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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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ThesisItem Open Access Nutrient analysis and value addition of underutilized fish(Department of Home Science, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2004) Jishy, K K; KAU; Omana Pavunny, EFish contains the best proteins and other superior nutritional constituents that place them in a specially important category of food. It has very poor shelf life. Hence, the present study on nutrient analysis and value addition of under utilized fish was aimed at evaluating the nutrients and developing products from three under utilized fish varieties namely netholi (Stoliphorus heterolobus), flat fish (Cynoglossus macrostorus) and veluri (Kovala kova/). This will help in meeting the increasing demand for fish; to avoid wastage of small fish and to provide income to the fisher women. The fresh and dried fish varieties were analysed for chemical constituents like moisture, fat, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A and peroxide value. Fish was found to be rich sources of protein, calcium and phosphorus. Chemical constituents varied significantly between the varieties. The dried fish was packed in polythene covers and was stored for a period of three months. The peroxide value increased during the storage but the increase was not significant. Dried netholi had the highest peroxide value throughout the storage period. The organoleptic qualities decreased during storage. The change of organoleptic scores was not significant; veluri had the highest acceptability throughout the storage period. Microbial enumeration revealed that bacterial population increased I slightly during storage and fungus was found only in second and third month of storage. No traces of yeast were found throughout the storage period. The pickle prepared from fresh and dried fish was stored in glass bottle and polyester laminated HDPE film for a period of six months. The peroxide value of the pickle increased during the storage but the increase was insignificant. The acidity of the pickle increased significantly. The pickle stored in flexible packaging material had higher peroxide value and acidity than pickle stored in glass bottle. Dried fish pickle had higher peroxide value and acidity than fresh fish pickle. The organoleptic evaluation of pickle revealed that appearance and colour decreased during storage. The flavour texture, taste and overall acceptability of pickle increased during storage. Changes in organoleptic scores except appearance were insignificant. Appearance decreased significantly. The pickle stored in glass bottle had better acceptability than pickle stored in polyester laminated IIDPE film, but the variation was insignificant. The fresh fish pickle had better acceptability and among them veluri pickle was found to be the best. A gradual increase in the bacterial and fungal load with storage of pickle was observed but yeast was not found during the storage. The benefit cost analysis showed that all products had BC ratio above one hence, all are economically beneficial.ThesisItem Open Access Nutritional profile of fisher women(Department of Home Science, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2004) Saleena, K; KAU; Omana, PavunnyA study on "nutritional profile of fisher women" was conducted among 100 fisher women of 18-45 years age group in the coastal areas of Thrissur district. The result of the study indicated that majority of them were Hindus. Nuclear family system was found in most of the families and family size ranged in between 3 to 5. Most of the male and female members were literate and engaged in fish related work. Majority of the families had a monthly income in between Rs.500 to Rs.1500. Maximum proportion of income was spent on food items and majority of the families did not have the habit of saving money. Majority of the families had their own houses with brick as wall -.-- material and with thatched or concrete roof. Majority of the houses had separate kitchen with 3 to 5 rooms. Drinking water, electricity and lavatory facilities were satisfactory whereas drainage facilities were found to be inadequate. As a medical aid majority of the families depended on district hospital, primary health centre as well as private doctors for their medical care. Majority of the families were members ofmatsyafed. All the families were non vegetarians and consumed rice as the staple food. Maximum percentage of the food expenditure was for cereals. The most frequently used food items were cereals, fish, fats and oils, sugar and spices and condiments. None of the families planed their meals in advance and maintain time schedule for taking meals. Majority of the families consumed food three times a day and did not give equal importance to all family members in food distribution. Special foods were included in the diet during pregnancy, lactation and infancy. Diet modification during disease conditions was observed. The nutritional profile of the respondents indicated that the body weight of33 per cent and height of24 per cent of the respondents were lower than the reference body weight and height for an Indian reference woman. About 13 per cent of the respondents had various grades of CED. The waist hip ratio indicated that about 97 per cent of the respondents had femoral gluteal obesity and 3 per cent had abdominal obesity. Dietary profile of respondents indicated that all the food groups were far below the requirement except for fish. The nutrient intake was satisfactory only with respect to protein. Clinical examination showed vanous symptoms of nutritional deficiencies among the respondents. Actual nutrient intake of the respondents indicated that except fat, calcium and vitamin C, all nutrients were lower than the RDA. Biochemical estimation of blood showed 35 per cent of respondents had low haemoglobin values, indicating anaemia.ThesisItem Open Access Effectiveness of IEC materials on health and nutritional practices of adolescent girls(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture,Vellayani, 2004) Sheela, K V; KAU; Subaidabeevi, SA study entitled the "Effectiveness of lEC materials on health and nutritional practices of adolescent girls" was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of information education and communication materials on the knowledge and adoption of health and nutritional practices by the adolescent girls and also to find out the comparative effectiveness of the formulated lEC materials. The study was carried out in Venganoor and Thiruvallam Higher Secondary Schools in Thiruvananthapuram district. The formulated lEC materials viz., flash cards, charts, posters and leaflets were tested for their effecti veness. The topic selected to teach the respondents were importance of nutritious food, body changes in adolescent period, health care and reproductive health and hygiene. Hundred adolescent girls of APL and BPL families belonging to the age group of 13 to 15 years form the study sample. All respondents were exposed to the selected topics at one-week interval using the formulated lEC materials. Gain in knowledge, retention in knowledge and the adoption of gained knowledge on health, and nutritional practices are the dependent variables. Age, family size, type of family, monthly income, educational status of the respondent and family, mass media contact, basic facilities available in the family, health profile and nutritional status were selected as independent variables. The results revealed that the educational programme USing lEC materials had significant effect on the knowledge and adoption of health and nutritional practices by the adolescent girls. The gain in knowledge and retention was more on the topic reproductive health and its hygiene. The lEC materials i. e., lecture + flashcard + leaflet was the most effecti ve in terms of gain knowledge and adoption of knowledge. The knowledge adoption was also more on the topic reproductive health and hygiene and the retention was more in the respondent, who were exposed to treatment 4 i. e., lecture + demonstration + exhibition. The correlation between the overall knowledge gain, retention, adoption and socio-economic variables revealed that the retention have significant relationship with income, education and food consumption pattern. The adoption of the respondents of APL and BPL families have significant relationship with the personal hygiene. The relative effectiveness of the formulated TEe materials revealed that there was significant difference between the selected lEe materials of teaching. The lecture methods in combination with formulated lEe materials have more influence on the gain retention and adoption of knowledge when compared with the lecture method alone.ThesisItem Open Access Quality evaluation of selected leafy vegetables consumed by the tribes of Wayanad district(Department of Home Science, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2004) Neetha Hyder, C; KAU; Indira, VThe study entitled 'Quality evaluation of selected leafy vegetables consumed by the tribes of Wayanad District' was undertaken to estimate the nutrient composition, anti- nutritional factors and organoleptic qualities of the ten leafy vegetables consumed by the tribal communities ofWayanad district. The leaves were analysed for moisture, protein, fat, crude fibre, total carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, carotene and vitamin C. The results revealed that among the nutritional constituents, protein content was highest in Thakara than the other nine leafy vegetables. The fat , phosphorus, and sodium were highest in Kandariyila, where as Kannisoup had the highest value for total carbohydrates, iron and potassium. The highest crude fibre, calcium and ~ carotene were in Valiya kadaladi. Chumalacheera was found to have the highest vitamin C content among the ten leafy vegetables studied. The anti-nutritional factors namely oxalates and nitrates III the leaves indicated that Kandariyila had the highest oxalate and nitrate content. Oxalate content was found to be low in Kozhuppa, while Kannisoup had the lowest nitrate content. Other chemical constituents like phenols, flavanoids and methanol extractable crude alkaloids were also estimated. The total phenol content was highest in Chumalacheera whereas, the flavanoid and methanol extractable crude alkaloid contents were found to be highest in Kandariyila. The average nutritive value computed on the basis of nutrient content of the leafy vegetables revealed that Valiya kadaladi had the highest nutritive value among the leafy vegetables selected for the study. Organoleptic evaluation of the leafy vegetables indicated Churuli as the most acceptable one. Based on the nutrient and anti nutrient composition, the leafy vegetables were grouped into four clusters, each cluster containing similar leafy vegetables. Cluster I contained Churuli, Kandariyila and Murikkila. Kozhuppa and Valiya kadaladi were included in Cluster II and III respectively. Ambasheppu, Chumalacheera, Kannisoup, Ponnankanni and Thakara were included in Cluster IV. Valiya kadaladi, which was included as the sole member of Cluster III, was found to be the best with respect to higher nutrients and lower anti-nutritional factors.ThesisItem Open Access Assessment of nutritional cognition of selected rural youth and the nutrition related practices of their families(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Shiny, R L; KAU; Rajani, MThe study entitled “Assessment of nutritional cognition of selected rural youth and nutrition related practices of their families” was undertaken. The locale of the study was Neyyattinkara taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district. The objective of the study was to assess and compare the nutrition knowledge and nutrition attitude of rural youth belonging to farm and non-farm families. The nutrition related practices of the families were also assessed. Equal number of the respondents from farm and non-farm families were drawn for the study comprised of 160 rural youth (80 male and 80 female) from two wards of the selected two panchayats. The dependent variables selected included nutrition knowledge and nutrition attitude. The independent variables included socio-economic variables like caste, religion, family size, family type, family income, land size, household food production and type of house. A comprehensive analysis of socio-economic and personal characteristics along with nutrition knowledge and attitude of the selected rural youth were carried out using appropriate tools and methods. The socio-personal characteristics revealed that majority belonged to 18-20 years. Majority had education upto pre-degree level and belonged to first born category. Fifty per cent of the respondents, both from farm and non-farm families had no income of their own. The respondents got major source of information from television. Their social participation revealed that many of them were members of various organizations. The socio-economic status of the families found that majority belonged to Hindu forward caste hailed from nuclear families having monthly income between Rs. 5001-10,000. Non-farm families did not cultivate any crops in their possessed land. In the case of farm family at least one acre of land was possessed by each were cultivated major and minor crops. Their farm produce like paddy, vegetables and fruits were fully utilized by them. While analysing their overall nutrition knowledge scores it was found that majority of the respondents had medium level knowledge and the farm families possessed better knowledge than non-farm families. When the nutrition awareness of the respondents in selected areas of nutrition was studied it was found that many of the respondents had better knowledge in cooking methods without nutrient loss while only a small percentage had correct knowledge on nutrition deficiency disorders. The attitude level of the respondents was measured using specially designed attitude scale. It was revealed that majority possessed higher score in neutral level i.e., they had neither favourable nor unfavourable attitude. It was found that in the areas of importance of good nutrition, food habits and nutrition education higher per cent of the respondents showed neither favourable nor unfavourable attitude. Among the rural youth the females have a higher nutritional cognition when compared to their male counterparts. It is noted that the selected independent variable, age had a negative relationship with knowledge whereas other independent variables like caste, marital status and birth order had no relationship with knowledge and attitude of the respondents. Dietary habits of the respondents revealed that majority were non-vegetarians. Regarding nutrition related practices it was found that majority were good eaters and had possessed nibbling habits. Most of the respondents especially females skip one meal a day particularly breakfast. In the case of frequency of use of different foods it was found that rural youth consumed pulses, green leafy vegetables and meat in lesser quantity. While rating nutrition related practices of the families it was found that majority followed the practices in a moderate level and there is not much difference between farm and non-farm families. The interrelationship with nutrition knowledge and nutrition attitude and practice revealed that there exists a significant positive relationship between nutrition knowledge and attitude but not with practice. Information source utilization of the youth had a positive relationship with nutrition knowledge and nutrition attitude whereas it showed no relationship with the practices followed in their families. Overall assessment of nutrition cognition of rural youth was found to be unsatisfactory and clarity in the concepts of applied nutrition was lacking among the respondents studied. The results of the study emphasized the need for nutrition intervention programme specially targeted to rural youth.ThesisItem Open Access Formulating extruded food based on dioscorea (Dioscorea rotundata Poir) and Taro (Colocasia esulenta(L.)Schott.)(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Deepthi Karolin, K; KAU; Chellammal, SThe study on “Formulating extruded foods based on dioscorea and taro” was undertaken to utilize dioscorea and taro for the development of the extruded products to ascertain their acceptability, nutritional and shelf-life qualities. The nutritional and chemical qualities of four tuber flour i.e., Sree Priya, Sree Dhanya, Sree Rashmi and Thamarakkannan were evaluated. Sree Priya had the highest protein, starch and crude fibre content. Thamarakkannan (T2) exhibited the highest total ash content while moisture content was higher in D2 (Sree Dhanya). Acidity was found to be higher in dioscorea variety. In dioscorea, Sree Priya (D1) was found to be the superior in protein, starch, crude fibre and total ash than Sree Dhanya. In taro, Thamarakkanan (T2) was found to be superior in the above characters when compared to Sree Rashmi (T1). Yield ratio was higher in Thamarakkannan and lower in Sree Dhanya while processing loss was much less in Thamarakkannan. Yield ratio of taro was significantly higher than that of dioscorea. Processing loss was significantly higher in dioscorea. The storage study of the flour revealed that there was a steady increase in moisture content of the flour. Sree Priya (D1) and Thamarakkannan (T2¬) had highest shelf life than Sree Dhanya (T2) and Sree Rashmi (T1). There was no change in acidity throughout the storage period of three months. There was no significant difference between varieties and containers. There was no insect infestation upto three months of storage period irrespective of containers and flours. Microbial quality of the stored flour was analysed and the data revealed that microbial count was less in flour stored in PET containers than polypropylene covers. Dioscorea flour had less microbial attack than taro flour. Dioscorea and taro flours were the main ingredients for the formulation of the sev and vermicelli. To increase the protein content and the binding capacity maida, rice flour and soya flour were tried along with tuber flour. Sixteen combinations with above ingredients were tried for product development and the principle governing the selection of the suitable combinations were yield ratio, nutritional quality, extrusion behaviour, cost and overall acceptability. The combination with maida, tuber flour and soya flour in proportion 50 : 40 : 10 got the maximum score and this combination was selected for the development of the products, ‘sev and vermicelli’. The physical characteristics such as fineness, shape, uniformity of strands, packaging quality and tensile strength of the D1 and T2 products were found to be good. Dioscorea based products secured higher scores for all the parameters than taro based products. Though there was difference in the quality parameters, it was not statistically significant. The cooking characteristics such as cooking time, water absorption index and bulk density was found to be good in D1 and T2 products. But the difference in these characters was not statistically significant . Nutritional and chemical qualities of the product showed that protein and starch content was found to be higher in Sree Priya (D1) products while crude fibre and total ash content was higher in product with T2 (Thamarakkannan). Significant difference was present between tubers and between varieties. Minerals like phosphorus and iron content was higher in D1 products. Eventhough there was difference in mineral contents it was not statistically significant. Organoleptic qualities such as appearance and texture was found to be higher in T2 products while other quality parameters were found to be higher in D1 products. Dioscorea based products secured higher scores than taro based products. Though there was difference in the organoleptic qualities, it was not statistically significant. Shelf-life studies of the products revealed that there was steady increase in the moisture level of the products during the storage period. Products with dioscorea flour had higher moisture content than products with taro flour. While there was no change in acidity irrespective of the products, tubers and storage period. There was no insect infestation in stored products throughout the storage period. Microbial analysis of the products showed that products with D1 and T2 were more microbiologically safer than D2 and T1 products. Sev and vermicelli prepared with D1 and T2 had more shelf-life than D2 and T1 products with less moisture content and less microbial contamination. Type tests administered to the developed products showed that all the values were below the values specified by the ISI. Fifteen recipes with sev and vermicelli were formulated and standardised in the laboratory such as stuffed bread roll, burfi, sugar stick, sev halwa, coco stick, pakoda, patties, sweet stick, samosa, payasam, sev pak, coconut sev, burger, sev madhuri and sev toffee. The acceptability of the fifteen recipes were assessed among technical experts, college students, working women and farm women. Majority of the recipes were scored positively by these groups. Stuffed bread roll and patties were preferred mostly by these groups. From the above observations, it can be concluded that, it is possible to develop extruded food based on minor tubers dioscorea and taro with good nutritional, organoleptic and shelf-life qualities and thereby value addition could be done to these tubers. Novel recipes could also be standardised through these product.ThesisItem Open Access Utilization of minor tubers for the development of baked products(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Darshana, T; KAU; Nirmala, CThe present study entitled “Utilization of minor tubers for the development of baked products” was carried out to explore the suitability of minor tubers for the development of baked products. The study comprised of the quality assessment of minor tuber flours, product development and assessing the organoleptic and shelf life qualities of the developed products. Minor tubers are crops with tremendous potential. They have the highest yield potential per hectare. In the present study minor tubers, viz., arrowroot (MT1), taro (MT2), elephant foot yam (MT3), yam (MT4), coleus (MT5), nanakizhangu (MT6) and cherukizhangu (MT7) were selected and processed into flour. The flour prepared from minor tubers were analysed for moisture, acidity, reducing sugar, crude fibre and protein and revealed that yam (MT4) flour had the highest moisture content and coleus (MT5) flour had the highest acidity. Reducing sugar, crude fibre and protein content were highest for arrowroot (MT1) flour. Functional quality analysis, of minor tuber flours observed that the water absorption index was highest for arrowroot (MT1) flour. Coleus (MT5) flour had the highest change in weight and processing loss. Cherukizhangu (MT6) flour had the highest yield ratio. Evaluation of shelf life qualities of minor tuber flours revealed that flours of arrowroot (MT1) , taro (MT2), yam (MT4), nanakizhangu (MT6) and cherukizhangu (MT7) exhibited better storage qualities. Insect infestations was not observed in any of the stored minor tuber flours. Fresh flours were free of microbes. Many microbial colonies were found in flours stored in polypropylene covers and very few number of colonies in PET containers. Nanakizhangu (MT6) flour and yam (MT4) flour were least affected by microbial attack. The shelf life quality evaluation revealed that PET containers are suitable for long period of storage of minor tuber flour. The flours of minor tubers were utilized for the development of baked products viz., cake, biscuit, and bread. The acceptability of the products were assessed through organoleptic evaluation, which revealed that all products prepared from the flour of arrowroot (MT1) flour were highly acceptable among the panel members. Products prepared from the flours of taro (MT2), yam (MT4) and coleus (MT5) were also found to be acceptable. Functional qualities of the baked products were also studied. Cake, biscuit and bread prepared from arrowroot (MT1) had the highest volume expansion. Yield ratio of cake was highest for taro (MT2) cake. Biscuits and bread prepared from MT3 attained highest yield ratio. Loaf volume was highest for breads prepared from the flour of arrowroot (MT1). Cost analysis done on the baked products revealed that cake, biscuit and bread prepared from yam (MT4) were economically feasible. The cost of baked products prepared from minor tuber flours were lower than the price of their counterparts in the market . Based on the evaluation of organoleptic parameters, products prepared from arrowroot (MT1), taro (MT2), yam (MT4), and coleus (MT5) were selected as best ones. The shelf life of the products were examined by packing them in polypropylene covers. Biscuits had the highest shelf life of about one month; cakes remained fresh for 8 days and bread had a shelf life of 5 days. ISI type tests were administered to the products and the moisture content was within the limits of the ISI values, acid insoluble ash and acidity were slightly above the ISI specifications.ThesisItem Open Access Developing value added and diversified products from coconut (Cocos nucifera L.)(Kerala Agricultural University;Thiruvananthapuram, 2004) Illiaskutty, Neelofar; KAU; Mary Ukkuru, P.