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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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Author: Akhila, M U × End date: 2015 × Start date: 2015 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Population dynamics and management of mango fruit fly, bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae)
    (College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Akhila, M U; KAU; Jiji, T
    The investigation entitled “Population dynamics and management of mango fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae)” was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2013-2015. The main objective of the work was to study the host range and population dynamics of mango fruit fly and to standardize the use of alternate chemicals in Bait Application Technique (BAT) and Male Annihilation Technique (MAT) for its management. A survey was conducted in twenty homesteads of Kalliyoor panchayath having at least 25 cents and the Instructional Farm, Vellayani during 2013-2015 to study the pest incidence, extent of damage and host range of mango fruit fly. Study revealed the incidence of the B. dorsalis in three fruit crops viz., mango, guava and banana, out of the five selected. No infestation was observed in papaya and sapota. B. dorsalis preferred soursop as one of its hosts. The species emerged from mango were identified as B. dorsalis and B. caryeae (Kapoor). In guava and banana, only infestation by B. dorsalis was recorded. Infestation by other species of fruit fly was also recorded from rose apple and solanaceous vegetables viz., brinjal and tomato and the species were identified as B. syzigi and B. latifrons (Hendel), respectively. Fruit fly infestation in brinjal and tomato are new reports from Kerala. The percentage infestation in mango was higher in peak fruiting season during May (49.28) to June (61.68) and the maximum number of maggots was observed during June 2014 (82.49). Studies were conducted at ten homesteads of Kalliyoor panchayath and the Instructional Farm, Vellayani to monitor the population fluctuation and species diversity of fruit flies using methyl eugenol traps during 2014-15. It revealed the prevalence of four Bactrocera spp. viz., B. dorsalis, B. caryeae, B. correcta (Bezzi) and B. zonata (Saunders) with a species composition of 28.74, 69.85, 1.38 and 0.02 per cent, respectively. The population of B. caryeae (278.91) and B. dorsalis (124.82) reached the peak level in June 2014 which coincided with the peak fruiting season of mango. Studies on correlation with weather parameters revealed that the maximum temperature, average relative humidity and sunshine hours had a significant positive correlation with the population of B. dorsalis and B. caryeae. The biology of B. dorsalis in different mango varieties and hosts was studied. Longer pupal period (11.40 days) and maximum adult longevity (20.70 days) were observed in the mango variety Bangalora. Among the different hosts, the highest larval (12.90 days) and pupal periods (10.30 days) were recorded in banana. However, the highest adult longevity (19.70 days) was observed in mango. Field studies indicated that the activity of B. dorsalis was more (6.92 flies per trap) during 6.00 to 8.00 am. Based on the percentage mortality and LT 50 values, 10 per cent jaggery along with lambda cyhalothrin 0.005%, 10 per cent jaggery along with spinosad 0.02%, 10 per cent jaggery along with malathion 0.1% and 10 per cent jaggery along with lambda cyhalothrin 0.0025% in BAT and alcohol, lure and spinosad (6: 4: 0.2 v: v: v), alcohol, lure and malathion (6: 4: 1 v: v: v), alcohol, lure and spinosad (6: 4: 0.02 v: v: v) and alcohol, lure and deltamethrin (6: 4: 0.4 v: v: v) in MAT were selected for field evaluation. Field studies conducted in homesteads of Balaramapuram panchayath using the above promising insecticides revealed that 10 per cent jaggery along with spinosad 0.02% was effective in BAT and alcohol, lure and spinosad (6: 4: 0.2 v: v: v) was the best treatment in MAT. The study revealed that in addition to B. dorsalis, B. correcta and B. zonata and many other fruit fly species including B. caryeae, B. syzigi and B. latifrons are also becoming a great threat to crops. Considering the environmental factors, spinosad can be selected as an alternative chemical for the conventional organophosphate insecticide, malathion.