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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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2010 - 20163
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Subject: Forest Product and Utilisation × End date: 2016 × Start date: 2010 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Functional diversity of an evergreen forest ecosystem of Vazhachal forest division, Kerala
    (Department of Forest Management and Utilisation, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2016) Deepakkumar, R; KAU; Gopakumar, S
    The present study was carried out at Sholayar forest range of Vazhachal forest division of Thrissur district, Kerala state. The main objective of the study was to enumerate the species and functional diversity of selected aboveground and belowground biological components of this forest ecosystem. The study also aimed to understand the links between diversity, soil aspects, and functioning of the tropical west coast wet evergreen forest ecosystem. Five 0.1 ha (31.62 m x 31.62 m) sample plots were randomly laid in the selected grids in the Vazhachal forests as per the guidelines of National Working Plan Code 2014. A total of 175 plant species (<10 cm GBH) were recorded from the 0.5 ha (0.1 x 5 nos.) area in which 57 recruits, 29 shrubs, 28 herbs, 19 climbers, 14 pteridophytes, 13 polypores, 7 epiphytes, 4 orchids and 4 bryophytes. Palaquium ellipticum, Cullenia exarillata and Mesua ferrea are well represented young recruits. In addition, Dendrocnide sinuata, Psychotria nudiflora and Strobilanthus species were observed as dominant in the shrubby layer. Curcuma neilgherrensis, Pellionia heyneana and Oplismenus compositus are some of the herbs found in the herbaceous layer. Coscinium fenestratum, Leea indica, and Calamus species are the some of the important climbers found in the sampled sites. A total of 84 tree species were recorded from the 0.5 ha area with 1093 individuals per hectare and basal area of 85.43m2. Aglaia barberi, Cullenia exarillata, Mesua ferrea and Palaquium ellipticum were the dominated in the top canopy. Dipterocarpus indicus, Hydnocarpus pentandra and Myristica beddomei were observed in the middle storey. Garcinia wightii, Spondias pinnata and Strychnos nux-vomica were occupied in the lower canopy. Euphorbiaceae, Clusiaceae and Meliaceae were the dominant tree families. The diameter frequency as well as height frequency distribution of the sampled sites showed the reverse J shaped curve which reflects the healthy population structure. Margalef richness index (28.31), Shannon-Wieners index (4.08), Simpson index (0.9808) and Pielou`s index (0.6587). Rényi’s diversity profile and Principal Component analysis shows that there is smaller variation across sampled sites. The dominating plant functional traits are evergreen plant type (70.2%), simple leaf type (72.6%), glabrous textured leaf type (78.57%), smooth textured bark type (47.2%), medium thick bark type (53.5%), capsule fruit type (32.1%) and zoochory type (55.95%) of fruit dispersal which are typical of a tropical evergreen forest ecosystem. A total of 870 individuals of soil invertebrates under 28 different order were obtained from the 0.5 ha area. Isoptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera emerged as the dominant orders. Shannon- Wiener Index (2.40), Simpson Index of diversity (0.14) and Pielou's evenness Index (0.51) are soil invertebrates’ diversity. The population of Bacteria (44.4 x 106 cfu g-1), Fungi (26.3 x 103 cfu g-1), Fluorescent pseudomonads (18.3 x104 cfu g-1), Nitrogen fixers (14.4 x 104 cfu g-1), Actinomycetes (16.4 x 104 cfu g-1) and Phosphate solubilizers (20 x 103 cfu g-1). Soil temperature (19.82˚C), Bulk density (1.28g cm-3), Moisture content (29.06%), Sandy loam soil (Sand- 78.15%, Silt- 16.04% and Clay- 5.82%), Organic carbon (4.19%), Soil acidity (5.25) and Soil electrical conductivity (0.07mSm-1) are recorded during the study.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Diversity and distribution of polypores in the wet evergreen and shola forests of silent valley national park, Kerala
    (Department of Forest Management and Utilisation, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2015) Adarsh, C K; KAU; Vidyasagaran, K
    The study was carried out with the objectives to assess the diversity and distribution of polypores in the wet evergreen and shola forests in Silent Valley National Park during three different seasons during 2014-15. An attempt has also been made to find out the effect of substrate features like diameter, type and decay class on the diversity and abundance of polypores. Three fixed size permanent sample plots of 100 m×100 m with subplots of 10 x 10 m were established in three different locations in each ecosystem and these sample plots were enumerated during three different seasons to collect information on influence of seasonal fluctuation in fruitbody production and details on substrate characteristics. Apart from the plot based sampling, opportunistic sampling method was also adopted to maximize the documentation of polypore fungal diversity and distribution. A total of fifty seven species were recorded from the National Park and among this Inonotus pachyphloeus, Phylloporia pectinata, Trametes menziesii, Trametes ochracea and Trametes pubescens were the first report from Kerala. Three species (Inonotus sp. nov., Microporus sp. nov. and Polypores sp. nov.) were found to be new to science and these species have been described based on the macro and micro-morphology. The wet evergreen forest showed relatively high polypore diversity and richness than that of shola forest with higher Simpson’s index of diversity (0.92) and Margalef richness index (3.15). Similarity between polypore communities in two ecosystems was found to be low during all the seasons. The peak fruitbody production of the polypores was observed during the monsoon. The altitudinal variation analysis of polypores revealed a monotonic decrease pattern in species richness from lower altitude wet evergreen forests to higher altitude shola forests. The density of many of the polypore species was also found decrease drastically along the altitudinal gradient. The degree of dominance and evenness also showed a trend of increase and decrease respectively, along the altitudinal gradient. Polypore-host association revealed that, of the 91 tree species under 32 families, 29 tree species (31.87 %) belonging 16 families were hosts to polypores.Among them, Mesua ferrea harboured maximum polypores belonging 13 species followed by Elaeocarpus tuberculatus with 12 species and Cullenia exarillata with 8 species. Most of the polypore were found to be host generalist and only five species showed possible preference for a particular tree species. Among the substrate types, maximum polypore occurrence was observed on logs followed by branch/twig and snag while, living trees supported only very few polypores. The maximum species richness, density and occurrence has been recorded on substrates under 31- < 40 cm diameter class followed by 21- < 30 cm and 11- < 20 cm. Decay class association of polypores showed that the intermediate decay stages harboured the maximum both in terms of number of species, density and frequency of occurrence. The conceptual framework on primary ecological strategy revealed that polypores exhibits ruderal, combative and stress tolerant behaviours. The present study concluded that the diversity and distribution of polypores are determined by seasonal fluctuations, arborescent floral diversity and substrate features.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of pre-sowing treatments on germination and growth of seedlings of calamus spp.
    (Department of Forest Management and Utilisation, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2010) Jisha, E D; KAU; Vidyasagaran, K
    The present study entitled “Effect of pre-sowing treatments on germination and growth of seedlings of Calamus spp.” was carried out on four Calamus species namely, Calamus thwaitesii, C. metzianus, C. hookerianus, and C. travancoricus in the tree nursery of College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, during 2007 – 2009. In the first phase, seeds of four Calamus spp. were subjected to 10 different pre-treatment methods. Most of the treatments gave better performance than the control in all the Calamus spp. under study. Treatment with GA3 and cold water gave a relatively higher germination percentage in all the species except C. travancoricus. Hot water treatment and scarification with sand and ash were found promising in all the species. Seeds sown without any treatment returned poor germination in all the species. In the second phase, the growth and biomass production of the four species were studied for the first six months in the nursery. The first leaf emerged from the prophyl within one week after germination in all the species. In the initial rosette stage of seedling growth, it was found that the total length of first leaf equalled the height of seedlings. The collar diameter of the seedlings was found to show significant increase with every fortnight’s period, in all the Calamus spp. under study. Shoot-root length ratio showed decreasing trend because, the shoot length is constant in the initial months, but root length was increasing. In case of biomass production, all the Calamus spp. showed an increasing trend in the biomass production in terms of fresh and dry weight. During the study period of six months, the contribution of shoot weight to the total biomass of seedling was more than that of root weight, in all the species. C. thwaitesii was superior in growth attributes and biomass among the four species studied.