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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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  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Trends in India summer monsoon distribution over the western ghats
    (Academy of Climate Change Education and Research Vellanikkara, 2016) Abhijit Asokan; KAU; Kurien, E K
    The Western Ghats with its strategic position plays a great role in channelling the summer monsoon rain into the mainland. The natural ecosystems and human livelihoods of this region are highly dependent on the Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall and even the slightest change can trigger a change in these systems. The global climate changing scenario is having its toll in the monsoonal system over this region. The extreme events in the region have been analysed for trends using Mann Kendall method and the return periods of the one day maximum rainfall has been modelled using Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) theory. The mean annual monsoonal rainfall over the region is 1616.15 mm and the standard deviation is 242.966.It was observed that the mean annual monsoonal rainfall varied from 231.4mm in grid 117 to 3416 mm in grid 253. The one day maximum rainfall extracted from the 32 constituent grids for the entire period showed a variation from 118.63 mm in 1981 to 316.63 mm in 2005. The temporal variation in one day maximum rainfall for the time series had a significant trend. The values were seen to increase steadily and a profound increase was observed in the recent decades. When the One day maximum rainfall was analysed for different latitudes, two latitudes (14°N and 21°N) had significant positive trends in One Day Maximum Rainfall in the whole region. Out of the 32 grids, 7 grids (186, 359, 394, 428, 429, 497 and 498) showed a significant rising trend in one day maximum rainfall. It was also observed that during the recent years, the occurrence of One day maximum Rainfall has shifted to the far end of the season. The number of grids getting heavy, very heavy and extreme rainfall events was found to have increased during the later years of the study. No significant trend in the instances of occurrence of heavy rainfall over the years was observed. But a significant trend was observed in the occurrences of rainfall events of very heavy and extreme magnitudes. When Split period analysis of the contribution of moderate and high intensity rainfalls was carried out, it was observed that the share of high intensity rainfalls had increased and a decrease was observed in the share of moderate events over the years. The return period analysis of the one day maximum rainfall events was done and it was observed that the 2 year, 5 year, 10 year, 25 year, 50 year and 100 year return levels of rainfall as 186.2mm, 224.3 mm, 250.2 mm, 283.8 mm, 309.3 mm and 335.1 mm for the complete region. The return levels for the two year return period were seen to be over 100 mm for the grids of 184 (118mm), 219 (114.9mm), 253 (145.8mm), 285 (104.5mm), 357 (147.6 mm), 392 (144.2mm), 427 (129.9mm) and 462 (122.4mm). A significant rising trend in the extreme events of summer monsoon rainfall over the Western Ghats was observed. This calls for better planning in all areas of livelihoods and management strategies to contain the disasters of a changing climate.