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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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20071
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Subject: Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry × Author: Annie, Koruth × End date: 2009 × Start date: 2000 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Yield maximisation in rice (Oryza sativa L) in the acid sulphate soils of Kuttanad through systematic approach in fertilizer use
    (Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2007) Annie, Koruth; KAU; Venugopal, V K
    Cereals are the world’s major source of food for human nutrition. Among these, rice is very important and represents the staple diet for more than two-fifths (2.4 billion) of the world’s population, making it the most important food crop of the developing world. Rice is the staple food of Kerala and is the only cereal crop of significance to the food basket of the State. Kuttanad is the rice bowl of Kerala producing nearly 30% of the State’s rice output. The entire area is now planted with high yielding rice varieties adopting all improved agricultural practices including higher doses of fertilizers and pesticides. The problems associated with the application of heavy doses of fertilizers, leading to nutrient imbalance and economic loss to the farmer is a major constraint. Therefore improvement in soil health through balanced fertilization, leading to productivity increase and economic benefit to the farmer, will have a measurable impact on rice production in the state. With a view to realize the maximum economic yield in rice by optimizing the nutritional status of the soil, a series of experiments were undertaken under the present study entitled “Yield maximisation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the acid sulphate soils of Kuttanad through ‘systematic approach’ in fertilizer use”. This involved preliminary soil analysis, nutrient fixation study and green house nutrient survey to demarcate the nutrient constraints and also to optimize the soil nutrient status. The critical level of P & K for the soils of Kuttanad were also done since the basic concept of systematic approach is based on the critical level of nutrients in soil. Pot culture studies were undertaken to find out the critical level of P & K using maize as indicator crop. The soil test values of P & K were correlated with the per cent yield and a significant correlation was obtained only for P with yield. A quadratic relationship was observed with per cent yield and soil test P values. This relationship gave a critical level value of 11.17 mg I' 1 for P. But in the case of K, no such relationship was obtained. Fixation study conducted for P, K, Cu, Zn, Mn, S & B to find out if any of the applied plant nutrients, fixed or complexed abnormally with the soil indicated P, K, Zn, S & B as the limiting nutrients, and the optimum quantities of these limiting nutrients were determined as 224 mg f 1 P, 122 mg l"1 K, 5.8 mg f 1 Zn, 2 mg I' 1 S & 1.52 mg I' 1 B. The green house nutrient survey conducted to arrive at the optimum treatment revealed that, for formulating the optimum treatment, lime @ 0.07 g CaCC>3 100 ml' 1 soil, Ca @ 822.4 mg I'1, Mg @ 349 mg f 1, P, K, Zn, S & B at the above concentrations, Mo @ 2 mg I' 1 & N @ 100 mg I' 1 has to be added. There were 16 treatments. This experiment was conducted with Sorghum as indicator crop and the relative yield calculated from the biomass yield, recorded on the 45th day of planting revealed P only as the limiting nutrient for this particular soil. The quantity of P to be added to the optimum treatment was 224 mg I'1, which is 602 kg P ha'1. Since this is a very high and uneconomic dose for farmers to adopt, the Package of Practices Recommendations: Crops (POP) for medium duration rice variety, 45 kg P2O5 ha’1 was opted as the base and since P is the limiting nutrient, two higher doses, 60 & 75 kg P2O5 ha' 1 were tested as the three levels of P application. As balanced fertilization is a must for the rice crop, three levels of K were also included. Since K was not limiting, the POP recommended dose and two lower levels were tested, i.e., 15, 30 & 45 kg K2O ha'1. Thus the design for the field experiment was 3x3 Factorial RBD with an absolute control. Total 9+1 treatments. N @ 90 kg ha' 1 was applied to all treatment plots. The main effect of P & K and their interactions were studied. The field experiment was laid out for two consecutive seasons, Puncha (Rabi) 2004-05 (Nov. ’04 - March ’05) and Additional Crop (,Khan/) 2005 (May ’05 to Oct. ’05) in the experimental field of Rice Research Station (RRS), Moncompu, Kuttanad, Kerala. The medium duration rice variety, Uma (MO. 16) released from RRS, Moncompu with an average grain yield of 4.5 - 5.0 t ha' 1 was used for the experiment. The effect of these treatments on dry matter yield of shoot & root, soil & plant nutrient content and nutrient uptake of N, P & K at the critical stages of rice growth were studied. Biometric observations, yield and yield components were also recorded. For P, the limiting nutrient, significant differences in the phosphorus content of plant were observed when different doses of P were applied. The P content and uptake of grain and straw were not influenced during the Puncha season, while during the Additional Crop season it was significantly influenced by the varying doses of P. All the control plots recorded a significantly lower P content and uptake & low P soil status compared to treated plots on an average during both seasons. An increase in the application of K doses, resulted in a significant increase in the K status of soil during Puncha season, while during the Additional Crop season, this was not noticed and the treated plots were on par with control. With an increase in applied K, there was a significantly corresponding increase in K content in plant during the Puncha season, while during the Additional Crop season this was not so. The K content and uptake of grain and straw was not influenced during both seasons by the different doses of K but the treated plots recorded a significantly higher uptake