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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: Arul Swaminathan, A × End date: 2004 × Start date: 2001 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Isozyme variation areca catechu L. and allied species
    (Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Arul Swaminathan, A; KAU; George, T E
    Investigations on "Isozyme variation 10 Areca catechu L. and allied species" were undertaken in the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices and the Biochemistry laboratory of the College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara during the period from 2000 to 2002 with the major objectives of working out the species relationship in the genus Areca and biochemically characterizing the varieties/cultivars/types of arecanut by isozyme , analysis. .:' Twenty four arecanut accessions comprising of four species, five released varieties, 12 traditional cultivars and three exotic cultivars collected from various states were included in the investigation. The isozymes studied were peroxidase, esterase and polyphenol oxidase. The species VIZ., Areca catechu, A. triandra, A. lutescens and A. normanbyii were displayed variations with respect to the isozyme banding patterns, while no variation was observed among the five released varieties. Traditional cultivars numbering 12 had shown very little variation except in the case of TC3 and TC10. The exotic cultivars, which included two YLD tolerant accessions, had shown a striking variation when compared to other accessions of A. catechu. Based on the banding pattern of all the isozymes, the accessions were classified into eight groups. The dendrogram plotted using cluster analysis also vindicated this classification. The protein content of the accessions ranged from 3.4 to 8.8 mg/ml extract. The protein content was very high in the YLD tolerant accessions when compared to the susceptible genotypes. The activity of the enzyme peroxidase recorded a wide range of 120 - 1455 units/ml while the range of polyphenol oxidase was 22 - 208 units /ml. The activity values of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase were very low in all the YLD tolerant lines in comparison with other accessions. High protein content alongwith low enzyme activity levels recorded invariably by all the tolerant accessions point towards a possible influence of these biochemical parameters on YLD tolerant reaction.