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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: Forest Product and Utilisation × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2019 × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Standardization of tree injection procedures of azadirachtin in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), mango (Mangifera indica L.) and neem (Azadirachta indica A Juss.)
    (Department of Forest Products and Utilization, College of Forestry,Vellanikkara, 2019) Sarmishtra, V; KAU; Anoop, E V
    Tree injection is a new technology that is employed to apply fungicides, nutrients and pesticides in large trees in order to avoid drifting of these chemicals and affecting non target organisms. It eliminates the wastage of chemicals to be applied in trees as the quantity used is little compared to other conventional methods of application. This study aimed at standardizing the tree injection procedures in Indian conditions. Stem wood of three species like coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), mango (Mangifera indica L.) and neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) were used in the study along with their leaves after the application of azadirachtin through injection. The depth to which the tree injection can be applied was determined by studying the thickness of the conducting tissues in these species using the software Digimizer. Three size classes like 50-60cm, 60-70cm, 70-80cm were studied. Thickness of high density wood in coconut palm and sapwood in mango and neem does not vary with the change in size class. Average high density wood thickness in coconut palm was 3.5cm and was not more than 4.89cm. Thus a depth of 6 cm was fixed so as to ensure the delivery of chemicals into the most active part of the stem. In case of mango tree, the average sapwood thickness was 6.18cm and was never smaller than 3.27cm. Similarly, average sapwood thickness in neem was 4.38cm and was never smaller than 3.02cm. Thus 3 cm was the depth fixed to inject chemicals in mango and neem. Systemic insecticide, Azajet (50,000ppm) was used to inject the trees. Each tree was marked at a basal height of 20 cm from ground. Holes were made at an angle of 45º to make sure that there was no oozing out of chemicals. The EcoJect pump consisting of a canister, nozzle and a cylinder with compressed air between 100 and 150 PSI was used to inject the chemicals. Two canisters of 20 ml each (40ml/tree) were used to deliver the chemical into the tree trunk. Physiological parameters like photosynthesis, transpiration, leaf temperature and leaf moisture were analyzed using Infrared Gas Analyzer (LI-6400, Portable Synthesis System). Stomatal rate was studied by the replica method. A correlation analysis was conducted between the anatomical and physiological properties of the three tree species. The traces of azadirachtin in the leaves were determined by collecting the leaf samples during specific time intervals like 1hr, 2hr, 6hr, 2 days, 7 days, 14 days, 20 days, 28 days, 40 days and 55 days of tree injection by using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). There were no correlations between the anatomical and physiological parameters. Azadirachtin traces were found only in coconut palm on the second day of injection with a peak area of 0.14µg/g. Other trees showed no sign of azadirachtin in their leaves. The traces of the bio pesticide did not last for a week as there was no further detection of azadirachtin in the samples collected after 7 days of injection.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Standardization of kiln seasoning schedule for coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) wood
    (Department of Forest Products and Utilization, College of Forestry,Vellanikkara, 2019) Gayathri Mukundan, KAU; Anoop, E V
    Coconut palm is a versatile and commercially important palm grown in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Technological up gradation of the coconut wood processing methods can bring in improvement in quality of products and greater preference by the consumers. The purpose of the present study is to popularise the commercial value of coconut as a timber species through improved processing. This study titled aims at standardising kiln seasoning schedule for high and medium density coconut wood, which are mainly used for structural purposes. Drying is one of the most important processing techniques, because a proper drying process will be the main key to ensure high quality wood products. Freshly cut samples were collected from farmer’s plot and converted into desirable sizes. Pilodyn standardisation was done to sort the coconut wood into different density classes. The regression equation formulated for basic density and Pilodyn Penetration Depth (PPD) was Y= -0.02096 (X) + 1.077583, where Y is the density of coconut wood in g/cm3 and X is the PPD in millimetres. Fundamental physical properties of wood like moisture content, dimensional shrinkage and dimensional shrinkage were also studied. Moisture content of coconut palm wood across different density classes showed significant differences. The mean moisture content for high density wood was 52.76 per cent. Mean moisture content was 103.95 per cent for medium density coconut palm wood. In low density coconut palm wood, the moisture content averaged at 186.54 per cent. There was no significant difference in volumetric shrinkage across density classes. There was significant difference in the dimensional shrinkage between different density classes. Quick drying test was conducted in the laboratory in a hot air oven to study the degree and type of defects during drying. The major seasoning defects observed in coconut palm wood were surface cracking, end splitting, twisting, cupping and bowing. Defects were 2 graded according to Terasawa scale. Seasoning schedule treatments were determined for both high density and medium density wood. There were five treatments for high density coconut wood and three treatments for the medium density wood. Samples were given different seasoning schedule treatments in a convection kiln to determine the best treatment based on grading of defects. The best kiln conditions for high density wood were with initial Dry Bulb Temperature (DBT) of 45oC, final DBT of 80oC and initial Wet Bulb Depression (WBD) of 1.8oC. The best kiln conditions for medium density 72 wood were with initial Dry Bulb Temperature (DBT) of 49oC, final DBT of 80oC and initial Wet Bulb Depression (WBD) of 2 oC. The drying time for high density wood was 11 days whereas for medium density wood the drying time was 12 days in a convection kiln of 20 cubic meters. The regression equation for high density coconut wood is Y = (0.1335× X) + 11.737, where Y is the kiln drying time in days and X is the moisture content in percentage. The regression equation for the medium density coconut palm wood were Y = (-0.08503× X) + 11.0064. Air drying of coconut palm wood took 13 weeks for high density wood and 15 weeks for medium density wood to reach the equilibrium moisture content.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Screening of jack trees (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) for quality timber production
    (Department of Forest Products and Utilization, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2019) Jobin Kuriakose; KAU; Anoop, E V
    Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam, belonging to the family Moraceae and popularly known as jackfruit tree, is one of the important timber species commonly found in the homegardens of Kerala. The main objective of the present study was to identify plus trees of Artocarpus heterophyllus from Thrissur and Palakkad districts and to evaluate their seedling growth performance for quality timber production. Forty plus trees, twenty each of varikka and koozha variety were selected from both districts. Seedling biometric observations like stem height, collar diameter, leaf area, fresh weights and dry weights of stem, leaves and root showed significant differences throughout the study period, i e from 30 DAP (Days After Planting) to 150 DAP. At 150 DAP, seedling height ranged from 123.10 cm (FCV AH 22) to 68.35 cm (FCV AH 1) and collar diameter ranged from 14.39 mm (FCV AH 8) to 7.18 mm (FCV AH 7). At 150 DAP, FCV AH 4, FCV AH 22 and FCV AH 15 had the highest value for both fresh weight (33.88 g, 25.22 g and 25.25 g) and dry weight (16.41 g, 8.26 g and 8.54 g) of stem, leaf and root respectively. Other parameters like taproot length, number of leaves, Leaf Area Ratio, Specific Leaf Area, Absolute Growth Rate, Relative Growth Rate and Net Assimilation Rate were also found to be significant but not throughout the study period. The highest taproot length was noticed in FCV AH 2 (48.85 cm) and the least taproot length was in FCV AH 14 (30.45 cm) at 150 DAP. To establish a field trial plot, seedlings were out planted one year after nursery growth near the International Hostel at KAU, Vellanikkara. Field performance of the progenies were evaluated at 30 DAP. Seedling height and collar diameter were found to be significantly different among various seed sources. The average seedling height was 117.30 cm with values ranging from 143.94 cm to 96.35 cm and FCV AH 22 being the tallest. The mean collar diameter was 12.27 mm with FCV AH 29 having the highest (14.67 mm) value. Hierarchical cluster analysis based on the morphological and biometric characters was carried out and 40 plus tree sources were grouped into twenty-one clusters. Based on the biometric observations for 150 DAP and cluster analysis, it was found that Cluster 2 (FCV AH 2), Cluster 18 (FCV AH 8), Cluster 12 (FCV AH 9), Cluster 11 (FCV AH 15), Cluster 10 (FCV AH 21), Cluster 21 (FCV AH 22), and Cluster 15 (FCV AH 23) possess superior quality. Anatomical studies of young (six month old) Artocarpus heterophyllus seedlings from different seed sources and core samples of mature trees from a ‘Jack Gene Sanctuary’ of the Agricultural Research Station (ARS), KAU at Mannuthy revealed significant differences in various parameters. Vessel area, ray height, ray width, fibre length and fibre wall thickness were found to be significantly different in six month old seedlings, whereas samples from mature trees showed significant difference in vessel diameter, vessel area, vessel frequency, ray height and ray width. Mean vessel area increased from 4199.14 µm2 in young seedlings to 62569.05 µm2 in mature trees. Mean vessel diameter also increased from 126.43 µm in young seedlings to 276.58 µm in mature trees. Mean ray height and mean ray width were found to be 466.98 µm and 34.58 µm in young seedlings and 498.38 µm and 52.97 µm in mature trees respectively. Mean fibre length and fibre wall thickness were found to be 801.13 µm and 3.27 µm in young seedlings and 993.10 µm and 4.37 µm in mature trees Questionnaire survey conducted in Thrissur and Palakkad district had 46.34 per cent and 39 per cent positive response respectively towards growing jack tree as a timber species in homegardens. There is an increasing preference for dwarf varieties over tall indigenous varieties among the respondents in both districts. The increasing trend of planting dwarf varieties can have an adverse effect on the easy availability of good quality wood from our homesteads. Therefore, there is a pertinent need to protect the existing high quality tall varieties of jack trees.