in the market, the type and precise concentration of growth regulators are to be standardised. Hence the present study entitled “Standardization of growing media and growth regulators for rose (Rosa spp.) under top ventilated rain shelter” was carried out in the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2018-2019. Objective of the study was to standardize growing media and growth regulators for commercial production of cut roses in agroclimatic conditions of Kerala. The experiment consisted of twelve treatments, which included different combinations of three growing media viz; soil + M-sand + cocopeat + FYM (M1), soil + M-sand + cocopeat + vermicompost (M2) and soil + M-sand + cocopeat + poultry manure (M3) in 2:1:1:1 ratio and two levels each of two growth regulators viz; Benzyl adenine (BA) and Gibberellic acid (GA) at 200 and 250 ppm. Six months old grafts of rose variety ‘Tajmahal’ was used for the study. Observations on growth characters, yield, post harvest aspects as well as nutrient status of the growing media were recorded. With regard to vegetative characters, growing media, growth regulators and interaction between growing media and growth regulators had significant influence during the period of observation. Growing media containing FYM (M1) recorded the greatest plant height and was on par with growing media containing vermicompost (M2). Among growth regulators, GA 250 ppm was found to be superior in terms of plant height. With respect to interaction effect, greatest plant height was observed under the media containing FYM (M1) and GA at 250 ppm. Plant spread was highest under medium containing FYM (M1). Growth regulators had significant influence on plant spread and BA at 200 and 250 ppm were superior and on par in terms of this parameter. Regarding interaction, growing media containing FYM (M1) along with 200 ppm BA was observed to have the highest plant spread during the growth period. Media containing FYM (M1) as well as vermicompost (M2) were found to produce more number of branches and among growth regulators, BA at 200 and 250 ppm were on par and superior with respect to this parameter. Regarding interaction effect, highest number of branches was observed under growing media containing FYM (M1) and BA at 200 ppm. Significant effects of growing media could be observed on floral characters and media containing FYM (M1) was found to be superior with respect to floral characters viz; length of flower bud (3.37 cm), diameter of flower bud (2.16 cm), number of flowers /plant (5.04), number of petals/ flower (51.92), stalk length (47.94 cm) and flower diameter at fully opened stage (8.44 cm). Growing media containing FYM (M1) and growing media containing vermicompost (M2) were on par in terms of other floral characters viz; length of flower shoot, neck girth and stalk girth of flower. With respect to the influence of growth regulators on floral characters, a greater number of flowers/plant (5.38 and 5.10) as well as largest flowers at fully opened stage (8.33 and 7.99 cm) were observed under BA at 200 and 250 ppm. Stalk length of the flower was found to be maximum under GA at 200 ppm (47.92 cm). Highest length of flower shoot was observed in GA at 200 ppm and BA at 200 ppm which were on par with each other (38.79 and 36.94 cm respectively). Growing media and growth regulator interaction had significant influence on floral parameters viz; stalk length and number of petals per flower. Media containing FYM (M1) with GA 200 as well as 250 ppm were found to have maximum stalk length (52.48 and 50.09 cm respectively). Highest number of petals were observed under media containing FYM (M1) along with BA 200 and 250 ppm, media containing FYM (M1) along with GA 200 and 250 ppm, media containing vermicompost (M2) along with BA 200 ppm and GA 200 ppm as well as media containing poultry manure (M3) along with BA 200 ppm. Early initiation of flower bud was observed under media containing FYM (M1) along with BA 250 ppm (119.22 days). Regarding post harvest characters, media containing FYM (M1) was superior in terms of fresh weight of flower (16.36 g), total water uptake (49.48 ml) and vase life (8.46 days). Among growth regulators BA 200 ppm had longest vase life which was on par with GA at 200 ppm. Maximum fresh weight was observed under BA 200 ppm (15.17g). With regard to interaction effect, treatment combination of FYM + BA at 200 was found to have maximum vase life and fresh weight of flower (9.38 days and 18.71g respectively). Considering overall performance, growing media combination of soil + M-sand + cocopeat + FYM (2:1:1:1) along with monthly application of BA at 200 ppm can be recommended for commercial cultivation of rose under protected condition in Kerala.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Response of Ascocenda orchid to growth regulator and micronutrients
    (Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Jesabel George; KAU; Shobhana, A
    A study entitled ‘Response of Ascocenda orchid to growth regulator and micronutrients’ was carried out at Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture Vellanikkara, from May 2018 to May 2019. Ascocenda is a monopodial, epiphytic, bigeneric hybrid, which is mainly grown as pot plant in hanging baskets using bricks, charcoal, coconut husk pieces etc. as growing media. The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of foliar application of different micronutrient treatments on growth and yield of Ascocenda orchid. The experiment was conducted with eleven treatments viz., 0.01% zinc + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T1), 0.025% zinc + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T2), 0.01% manganese + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T3), 0.025% manganese + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T4), 0.01% boron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T5), 0.025% boron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T6), 0.01% iron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T7), 0.025% iron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T8), 0.01% molybdenum + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T9), 0.025% molybdenum + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T10), 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T11 – control). Three month old tissue cultured plants of Ascocenda var. Big Suksamran were used for the study. The micronutrients were applied at fortnightly intervals and benzyl adenine was applied at monthly intervals. Application of NPK (3:1:1) weekly twice @ 0.2% and cow dung slurry (1:5) at monthly intervals was given to all treatments as per PoP recommendation of KAU. Observations were taken at monthly intervals. The results indicated that foliar application of 0.025% manganese along with 150 ppm BA and recommended dose of NPK (T4) was best for improving plant height. The maximum plant height obtained at 12MAP was 8.86 cm. This was followed by T5 (8.81 cm) and T3 (8.63 cm) which were statistically on par with T4. The maximum shoot diameter was observed in T5 (10.20 mm) at 12 MAP which was on par with T4 and T3 (9.96 mm and 9.84 mm respectively). The treatment T3 was superior in terms of leaf characters like leaf length and leaf area up to 7 MAP and thereafter these parameters were highest in treatment T5. However, there was no significant difference between T5 and T3 in terms of leaf length at 12 MAP (16.70 cm and 16.48 cm respectively). The highest leaf area at 12 MAP was observed in T5 (23.17 cm2) followed by T3 (22.73 cm2). Number of leaves and leaf breadth were found highest with the application of 0.01% boron along with 150 ppm BA and recommended dose of NPK. A maximum of 13.69 leaves were observed in T5 at 12MAP. The maximum leaf breadth observed in T5 after 12 months of planting was 1.52 cm, which was closely followed by T3 and T4 (1.51 cm each), and no significant difference between these three treatments could be noticed. Regarding interval of leaf production, only 4 treatments (T3, T4, T5, and T11) could produce the highest number of eight leaves, within a period of 386 days. Among these, T4 took the shortest period of 337.45 days to produce the 8th leaf. T10 produced only five leaves within a period of 386 days. Among the root parameters, highest root length was observed in T3 (0.01% manganese + POP + 150 ppm BA) at 12 MAP (26.59 cm) whereas the treatment T4 (0.025% Mn + PoP + 150 ppm BA) was superior in terms of number of roots and root diameter. The best treatment with respect to number of roots varied during initial months, even though, from 6 MAP onwards, highest number of roots was observed in T4 with a value of 10.28 at 12 MAP. In the case of root diameter, a highest of 2.91 mm was recorded in T4 at 12 MAP, which was on par with T8 (2.86 mm), T3 (2.84 mm) and T5 (2.82 mm). Among the eleven treatments, T3 (Mn 0.01% + PoP + 150ppm BA), T4 (Mn 0.025% + PoP + 150ppm BA), and T5 (B 0.01% + PoP + 150ppm BA)were found to be best for improving the vegetative characters of Ascocenda orchid, while application of Mo @ 0.025% (T10) at fortnightly intervals was inhibitory to the plants in terms of all the vegetative characters studied. The objective of studying the floral and postharvest characters could not be achieved since the plant did not bloom within the period of study.