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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Open Access
Consumer behaviour towards branded rice and rice products in Thrissur district
(Department of Rural Marketing Management, College of Co-operation, Banking and Management,Vellanikkara, 2002) Sangeetha, P R; KAU; Philip Sabu
The study entitled "Consumer behaviour towards branded rice and rice products in Thrissur District" was undertaken with the following objectives: * To find out the share of branded rice and rice products in total rice and rice product consumption; * To examine the consumer behaviour towards branded varieties of rice and rice products; and To identify the factors influencing consumer choice. The study was conducted in three wards viz., Mission Quarters, West Fort and Wadakkechira Bus Stand Area of Thrissur Municipal Town (now part of the Corporation). The sample consisted of 200 households, which were selected proportionate to the total number of households in each selected ward. The study was based on primary data collected from the sample respondents (housewives) using a pre-tested structured schedule. Bivariate tables, Percentages, Preferential Ranking Method, Kendall' s Coefficient of Concordance, Satisfaction Index and Likert's Scale were empl?yed to analyse and interpret data. The study was an explorative search into the behaviour of the consumers towards branded rice, rice products and basmati rice. An attempt was also made to find out the share of brand users among the respondents and to identify the factors influencing consumer choice. Analysis of the socio-economic profile of the respondents revealed that majority of them preferred non-branded rice and home-made rice products irrespective of socio-economic differences. The preference towards branded rice and rice products was comparatively higher among the respondents with higher education and higher income. Similarly, compared to aged people, the share of brand users was higher among the younger generation. The share of employed respondents preferring branded rice products was more than the share of employed respondents preferring branded rice. The share of brand users was relatively higher among 'nuclear' families than joint families. Majority or the respondents, were spending on an average of 45.5 per cent of the total monthly expenditure on food items. The average monthly household expenditure on rice, rice products and basmati rice was around 14 per cent of the total food expenditure and six per cent of the total household expenditure. Regarding the share of brand users among the respondents, it was observed that majority of the respondents were using non-branded rice, non- branded basrnati rice and home-made rice products. The share of brand users was only 30.5 per cent, 25 per cent and 35 per cent respectively in the case of rice, rice products and basmati rice. Most of the respondents were using boiled rice for meals and a mix of raw and boiled rice for making rice products. 'Taste' and 'custom/habit' were the major reasons stated for the use of home-made nee products, while 'convenience' and 'taste' influenced the use of branded rice products. 'Quality perceptions' about the branded varieties was identified as the major reason for using branded rice and basmati rice by the users. 'Low price' and 'satisfaction with the currently used variety' were the factors that influenced the users of non-branded rice and basmati rice. Irrespective of brand and non-brand preferences, brand awareness and ability to recall the brand was higher in the case of rice and rice products and lower in the case of basmati rice. Brand loyalty was also very high among the brand users in all the selected items. Brand shifting tendency, in general, was weak among the respondents. As regards the source of purchase, 'supermarkets' were the major source of purchase for all branded items. 'General provision stores' and 'margin free supermarkets' were the major source of purchase in the case of non-branded rice and basmati rice respectively. Store loyalty was very high among both the brand and non-brand users across the items. 'Accessibility', 'better customer service' and 'discount offered by the shop keeper' were the major reasons for store loyalty. 'High price', 'inconveniences', 'non-availability' and 'poor customer service' were the reasons that caused store shift by the respondents. As far as quantity preferred for single purchase was concerned, brand users of rice preferred to buy in small quantities compared to non-brand users. But in the case of basmati rice, most of the brand and non-brand users preferred to buy one kg packet for a single purchase. Similarly branded rice product users preferred to buy half kg or one kg packet for a single purchase. Purchase decision regarding rice, rice products and other consumables were made by women in majority of the families eventhough the husbands constituted the major actual buyers in rice and other consumables. Wives constituted the major shoppers in the case of rice products. Media exposure, both print and electronic, was very high among the respondents. Majority of them were subscribing newspaper and magazines and possessing television, telephone and radio. Television was identified as the most preferred advertising media and the main source of information regarding rice and rice products. In the bid to find out the parameters influencing purchase behaviour, it was found out that 'taste', 'absence of foreign materials', 'less cooking time' and 'aroma' were the major parameters that influenced the purchase behaviour of both brand and non-brand users in rice and basmati rice. 'Taste', 'easy availability' and 'convenience' were the parameters influencing the purchase of rice products. Satisfaction level of both brand and non-brand users towards the brand/variety currently used by them was also very high and 'price' was the only factor which scored a lower degree of satisfaction. In the effort to examine the general attitude of the respondents towards branded rice, rice products and basmati rice, it was observed that all the brand users and majority of the non-brand users had a favourable attitude towards brands. A detailed analysis of the attitude of the respondents towards statements representing various features of the selected items revealed that majority of the brand users had a favourable attitude towards all the statements. Most of the non- brand users showed neutral attitude towards product related attributes such as 'volume expansion', 'taste' and 'shelf life' of the product. Majority of the brand and non-brand users agreed that the price of the branded items was high. The general observation from the study was that eventhough most of the brand and non-brand users showed a favourable attitude towards brands, only a small percentage of them was using branded items. The share of brand users was only 3Cl.5 per cent, 25 per cent and 35 per cent in the case of rice, rice products and basmati rice respectively. The major factor which prevented the non-brand users from using brands was the relatively higher price of the brands. It was also observed that the product related factors such as 'taste', 'absence of foreign materials', and 'less cooking time' were the major factors that influenced the purchase decision of consumers, both brand and non-brand. Majority of the respondents were highly satisfied with the brand or variety currently used by them except in the case of price.
Open Access
Simultation of the Effect of Land and Vegetation Management on Runoff and Sediment Yield From a Small Watershed- a case Study
(Department of Land and Water Resources and Conservation Engineering, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology,Thavanur, 2000) Vinod Kumar, P R; KAU; Xavier Jacob, K
Conservation of soil by sound measures forms one of the fundamental premises towards a sustained future. The management of land and vegetation has profound influence in conservation programme. To simulate the effect of land and vegetation management measures on runoff and sediment yield from a waterhed, a study was conducted at Development Unit – IX of Attapadi region, in Palghat district. The relationship between effective rainfall and sediment mobilized due to rain storm was established as; ES = 28.57 ER0.9385., where ES is the effective sediment mobilized in T/km2 and ER is the effective rainfall in cm. The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was applied on perstorm basis to estimate the soil erosion. The Modified – USLE (R) factor was used to represent the erosivity factor in the soil loss estimation. The topographic factor (LS) was computed using the USLE and Revised – USLE methods. This particular parameter computed with the USLE was more than that of the RUSLE. The amount of soil erosion predicted with the USLE were more than that of the RUSLE due to greater LS factor associated with the USLE method. However both methods provided an ‘r2’ value of 0.9724. The WEPP – model was applied to simulate the runoff and soil erosion processes during individual rainstorm events. The model provided reliable simulation of the erosion process, but the runoff values were under – predicted for all the simulated events. The hillslopes cultivated with tuber crops gave maximum erosion per unit area during the simulation. The reason could be assumed as the absence of sufficient ground and canopy cover in this areas, which possessed a loosened surface after harvesting. The lands left as barren after tree felling also had increased rates of erosion during the simulation, which could be due to the lack of vegetative protection. While the paddy field had lesser rates of erosion owing to the flatness of land and vegetation cover. The other areas yielded reduced rates of erosion due to good canopy cover as well as surface cover provided by closely growing vegetation.
Open Access
Genetic cataloguing of hot chilli (Capsicum chinese JacQ.)
(Department of Olericulture, College of Agriculture,Vellayani, 2001) Manju, P R; KAU; Sreelatha Kumary, I
The research project "Genetic cataloguing of hot chilli (Capsicum chinense Jacq.)" was carried out in the vegetable research plot of the Department of Olericulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, during September 2000 to May 2001. The objective of the study was to catalogue the accessions based on the IBPGR descriptor for Capsicum and to estimate the genetic parameters for different traits in the germplasm for identifying superior lines based on yield, quality and pest and disease resistance. Thirty two accessions of C. ch inense collected from various sources upon cataloguing pointed out wide variation for several morphological characters. Analysis of variance revealed significant difference among the accessrons for all the characters studied namely, plant height, primary branches per plant, plant spread, days to first flowering, pollen viability, days to maturity, fruits per plant, fruit length, pedicel length, fruit girth, fruit weight, seeds per fruit, 1000-seed weight, yield per plant, yield per harvest, number of harvests, capsaicin, oleoresin, ascorbic acid and mosaic incidence. Among the accessions, CC 23 recorded the maximum yield (1649.72 g) as well as fruits per plant (637.44). CC 13 was the earliest to flower (54.67 days) with the maximum number of harvests (6.94) and least vulnerability index for mosaic (40.63). Fruits per plant recorded the maximum phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation, followed by yield per plant and fruit weight. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for fruits per plant, yield per plant, fruit weight, fruit girth and fruit length. Correlation studies and path coefficient analysis revealed that fruits per plant is the primary yield component as evidenced from its high positive correlation as well as high direct and indirect effects on yield. In the discriminant function analysis, CC 23 (Nemom, Thiruvananthapuram) ranked first, followed by CC 13 (Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram) and CC 7 (Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram). Based on the analysis for genetic divergence, the 32 accessions were grouped into six clusters, with the maximum intercluster distance observed between clusters I and VI. On the basis of the present study, the accessions CC 23, CC 13 and CC 7 were found to be promising with regard to yield, quality and mosaic resistance and the same may be utilized for further improvement.
Open Access
Management of Non-Performing Assets Of Commercial Banks : A Case Study Of The South Indian Bank Limited
(Department of Rural Bank and Finance Management, College of Cooperation Banking and Management,Vellanikkara, 2000) Samantajit Mayengbam, KAU; Molly Joseph
The study entitled "Management of Non - Performing Assets of Commercial Banks - A Case Study of The South Indian Bank Limited" was conducted with the following objectives. i) To assess the volume and composition of Non- Performing Assets (NPAs) of South Indian Bank Ltd.(SIB) ii) To identify the major determinants of NPAs and iii) To examine the existing institutional arrangements for reducinz and recovering NP As. The study was confined to the Trichur Region of the Bank. Out of the 57 branches of the Region, five were selected for the study. The sample frame comprised of 150 respondents belonging to agriculture, retail trade/ small business, professional/ self employed, miscellaneous (trade/general) and other non - priority. The first three sectors constitute priority sector and the last two non - priority sector. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. Primary data were collected by means of a pre-tested interview schedule from the 150 respondents whereas secondary data for the period 1994 - 1999 were collected/compiled from various published sources. The study has revealed that the 27 Public Sector Banks (PSBS) as a group with nearly 90 per cent of the NPAs is the largest contributor of the NPAs of the commercial banks of the country. The 19 . nationalised banks contribute to more than 60 per cent of the total NP As of the PSBs. The three nationalised banks which are identified as weak bank by Varma Committee, viz., Indian Bank, uca Bank and United Bank of India contribute to 22.86 per cent of the total NPAs of the nationalised banks. The NP A level of the commercial banks of India when compared to some of the developed countries 'are very high. The expeditious recovery measure due to stringent bankruptcy and foreclosure laws in other countries are the reasons behind this. From the analysis of the NP As of the seven Kerala based banks, it is seen that the only PSB, i.e., SBT have a very high share to the total NPAs of the Kerala based banks and out of the remaining six Kerala based private sector banks Federal Banb has the highest share. But the share of net NP A to net advance is the lowest for Federal Bank in 1998. Non - priority sector have a much larger share of advances and gross NP As when compared to the priority sector for PSBs. But the percentage of sectoral gross NPAs to sectoral gwss advances is lower for non - priority sector in the case of PSBs. For PSBs, Doubtful Assets consti~ the major portion of the NPAs. This is in contrast to that of SIB where sub-standard assets constitute major portion of the NPAs. 11 Region wise analysis of the net advances and net NPAs of SIB reveals that the inside Kerala Regions are functioning better than the outside Kerala Regions. Mumbai Region is the highest contributor of the NP As of the Bank. Chennai and Coimbatore Regions also have high share of NP As to the total NP As of the Bank. Therefore, if the NP As of the outside Kerala Regions can be brought down than the NPA level of the Bank can be decreased drastically. The major determinants of NP As as identified from the study in order of priority are less return / failure of the venture, wilful defaulters, misutilisation/ diversion of loans, insufficient loan amount/ loan from other sources, high rate of interest/high instalment amount and ploughing back of return. The frequency of visits of the bankers to the place of business of the borrowers can certainly bring down the number of accounts from becoming NPAs. Even in the existing NPA accounts of the Bank, a considerable amount can be realised through compwmise/ negotiation/ nursing, since a major portion of the NPAs of the Bank are in the sub-standard category. The present legal system in India is customer friendly and not banker friendly. A change in this is urgently required, along with earnest attempts from the bankers' side right from appraisal of loan application. The considerable reduction in the NPAs of the Trichur Region of the SIB may be attributed to the efforts of the Bank in this direction. 1Il

Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

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