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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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20136
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Subject: Forestry × Author: KAU × End date: 2013 × Start date: 2013 × Type: Thesis ×
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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Impact of particulate pollution on the growth and physiology of trees in moist deciduous forests
    (Department of Tree Physiology and Breeding, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2013) Anoob, P; KAU; Santhosh, Kumar A V (Guide)
    The research work on ‘Impacts of particulate pollution on the growth and physiology of trees in moist deciduous forests’ was carried out in the vicinity of Malabar cements Ltd., from August 2012 to June 2013. The objective of the research was to study the growth and physiology of Tectona grandis under the stress caused by the particulate pollution caused by deposition of cement dust and also to compare the air pollution tolerance index of important moist deciduous forest species found in the region to identify the trees least affected by particulate pollution. The results indicated a reduction in chlorophyil content and ascorbic acid content in species sensitive to particulate pollutants. Butea monosperma was the most tolerant to particulate pollution stress, followed by cassia fistula, Terminalia paniculata and grewia tiliifolia. Species like Bombax ceiba , Terminalia catappa and Anogeissus latifolia was sensitive to particulate pollution.While Tectona grandis, which is predominantly found planted in the region fell in the category of intermediate tolerance. Tactona grandis found abundantly in the area due to many plantations setup in the region, is only having intermediate tolerance to the particulate pollutions. Various physiological parameters of Tectona grandis like chlorophyll content , LAI,LAD, water potential, photosynthesis, transpiration and leaf surface area was found affected by the deposition of particulate pollutants. Changes in the wood anatomical properties was also found when they were compared to those grown in relatively healthier environments of Nilambur. There was a significant increase in the vessel frequency, ray frequency and fibre length was reduced in tectona grandis at Walayar
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DNA Barcoding of the insectivorous bats of Parambikulam tiger reserve Western Ghats, Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Science, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2013) Parvathy, Venugopal; KAU; Nameer, P O
    The study was carried out at Parambikulam Tiger Reserve during 2012- 2013 with an objective of DNA barcoding the insectivorous bats to unravel the taxonomic ambiguity. The methods employed were the phenol-chloroform extraction (Sambrook et al., 1989) or the GeniPurelM Mammalian Genomic DNA Purification Kit (GeNei™). The sequences were compared with those registered in NeB! databank (blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). The phylogeny reconstruction and the calculation of genetic distances were done using the MEGA 5.0 (Tamura et al., 2011). In this study, three bat species such as Hipposideros speoris, Megederma spasma and Rhinolophus rouxii, were identified using the partial cytochonne b sequence from nine samples of individuals. But the species, Megaderma spasma and Hipposideros speoris showed a genetic distance between two percent and 11 % while compared with the Genbank sequences of those species. Bradly and Baker (2001) considered that a genetic distance more than 10% or between two percent and 11% at cytochrome b is an indication of species level divergence or valid species. So the high sequence divergence in Megaderma spasma and Hipposideros speoris of present study with the same species from South Asia and South India gives an idea on the existence of conspecific population or valid species in these localities. The high sequence divergence may possible as they were collected from two different geographic locations and they result from geographic barriers separating genetic flow. To identify this complexity, the present study recommends additional study concerning specific status and for that more specimens should be collected from each geographical location. Because of this high genetic distance or sequence divergence between the sequences of Megaderma spasma and Hipposideros speoris of present study and that of retrieved from Genbank were clustered as sister clades in their respective phylogenetic neighbour-joining tree. The two sequences of Megaderma spasma, KAUNHM2012318 and KAUNHM2012320, and one sequence of Hipposideros speoris, KAUNHM2012314, were identified as a haplotypes. In the case of Rhinolophus rouxii sequences, the phylogenetic analysis put KAUNHM20114 and KAUNHM201185 together in one branch and they again clustered to the GenBank sequences of 80 kHz phonic type of Rhinolophus rouxii. The genetic distance also confirms this. But the third sequence of Rhinolophus rouxii from the present study, KAUNHM2012310, clustered with the sequences of 90 kHz phonic type of Rhinolophus rouxii and that showed a genetic distance of 9.5% when compared with two other Rhinolophus rouxii sequences of present study. So, the study clearly indicates the existence of sibling species of Rhinolophus rouxii and Rhinolophus indorouxii in the study area and this support the study ofChattopadhyay et al. (2012).
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Ecology and feeding behaviour of sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in Parambikulam tiger reserve Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Science, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2013) Sajeer, K V; KAU; Nameer, P O
    A field study was conducted to evaluate the ecology and feeding habits of Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus). The study was conducted from February 2012 to January 2013 in Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Palakkad, Kerala. There is a variation in the activity of Sloth Bear, between the habitats across the season. During the monsoon season, the Sloth Bear activity was more in the teak plantations (58.06%), followed by moist deciduous forest (19.35%). While at summer season the Sloth Bear activity was more in the moist deciduous forest (44.3%) followed by teak plantation (28.40%). The diet studies have shown that Sloth Bear is omnivorous in its dietary preferences, with animal matter dominating than the plant matter. Moreover, while the animal matter was fed by the Sloth Bear round the year, the plant matter was fed only during the fruiting season of the plants. About 10 natural plants such as Cassia jistula, Zizyphus oenoplina, Glycosmis pentaphylla, Holigarna arnottiana, Ficus spp., Syzygium cumini, Grewia tiliifolia, Mangifera indica, Bridelia retusa and Cordia . . dichotoma and some insects like ants, termites, beetles and bees were observed to be consumed by Sloth Bear. These plant species were consumed in the form of, ripe fruits and also their seeds. Among the plant species Cassiajistula (32.35%) dominated the diet of Sloth Bear at Parambikulam TR which was followed by Zizyphus oenoplia (25%) and Glycosmis pentaphylla (14.7%). Seasonality in the plant food preference of Sloth Bear was observed. In the summer season the Sloth Bear fed on the fruits of the plants such as Bridelia retusa, Cassia jistula, Cordia dichotoma, Ficus spp., Glycosmis pentaphylla, Holigarna arnottiana and Zizyphus oenoplia. In the monsoon season the Sloth Bear fed on the fruits of Mangifera indica, Syzygium cumini and Grewia tiliifolia. The seeds collected from the Sloth Bear seats at Parambikulam TR showed no physical damage to most of the seeds (90%) and thus proved to be efficient seed dispersers. The camera trap records revealed the solitary nature and crepuscular activity of Sloth Bear. It was also found that the germination of the seeds enhanced when it passed through the gut of the Sloth Bear, compared to the unpassed seeds. For ego the Glycosmis pentaphylla and Zizyphus oenoplia seeds had a greater germination percentage to the tune of 77.73% and 56.2% respectively for the seeds passed through the Sloth Bear gut. Thus showing the significance of the Sloth Bear in the forest functioning and the system dynamics. The three plant species that are widely used by the Sloth Bear, such as the Cassia fistula, Glycosmis pentaphylla and Zizyphus oenoplia (72.05%) may be used for the eco-restoration activity of the Tiger reserve to facilitate the survival of the Sloth Bear.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of growth rate on wood quality of teak (Tectona grandis Linn.f.) grown under differing site quality conditions
    (Department of wood science, College of forestry, Vellanikkara, 2013) Anish, M C; KAU; Anoop, E V
    The present study was carried out to analyse the effect of rate of growth on the wood quality of teak from samples collected from trees which were grown within the country as well as from outside. The work involved collection of samples from saw mills and major timber importing ports in South India (Mangalore, Tuticorin etc.) and wood property analysis that was carried out in the wood science laboratory, Department of wood science, College of forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, vellanikkara. Teak samples (basal discs) from 14 different locations viz. Nilambur, Malayattoor , Konni, Ranni, Vadayar (TN) and Betul (MP) within India and Myanmar, Thailand, Ghana, Benin, Cameroon, Sudan, Tanzania and Trinidad outside India were included in the study. To study the effect of growth rate on wood quality, the collected samples were classified as fast grown and slow grown based on their average ring width. Those samples having an average ring width 5mm and those having an average ring width <5mm were categorised in to fast grown and slow grown respectively. The analysis on variation in wood physical, anatomical and biochemical properties between the two categories revealed that, fast grown samples were characterised with higher specific gravity, moisture content (air dry) and shrinkage compared to the slow grown, but properties like vessel diameter, vessel area, ray height, ray width and extractive content (%) was found to be showed uniformity with regard to other properties such as coefficient of anisotropy (wood stability), heartwood content(%), heartwood colour and bark thickness. Investigation on the wood properties between the samples from 14 different locations revealed higher degree of variation. Ring width analysis showed that, samples from Afric(except Sudan) had higher growth rate and was comparable with that of fast grown Nilambur teak, Asian teak (especially the teak samples from India) showed high variability with regard to growth rate/ring width. Maximum growth rate was showed by Vadavar teak (Tamil Nadu). The sample from Asia also showed superiority over the samples from Africa in the properties. Viz. specific gravity, wood stability, heartwood colour and extractive content (%).Among the samples form Asia, Myanmar possessed the highest vessel dimensions and the sample from Konni had the largest ray height and raywidth. Samples from Konni (11.13%) and Betul (MadhyaPradesh) (10.44%) possessed higher amount of extractives and more darker heartwood. Wood quality parameters like specific gravity (Vadavar (TN) and Nilambur), resistance to deformation (Nilambur, Vadavar (TN) and Betul (MP), heartwood colour and total extractive content (Konni and Betul (MP) were found to be higher for Indian teak. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that, rate of growth has only a little effect on the wood quality of teak, whereas, location – wise, Indian teak irrespective of their growth rate, was found to be superior over rest of the samples with regard to wood physical, anatomical and biochemical properties.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Biomass and carbon sequestration in silver oak (Grevillea robusta A.cunn) stands in the midlands of Kerala
    (Department of Forest Management and Utilisation, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2013) Geo, Basil Paul; KAU; Vidyasagaran, K
    The present study was conducted in College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara on biomass production and carbon sequestration potential of a 20-year-old Grevillea robusta A. Cunn. plantation standing in the midlands of Kerala. The study reveals the biomass production and productivity, volume production, nutrient export through harvest, and carbon allocation of the above plantation. The mean aboveground biomass production was 197.89 kg tree-1. Whereas on unit area basis it was 62.59 Mg ha-1.The percentage contribution of various components to AGB was in the order: stem wood > branch > leaves > twig. Diameter profoundly influenced the biomass production on per tree basis, whereas on unit area, it was influenced mainly by density. Equations were developed for predicting AGB and biomass components with respect to DBH alone, DBH and total height/bole height together. With respect to the DBH alone as independent variable, for the total AGB, stem, branch, twig the best fit equation was ln Y = a0 + a1* lnD. However, in leaves, the equation selected was ln Y = a0+ a1*lnD + a2*(lnD)2 with high R2 value and lowest Furnival index. For predicting the total volume and bole volume the best fit equation was ln Y = a0 + a1*D + a2*D2. Studies on nutrient dynamics revealed that (N P K) among the components, leaves had the maximum concentration of the nutrients and stem wood the lowest. The nutrient accumulation in various biomass components was found to be in the decreasing order: stem wood > leaves > branch > twig. The maximum nutrients accumulated in stem wood (169.32 kg tree-1) and minimum in twigs (3.94 kg tree-1). Among the nutrients, N accumulated maximum followed by K and P. Stands showed a greater accumulation of nutrients with high potential of nutrient export through harvest. The mean carbon concentration was found to be 46.58 per cent and among components, the leaf portion had the maximum concentration (48.36 %) of carbon and stem wood the lowest (45.67 %). The carbon sequestration potential of 20-year-old G. robusta plantation was 27744 kg ha-1.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Quantification of anthropogenic disturbances in forest as a function of distance to human habitation - a case study from peechi - vazhani wildlife sanctuary
    (College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2013) Paul, C Roby; KAU; Santhoshkumar, A V
    A study was conducted in the moist deciduous forest of Peechi- Vazhani Wildlife sanctuary to understand and quantify the impacts of human induced disturbances on forest, based on vegetation, soil and anthropogenic disturbance indicators. Three sites were randomly selected from the sanctuary. Based on distance from these human habitations, the forests at these locations were divided into three strata (0-2 km, 2 -6 km and beyond 6 km). Four samples (each 2500 m2) were selected randomly from each of the strata’s and surveyed for trees, saplings, regeneration, soil and disturbance. Four sub samples of (100 m2 each) in each of the selected samples were enumerated for herbs and shrubs. Various forest health indicators of vegetation, soil and disturbance were studied. Based on these indicators, the study developed Human Disturbance Indicator (HDI) and Soil Quality Index (SQI) to assess/ quantify the impact of human disturbance on forest. The ecological stages of these forests were assessed using Ramakrishnan index of stand quality (RISQ), vegetation composition and structure. This study observed the forests of P-V WLS to be secondary moist deciduous forests. Significant differences were observed between forests near human habitations and those away from it in terms of vegetation structure but not in diversity. Significant differences were observed between strata in terms of number of trees, mean GBH, mean height, canopy gap and LAI. However, differences were observed among the strata in species of diversity of saplings and seedlings. Significant differences were seen between strata in terms of clay fraction, moisture content, bulk density, pH, infiltration rate, available P and SQI. Differences were seen among strata in terms of HDI. However, all these differences were found to be influenced by location effects too. The study concluded that the degradation was influenced by location as well as distance from habitations. The disturbance map and soil quality map was developed using the indexes.