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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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1981 - 19844
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Subject: Others × End date: 1989 × Start date: 1981 × Type: Thesis ×
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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Comparative Study of The Contribution of Biometric Characters on Yieldin Dessert and Culinary Varieties of Banana
    (Department of Statistics, College of Veterinary,Mannuthy, 1981) Vijayaraghava Kumar; KAU; George, K C
    Investigations on the different morphological characters were undertaken from the crop raised at the University Banana Research Farm, Kannara. The plants were grown in Randomised blocks of 3 replications. There were 58 varieties in dessert type and 30 in culinary varieties of bananas. The important morphological characters studied were height, girth, number of leaves, weight of hands, weight of fingers, number of fingers, length of fingers, thickness of fingers, number of hands, number of fingers per hand, length of peduncle and the yield. In both of the groups all of these characters were shown high significant difference among varieties. In many characters and in yield the ‘average values’ were slightly greater in culinary varieties. The correlation studies revealed that the phenotypic and genotypic correlations of all these characters with yield is positive. The path coefficient analysis on dessert varieties has shown that the character having maximum contribution to yield is weight of hands. The weight of fingers and number of fingers also influences the yield indirectly. In the case of culinary varieties of bananas the number of fingers had the maximum direct contribution to yield. In this group the conclusion made was that when the number of hands increases, the number of fingers per hand decreases which will bring down the yield. Studies on the discriminant function were also carried out in both the varieties. The genetic advance through discriminant function didn’t reveal any worth significance as the genetic advances through these functions were less than that calculated by straight selection (in both groups). Thus straight selection is enough for such purposes in these banana varieties. By fixing index values for all the varieties in the two groups selection was made easy. The best varieties obtained by this method were Chenkadali and Red Banana in dessert group and Peykunnan and Walha in the culinary varieties. The results from the path analysis has revealed that there is no need of putting any restriction on the dessert varieties. In the other group after putting restriction on ‘girth’ the genetic advance were calculated individually for the significant (the ones taken in this analysis) morphological characters. It has seen that ‘number of fingers’ had the maximum genetic advance. Finally by combining all the varieties in the dessert and culinary groups a combined selection index was also fitted. The genetic advances of this index was found to be nearer to that obtained from the analysis of culinary varieties.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Compatability among Varieties in Capsicum Annum L. and Frutescens L.
    (Department of Olericulture, College of Horticulture,Vellanikkara, 1984) Krisnakumari, K; KAU; Peter, K V
    Attempts at interspecific hybridization in the genus Capsicum have succeeded only in a few cases. Most of the crosses resulted in negligible seed set and flower fall. Capsicum frutescens is valued for its high pungency and also for the source of resistance to leaf curl and mosaic complex. An experiment was planned and carried out during 1982-83 at the Instructional Farm of the College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, Trichur to find out crossability and related aspects involving two cultivated varieties of Capsicum annuum (Jwala and K2) and three useful lines of Capsicum frutescens (White Kanthari, Green Chuna and Ornamental Type). All crosses including directs and reciprocals were found to be compatiable except in two combinations where white kanthari was used as the female parent. Relative efficiency of hand pollination, mixed pollination and pollination after NAA (15ppm) spraying on compatibility indicated that the crosses white kanthari x Jwala and white kanthari x K2 failed with hand pollination and pollination after NAA sprying whereas these crosses were successful with mixed pollination. Effect of maternal parent on crossability index and percentage seed set efficiency was found to be significant. The chromosome numbers of the five parental lines were found to be 2n= 24. Significant heterosis was observed for many of the characters. Genetic distance reveals that parents Jwala and Green Chuna were the farthest whereas K2 and ornamental Type were the closest. Maximum oleoresin content was in Jwala (16.83%) and in hybrids Jwala x ornamental Type had the highest (16.6%).
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Standardisation of the Technique of Stonegrafting in Cashew and Management Practices For Field Establishment
    (Department of Pomology, Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture,Vellanikkara, 1984) Shylaja, M R; KAU; Aravindakhan, M
    The studies on the propagation of cashew by stone – grafting was carried out at the College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during June, 1982 to May, 1983 to find out the season for stone – grafting, to study the effect of procuring of scions, to standardise the best method of grafting and to find out the proper size, thickness and age of the rootstock on percentage of success of grafting. The studies revealed that the months of August and September were most suitable for stone – grafting under Kerala conditions. The period from October to December was most unsuitable. Of the different treatments tried the treatment TI, where grafting was done by the cleft method using scion sticks defoliated 10 days ahead of the grafting operation was found to be significantly superior to all the other treatments. Defoliation 10 days prior to the grafting operation was definitely superior to five days procuring and non – curing. Similarly the cleft method was found to be better than splice method. There was no significant correlation between the percentage of success and the various weather parameters like quantity of rainfall, number of rainy days, maximum and minimum temperatures and relative humidity. The mist condition did not improve the ultimate take of the grafts. There was linear growth rate for the different growth parameters tested such as the girth of the stock and scion and height of the scion. Also the girth of the stock and scion exhibited the same growth rate giving a ratio of about one for all the treatments except for the treatment T1 (grafting by the cleft method using 10 day procured scions) of the grafts produced in the month of June. There was apparently no difference in the percentage success in stone – grafting prepared from 10 days old and five days old stocks. Stocks and scions of girth 2.1 to 2.4 cm was found to give better success than those of above 2.4 cm. Scions of length 8.6 to 10.5 cm was found to be better than those with a length of 4.5 to 6.5 cm, 6.6 to 8.5 cm and above 10.5 cm.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Lipid Transfer in Chicken Ovary
    (Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,Mannuthy, 1981) Mathew Thomas, KAU; Ramakrishnapillai, M G
    The formation of an egg in the avian reproductive tract is a complex phenomenon. The exact mechanisms involved in the transfer of lipids synthesized in the liver and transported by blood to the ovary are not quite well understood. Hence this investigation was undertaken to study the various aspects of lipid transfer in relation to egg yolk formation. Ten numbers each of clinically healthy White Leghorn female birds of five different age groups (30 – 54- days, 70 – 74 – days, 100 – 104 – days, 129 – 133 – days and 223 – 227 – days – old) were selected at random, for the study and reared under standard farm conditions. Another group of 40 White Leghorn pullets (100 – 104 – days – old) were also selected at random and divided into four different groups of ten each. The first group of birds received stilbestrol dipropionate (SD), second group SD and progesterone (PG), the third group SD, PG, and testosterone dipropionate (TD) and the fourth group received olive oil alone for ten days consecutively. Blood serum, ovary and liver were collected from all the birds slaughtered by decapitation. Total lipid content in liver and ovary were determined by the method of Meynard and Joslyn (1970) and that in the serum, after extraction with ether and methyl alcohol. Phospholipid was estimated by adopting the method of King and Wootten (1959) and the total cholesterol by the method of Zak (1957). The growing birds recorded a progressive increase in phospholipids in the ovary, liver and blood serum. But the pullets treated with exogenous sex hormones did not show any significant increase in the level of phospholipids in the ovary while that in the liver and blood serum were high. The cholesterol level in the ovary, liver and bloods serum were high. The cholesterol level in the ovary, liver and blood serum were high in the different growing birds. But, here also, the cholesterol content in the ovary did not reveal any significant increase in level in pullets treated with different combinations of hormones, but that in the serum and liver were elevated. However, in the case of total lipids, the ovary, liver and blood serum in the case of all categories of birds showed a significantly higher content as age advanced and on the administration of hormones. The synthesis of lipids by the liver is increased in response to increasing levels of hormones as a result of growth and development of the birds. The lipids, synthesized in the liver, are distributed by the circulating blood to all the tissues, including the ovaries. The increase in concentration of lipids in the ovary as the birds grew older is due to the increased lipogenesis in the liver and their augmented transport by the blood. However, the pullets under the influence of exogenous sex hormones exhibited a different response. In the case of phospholipids and cholesterol the ovarian levels were low while in the liver and serum the values were high. The low levels of these components in the ovary may be due to the lesser ovarian activity induced by the operation of the negative feed – back mechanism between the pituitary and the sex steroids administered. But this does not hold good in the case of total lipids in the ovary of pullets receiving sex hormones. Here the level was high as in the case of liver and serum indicating a total absence of the operation of the negative feed – back mechanism. This calls forth further studies to enlighten the phenomenon.