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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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20171
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Subject: Food Science and Technology × Author: KAU × End date: 2022 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Tech. ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development and performance evaluation of a blancher cum dryer for jackfruit
    (Department of Food and Agricultural process Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Anupama, B M; KAU; Sudheer, K P
    Jackfruit is an indigenous and underutilised tropical fruit rich in nutrients. It can be consumed as both fruit in the ripe and as vegetable in the unripe stage. Jackfruit is a seasonal crop as to ensure its year round availability, appropriate processing protocols are to be standardised to develop quality products. Dehydration is one of the most widely used preservative methods to increase the shelf life of the product. Steam blanching along with preservatives is essential step to accelerate the drying rate and to prevent quality deterioration. In the traditional jackfruit drying process protocol, separate drying and blanching were utilised which increased both the production and as well as occupied more plant space. In this scenario there is a great demand for the development of a blancher cum dryer for jackfruit. In the present study blancher cum dryer with a volume of 2.052 m3 and capacity was fabricated and evaluated at different loading rate. Blanching time of 7 min and preservatives (0.2% citric acid, 0.1% KMS and 0.5% turmeric powder) were standardised based on enzyme inactivation, texture and colour retention. Slices were dried in three different drying temperatures (60, 65 and 70°C) at various loadings (L1 (3.8), L2 (4.8) and L3 (5.8) kg/m2. Dehydrated slices were packed in LDPE 100 μm bags and kept for storage studies at ambient atmospheric condition for a period of ten months. Quality analysis viz., moisture content, water activity, TSS, pH, vitamin C, texture, colour and microbial analysis were carried out at every one month storage interval. At the end of storage period best quality and microbiologically safe samples were selected for the sensory evaluation. Based on the sensory qualities maximum overall score was obtained for L2T1 (loading capacity 23 kg at 60°C) combination and hence was selected. Developed machine was compared with the existing model in terms of loading capacity, power and time consumption, labour cost, fabrication cost and quality of the dehydrated samples. The overall cost for the development of blancher cum dryer was Rs.2,00,000/-. The total production cost of one kg dehydrated jackfruit slices in blancher cum dryer and existing model were Rs.172/- and 180/- respectively.