Thumbnail Image

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.

Browse

1997 - 199912010 - 20111
Reset filters
Subject: Horticulture × Author: Binu John, Sam × Author: KAU × Start date: 1964 × Type: Thesis ×
Reset filters

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Shelf-life of tomato(Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)
    (Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1997) Binu John, Sam; KAU; Jacob John, P
    An experiment was conducted at the Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, during 1996-97 to evolve a simple and cheap storage technique for tomatoes under ambient conditions. Results revealed that some of the existing packaging and storage techniques viz., storage under 2% ventilation + ethylene absorbent and individual wrapping with cling films under ambient conditions, were effective in storing the fruits for about three weeks. But the cost involved in these methods were comparatively high. An alternative low cost storage technique was evolved using equilibrated saw dust as the packing medium. Two varieties of tomatoes, viz. Sakthi and PKM-1 were stored under saw dust having a moisture content of 35-40% with a proportion of 1 :0.5 (tomato: saw dust). A shelf-Iife of more than 25 days was obtained for both the varieties with least deteriorative changes and with the same sensory qualities as that of plant ripened tomatoes. Optimum stage of harvest for storage under ESD was breaker stage which possessed all the quality attributes like TSS, acidity and well developed colour at the end of the storage. Organoleptic quality of stored breaker stage fruits was on par with fresh plant ripe fruits. The cost involved in this method is negligible, with zero energy requirement and without any complicated technology.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Developmental physiology of banana corm (Musa AAB nendran) in relation to phenology, yield and quality
    (College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2011) Binu John, Sam; KAU; Sajan, Kurien
    The study on “Developmental physiology of banana corm (Musa AAB Nendran) in relation to phenology, yield and quality” was taken up as a part of the fully funded DST project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India at the RARS, Kumarakom from 2004 to 2008. The study was basically centered on the corm and roots. The objectives of the study were to have a basic idea of the origin and development of the secondary corm as influenced by various factors, to identify and fix the stages of corm development and rooting in relation to biotic events (bud initiation, differentiation, shooting and suckering), to establish the root production pattern (continuous or cyclic), characterize the roots (pioneers or feeders), study the relationship of carbon assimilation and nutrient uptake on corm development, to have a basic understanding on origin and development of suckers, to study the genetic differences in corm and sucker development and finally to hasten out secondary corm formation thereby reducing crop duration without affecting post-harvest quality parameters. The major findings emanating from the studies are presented aspect-wise under different paragraphs. Planting was taken up at bimonthly intervals. Each planting consisted of fifty plants and observations on all characters were taken up. The height of the plant in the June planting was the highest followed by that in April, October and August. The December and February planting recorded the least height. April followed by February and August planting had the highest girth. December, followed by October and June recorded the lowest girth in the order. The number of leaves produced by the plant was in the range of 27-28 with very minor subtle difference between months of planting. The pattern of leaf production is very explicit, an increasing number of leaves are found to produce from upto FBD stage in case of June planting and in October planting this is found to increase upto shooting whereas in December and February, leaf production is very erratic and a small fall in production is observed in April. Number of new leaves emerging in a fortnight is found to increase in June and October planting upto FBI and is at the maximum. Whereas the December, February and April planting has revealed a very low number of leaf production and the maximum number of leaves produced is found to be in between SCI and FBI which could be one of the major reason for the low productivity. A critical analysis of the data reveals that an increasing number of leaves retained is observed upto FBD stage in case of October and April planting. In April planting this trend is observed only upto FBI stage whereas in December and February the maximum number of leaves retained is seen at the SCI stage. This reveals that number of leaves retained in the critical phases of FBI and FBD have a direct impact on the yield and yield components. The length of the ‘D’ leaf is found to increase upto the last phase in all the six crops. The maximum leaf length of leaf is observed in June planting. An increase in the breadth of leaf upto shooting is observed in October and December planting but thereafter the leaf width is found to decline from FBD to shooting. However in case of leaf area the June, October and December planting showed progressive increment in area. However maximum area in case of February and April were at FBD and FBI stage. The study confirms that June planting gave the highest yield and was over 10kg. This is due to water shortage in Early Vegetative, AVS and SCI and high water table as good as flooding at the stage of FBI due to heavy South West Monsoon experienced in the area. On the contrary, June planting received showers from planting and after shooting received adequate sunshine hours. The finger characters were more or less a reflection of the bunch weight. However the finger in August planting appeared straighter on maturity than June planting. One of the major findings emanating from the study is the efficiency factor heliothermal units/ photothermal units. The factor gives the concept of efficiency as it is a function of realized sunshine duration to the potential maximum at a location. The study confirms that when this factor is very near or exceeds 0.5 the yield tends to increase with inputs not being a limiting factor. The photothermal units (PTU) and heliothermal Units (HTU) requirement were almost a reflection of the same as that of GDD. A split up of the requirement from one biotic phase to the other again revealed an identical trend. The base temperature at which growth starts in banana was identified to be 140C. Secondary corm formation is an integral part of crop cycle of banana crop raised from suckers and it is being reported for the first time. The new corm was observed to develop above the planted corm. This planted corm gradually becomes necrotic, deteriorates and falls off towards the time the crop comes to maturity. All the six plantings in the calendar year prove this beyond doubt. The crop duration in sucker planted bananas are dependent on the secondary corm formation. Secondary corm formation is found to be a factor of corm size. This has been conclusively proved by the experiment using suckers of graded corm size. The time taken from SCI to FBI, FBD and Shooting and Maturity is almost same. Hence the change in crop duration of Nendran bananas can be explained on the basis of time taken to reach SCI. A definite GDD is required for the planted sucker to reach the SCI stage depending on corm size. The thermal unit requirement is based on the corm size and this explains the reasons for early bunch production of large sized corms The study has confirmed that the root production in banana is in flushes. Five flushes of roots are observed in a crop cycle. Overlapping of successive flushes of roots is observed giving a false appearance of continuous root production. Overall, the production of a flush of root takes place in about a fortnight’s time. Qualitative & quantitative differences are observed in the production of different flushes of roots. The study has confirmed that the flushing of roots is more dependant on the biotic events of the crop. The first flush of roots is observed in the early vegetative phase (EVS), about 3-4 weeks after planting ie. up to the production of four numbers of leaves. Thereafter, the root grows. The second flush of roots coincides with the active vegetative growth and from approximately the eighth or ninth leaf onwards. The third flush of roots is observed at the secondary corm initiation phase. The first and second flushes are observed purely on the primary planted corm whereas, the third is observed partly on the newly developing corm ie: the Secondary Corm and partly on the primary corm and on the constricted interphase part. The fourth flush of roots is observed at the flower bud initiation stage and the fifth flush at shooting or early bunching phase. These two flushes of roots carry the banana bunch to maturity. In the orderly cycle of development of banana, five distinct physiological phases such as Vegetative Phase, Flower Bud Initiation (FBI), Flower Bud Differentiation (FBD), Shooting and Bunch Maturity are normally described. In no literature has the corm ever been emphasized or even mentioned in the developmental physiology. The formation of the secondary corm was studied anatomically and the physiological factors governing the secondary corm formation was also studied by analyzing the mother corm tissues. The study has conclusively proven that a new corm develops on the planted corm and it is this new corm or the Secondary Corm which further carries the plant to bunching and harvest. Another observation is that the shooting or bunching is observed to be a factor of maturity of the new corm and the crop cycle or crop span or crop duration is found to be dependant on satisfaction of three main phases a) Primary corm to early secondary corm formation b) Secondary corm formation, maturation of secondary corm to bunching c) Bunch maturity and harvest During the second year, the experiments were focused on hastening of secondary corm development and early replacement of original corm of the sucker. For this, suckers of a medium corm size were fixed based on the first year’s experiment. In the study involving hormonal application, IAA, NAA, PCBA and ABA each at 250 and 500 ppm were advocated by corm dip method and corm injection method Hormone dipping treatment of suckers prior to planting and by corm injection after establishment revealed that early growth was suppressed by PCBA with drastic reduction in internodal length. Dwarfening of plant stature could be attained by using PCBA and ABA. This would pave the way for further research to mitigate the effects of wind or avoid staking which is a costly input. SCI was observed to be earliest in treatments involving IBA. However the control treatments were the earliest to bunch. The crop is yet to be harvested. The study has proven that maturity of secondary corm can be manipulated by exogenous application of growth regulators. The studies on root activity revealed spatial distribution of root activity and differential accumulation in various tissues which could be explained at tissue level and with time The importance of secondary corm and its accumulation in tune with the development physiology. On the fifth day after application recovery of activity was observed in the primary corm only at the FBD stage. On the 10th day after application (DAA) maximum recovery of activity was obtained in the primary corm at FBI stage. Sufficiently higher amounts were observed at Early Vegetative Stage (EVS), Active Vegetative Stage (AVS) and Half Maturity stage. On the contrary at 15th DAA the relative concentration was very much high in primary corm at EVS and AVS stage. The relative concentrations were six times that observed at SCI (third highest) in the former and double in the latter. As the crop advanced the concentration has decreased with single digit recovery at Half Maturity. In case of secondary corm (SC) on the fifth day, recovery of activity was only observed at FBD stage, whereas on the 10th day it was maximum observed at FBI stage. Highest recovery in SC is observed at shooting followed by Secondary Corm Initiation (SCI) stage, Half Maturity and FBI. At all stages a fairly good concentration is observed explaining for the growth of secondary corm. The relative levels in roots in the earliest and second sampling were observed at FBI stage whereas in the final sampling it was observed to peak at half maturity and shooting stage. The maximum recovery of radioactivity in the pseudostem were observed in the early two stages in the first sampling ie. FBI & SCI and AVS in the second and in early three stages in final sampling, revealing that nutrient absorbed is the maximum utilized for structural make up. In the final sampling, recovery was observed in the pseudostem in all the stages. In the case of recovery form the ‘D’ Leaf in early sampling, maximum recovery could be traced at FBI stage followed by that at half maturity and FBD. In this sampling recovery was not observed at any other stage. On the 10th DAA maximum recovery was observed at FBI followed by SCI, FBD and half maturity. No recovery was observed at any other stage. In case of the concentration in petiole of ‘D’ leaf maximum recovery was observed at FBI, Shooting, SCI and Half maturity on the second sampling. No radioactivity was recovered at any phase on the 5th DAA. However in the final sampling maximum recovery was observed at EVS, Shooting, SCI and Half Maturity. Recovery was observed at all stages in the 15th DAA. The boot leaf which subtends the bunch showed fairly good concentration at Half Maturity on the 15 DAA emphasizing the importance of the leaf with advance in fruit maturity. Lower levels were recovered at the shooting stage. On the 5th and 10th DAA no recovery were observed. In the case of ‘D’ finger the maximum recovery was observed at shooting stage on the first, second and third sampling. The levels being fairly high in the final sampling. In case of male bud increasing levels of recovery are observed with samplings. The levels being the highest in case of last sampling and being the highest sink per unit weight of tissue. At Half Maturity no recovery was observed at 5th and 10th DAA but in the final sampling again high level of recovery is observed. The study overwhelmingly emphasizes the need to debud the male inflorescence on the one hand and on the other major and important side it highlights this part as a vegetable with high P nutrient content. The first report on Carbon assimilation and transport in banana is also from the study. For this an innovative apparatus for the dissemination of 14C was fabricated after many a trial and error method. The apparatus is simple in design but accurate in its practicality and the first of its kind to be used in banana plants. The results from the studies involving 14C showed a holistic picture on the photosynthate translocation and assimilation to the various plant parts at different stages of its growth. During the initial stages (EVS & AVS), the accumulation was found to be the maximum at the source level itself. At SCI stage it was found to be more in the leaf petiole and pseudostem with no recovery in the primary corm. At the reproductive transformation stage of the plant (FBI & FBD), the entire assimilates were found to be translocated to the SC and Ps. At the shooting stage and the half maturity stage, the finger and male bud together account for the whole photosynthates whereby giving a marked reflection and manifestation of the functional requirement of the plant with the entire shifts focused at the sink level.