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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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Subject: Horticulture × Author: Ancy Joseph × End date: 1993 × Start date: 1990 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Nutrient requirement of ginger (Lingiber officinale R.)
    (Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1992) Ancy Joseph; KAU; Jayachandran, B K
    An investigation was carried out to determine the fertilizer requirements of ginger under varying shade intensities at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the year 1991-92. The experiment using ginger cv. Rio-de-Janeiro was laid out in strip plot design with four shade levels (S0, S1, S2, S3 ) and four fertilizer levels (F1,F2, F3 and F4) and was replicated five times. The shade levels were zero (open), 25, 50 and 75 per cent and the fertilizer levels were 75, 100,125 and 150 per cent of the recommended dose (75 : 50 : 50 N, P2o5 and K2o kg ha-1) as per the package of practices recommendations of KAU. Under open conditions, plant height was found to be the lowest. Leaf number, leaf area index, chlorophyll content, crop growth rate, dry matter production, bulking rate and green ginger yield were found to be lower under open condition when compared to 25 and 50 per cent shade levels. However dry ginger yield under open condition was found to be comparable with that under 50 per cent shade and this might have resulted from high net assimilation rate and better partitioning under open condition as indicated by high utilization index and harvest index. Fertilizer treatments showed a positive influence on vegetative growth, chlorophyll content, rhizome yield and NPK uptake. Under open conditions, significant increase in dry ginger yield was obtained only upto F3 and maximum profit was also obtained for F3. Quality of the produce was found to be unaffected by fertilizer treatments. Growth and yield of ginger were found to be the highest under 25 per cent shade. Response to fertilizer treatments in terms of growth characters and yield were found to be the highest under this shade level. Significant increase in green and dry ginger yield was obtained with each increment in fertilizer dose upto the highest level, F4. Quality of ginger was also superior under low shade and was unaffected by fertilizer treatments. Under 50 per cent shade vegetative growth and dry ginger yield were higher than that under open conditions but lower than that under 25 per cent shade. Though the leaf area index and dry matter production were comparable with that under 25 per cent shade, poor partitioning as indicated by lower utilization index and harvest index might have contributed to the lower yield. Under this shade level, as fertilizer dose increased from F1 to F4, significant increase in yield was obtained. But the increment was only 9.5 per cent as against 20.1 per cent obtained under 25 per cent shade. Under 75 per cent shade vegetative growth and rhizome yield were found to be highly reduced compared to open, 25 and 50 per cent shade. Response to fertilizer treatments was also poor. There was no significant increase in yield with application of fertilizers above F2 level. The study clearly indicates the necessity of increasing the fertilizer dose to 150 percentage of the recommended dose when ginger is grown under 25 and 50 per cent shade.