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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: Land and Water Management Engineering × Author: KAU × Author: Mini, P K × End date: 1993 × Start date: 1993 × Type: Thesis ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Effect of different tillage methods on percolation loss in rice fields
    (Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1993) Mini, P K; KAU; George, T P
    Water loss by deep percolation constitutes a major part of the total water loss from the rice fields. Puddling is widely carried out in rice field to create favourable soil condition for the growth of rice plant and to reduce the loss of water through percolation. An experiment was conducted in sandy loam soil to determine the effect of different tillage methods on percolation loss of water and to evaluate their effect on grain yield. The treatments choosen for the study were puddling with power tiller, puddling with tractor cage wheel, puddling with animal drawn puddler (TNAU helical blade type), compaction using roller and puddling with country plough along with planking (control). The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with five replications. Seedlings of short duration rice variety ‘triveni’ were used for transplanting. The daily water loss from the experimental plots was measured using field hook guage. The water loss through percolation was obtained by subtracting the evapotranspiration from the total water requirement. The mean water requirement was highest in the plots puddle with country plough (1609.3mm) and was lowest in the plots puddled with tractor cage wheel (1510.3mm). The percolated water constitute 62 per cent and 64.34 per cent of the total water requirements in the plots puddled with tractor cage wheel and country plough respectively. The lowest mean percolation of 936.12 mm was recorded in the plots puddle with tractor cage wheel. It was followed by puddling with power tiller (949.92 mm), compaction using roller (966.02mm), puddling with animal drawn puddler (1025.02mm) and puddling with country plough (1035.12mm). However, the treatments did not differ significantly regarding the loss of water through percolation. The percentage variation of the percolated water for the different treatments over the control was maximum (17.66 per cent) during the vegetative phase. The variation from the control decreased during the latter two stages and was minimum during the ripening stage (3.89 per cent). The plots puddle with tractor cage wheel recorded the highest yield (11.26 kg/plot) compared to other treatments. The water use efficiency varied from 15.68 kg/ha-cm (puddling with country plough) to 18.64 kg/ha-cm (puddling with tractor cage wheel). The yield and water use efficiency also did not differ significantly among the treatments. The reason for the insignificant among the treatments regarding the loss of water through percolation, yield and water use efficiency could be attributed to the sandy loam nature of the soil since the response of rice plant to various tillage methods depends up on soil texture. It is known that the surface soil aggregates play a major role in controlling the infiltration rate of soil. Since the soil in the experimental field consists of 10 per cent gravel, 65 per cent sand, 12.5 per cent silt and 12.5 per cent clay, the amount of finer particles available for clogging of pores and surface seal development are less in these type of soil, which might be the reason for the treatments not showing any significant variation in the water loss through percolation. From the study undertaken, it was concluded that different tillage methods have no effect in light textured soil in controlling the loss of water through percolation.