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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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20212
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Subject: Soil and Water Conservation × Author: KAU × Start date: 2021 × Type: Thesis ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Assessment of lateral flow and base flow for effective interventions in water conservation
    (Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Jyothy, Narayanan; KAU; Sathian, K K
    Subsurface movement of water has a vital role in the availability of water of an area, such that vertical downward movement of water from root zone region will recharge the groundwater and the lateral movement from the soil moisture or groundwater reservoir will tend to diminish it. The vertical downward movement of infiltrated water gets partially blocked and the accumulated water will induces interflow/lateral flow from a point of higher hydraulic gradient towards the lower hydraulic gradient. The midlands in the State of Kerala are predominantly covered with laterite soil underlain with hard laterite and crystalline rocks. Even though the state of Kerala receives an average annual rainfall of 3000 mm, it experiences severe dry spell during post-monsoon season as groundwater storage is not adequate to meet various demands. With growing variations in the characteristics of precipitation, increasing population and urbanization the infiltration opportunity time for rainwater has decreased resulting in further worsening of the situation. The pertaining issue requires a comprehensive investigation, learning and adoption of effective interventions for water conservation. The most hidden knowledge in this regard is the lack of quantitative information available on the movement of subsurface water. Hence, the present study was carried out to understand two major hydrological processes viz., lateral flow / interflow and groundwater flow in lateritic soils. The research was conducted at KCAET Tavanur campus, Kerala Agricultural University, India. The interflow determination was done in three sites through five experimental set ups. The selected experimental sites were having varied vegetal cover, slope and soil texture. Different techniques were used for the inducement of lateral flow such as rainfall simulation using micro-sprinklers, application of water in trenches and the natural rainfall. Interflow was monitored at three different soil depth zones of 0-40 cm, 40-80 cm and 80-120 cm on the vertical face of the trench made at the downslope side of the water application site. Further, salt (NaCl) tracer was used to determine lateral flow by analyzing salt breakthrough which was recorded through electrical conductivity variations at the monitoring trench face. Tracer analysis for interflow estimation was done through 2 experimental set ups in site 2 and site 3. Base flow monitoring was done through salt (KCl) tracer through five observation wells constructed for this purpose. Instantaneous injection of KCl tracer was done in the injection well and salt breakthrough analysis was carried out in nearby monitoring wells. The study also included simulation of lateral flow and groundwater flow using HYDRUS-2D software. The study revealed that among various soil physical properties, the lateral flow discharge greatly depends on bulk density of soil and soil texture. Further, it was found that an instantaneous application of water on the soil surface and in trench results in more lateral flow than gentle application rates. It was proved from the experiments that NaCl can be treated as an effective tracer to monitor the subsurface flow though molecular diffusion of the salt due to antecedent moisture content remains as a hindrance to its use during rainy season. The study has established that though the infiltration capacity of the lateritic soil is very high, major portion of the infiltrated water moves laterally without reaching the water table. Thus, to increase the groundwater recharge, it is essential to enhance vertical preferential flow through deep rooted vegetation or by deep trenches and pits. Adopting subsurface mechanical barriers which can intercept and divert the interflow to downward direction is also appears to be effective. Further, simulation of lateral flow and base flow using HYDRUS-2D software predicted the lateral flow discharge with a correlation coefficient of 96.4 %. The prediction accuracy of the model for base flow was 73%.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Assessment of greenhouse cultivation problems in Kerala
    (Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Deepthi S, Nair; KAU; Jinu, A
    Greenhouses are framed or inflated structure covered with transparent or translucent material large enough to grow crops under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions to get optimum growth and productivity. Greenhouse have many advantages and some limitations also. Due to this farmer are abandoning this cultivation method citing crop failures after the initial phase. Thus, a survey was conducted to explore the reasons of failures of greenhouse farmers in Kerala covering all fourteen districts. Major problem faced by farmers was crop failure due to ageing of cladding material. So that fungal growth and dust deposit over the cladding material reduce the light transmission to the greenhouse which affect its microclimate and growth and yield parameters. To prove this, a field experiment was conducted during the period from April to June 2021 in the instructional farm of KCAET, Tavanur, Kerala. CO-1(Amaranthus green variety) was planted inside both cleaned greenhouse and uncleaned greenhouse (greenhouse without cleaned cladding material) and compared the microclimate and performance of Amaranthus in both conditions. Mean monthly values of light intensity and temperature were higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the uncleaned one while relative humidity was higher inside the old greenhouse. Thus, crop growth parameters like plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and average yield per plant were higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the old one whereas the inter nodal length of the plant was higher inside the old greenhouse. From this experiment, it was clear that the aging of cladding material has much influence on crop performance under the greenhouse. Other major problems faced by farmers were a decrease in soil fertility, Fungal/Insect attack inside the greenhouse, high maintenance cost 101 and structural problems of greenhouse, no demand and marketing facility of greenhouse products, etc. From the statistical analysis of survey details, it was clear that farmers are not satisfied with the greenhouse.