Thumbnail Image

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.

Browse

2008 - 200912010 - 20141
Reset filters
Author: Jyothi Sara, Jacob × Author: KAU × End date: 2020 ×
Reset filters

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Biotic agents for the management of American serpentine leaf miner, Liriomyza trifolii(Burgess) (Diptera:Agromyzidae)
    (Department of agricultural entomology, College of horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2014) Jyothi Sara, Jacob; KAU; Maicykutty P, Mathew
    A study on “Biotic agents for the management of American serpentine leaf miner, Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera: Agromyzidae)” was carried out at the Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Horticulture, K.A.U., Vellanikkara during 2011-2013 with the objectives of collection and identification of indigenous natural enemies and to assess the pathogenicity of the entomopathogens to explore the feasibility of utilizing them for its management. Surveys were conducted in the vegetable fields for the collection and identification of natural enemies associated with L. trifolii in three districts, namely, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Kottayam from January to March, 2011. The surveys revealed the occurrence of nine species of hymenopteran parasitoids. The per cent parasitism varied from 10.96 to 58.99 per cent among the crops surveyed. Three species of eulophids, namely, Cirrospilus acadius Narendran, C. brevicorpus Shafee & Rizvi and Aprostocetus sp. as well as the braconid, Toxares sp. are new reports for India. Among the parasitoids, Closterocerus spp. were the dominant group followed by Chrysonotomyia sp. All parasitoids were solitary, larval endoparasitoids except Toxares sp. which was larval-pupal in nature. One species each of small ants (Formicidae) and a dipteran fly (Dolichopodidae) were observed as predators on L. trifolii. In the study, no entomopathogens were observed from L. trifolii. Considering the level of pesticide consumption in vegetable crops that undermine the potential of insect parasitoids and also that no entomopathogens could be observed during the survey, it was decided to evaluate entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) as biocontrol agents against L. trifolii. Isolation of EPNs from 72 soil samples from Thrissur, Ernakulam and Kottayam districts yielded four isolates of Steinernema carpocapsae. Bioefficacy studies carried out on these four isolates along with Steinernema bicornutum and Heterorhabditis indica showed that S. carpocapsae Isolate - 1 had the lowest LC 50 , LC 90 and LT values indicating their higher effectiveness against the maggots of the pest. 50 Pot culture study conducted to compare the potential of S. carpocapsae Isolate - 1 with other treatments showed that azadirachtin 1 EC at 0.005% was the most effective causing 84.51 per cent mortality to the maggots of L. trifolii. This was followed by the foliar application of H. indica at 32 infective juveniles (IJs)/ maggot which caused 18.98 per cent mortality. Application of Beauveria bassiana at 1×10 7 spores/ ml was not effective. In the field evaluation, fipronil 5 SC at 0.002% was found to be the most effective treatment for controlling L. trifolii followed by azadirachtin 1 EC at 0.005%. Compatibility of the IJs of the S. carpocapsae Isolate - 1, S. bicornutum and H. indica was studied with ten commonly used insecticides in the laboratory by direct exposure method. Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC at 0.005% was found to be the most compatible insecticide with S. carpocapsae isolate - 1 causing only 0.17 per cent mortality to IJs at 72 hours after treatment (HAT). Quinalphos 25 EC at 0.05% and chlorpyriphos20 EC at 0.05% were highly incompatible, causing 96.17 and 92.87 per cent mortality of the nematodes. Dimethoate 30 EC at 0.04% was the most compatible insecticide with S. bicornutum and caused only 0.60 per cent mortality at 72 HAT and was followed by azadirachtin 1 EC at 0.005% with 0.78 per cent mortality to the IJs. Quinalphos 25 EC at 0.05% caused 99.93 per cent mortality at 72 HAT. Heterorhabditis indica was compatible with all insecticides except quinalphos 25 EC at 0.05% which was moderately toxic resulting in 39.6 per cent mortality. The virulence, pathogenicity and multiplication of the survived IJs were not affected by the insecticide treatments. Parasitoids and EPNs were observed as potential candidates for the management of L. trifolii. Hence future studies on the bio-ecology and mass production of dominant parasitoids and standardization of methods to improve the efficacy of EPNs are suggested for the successful control of L. trifolii in polyhouses as well as in the field.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Bio-efficacy and molecular characterization of the native isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner
    (Department of Agricultural Entomology , College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2008) Jyothi Sara, Jacob; KAU; Maicykutty, P Mathew
    Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner shortly known as B.t., is a gram-positive, spore forming bacterium that produces proteinaceous crystal containing insecticidal toxins. The host range of B.t. has expanded considerably due to extensive screening programmes. By virtue of its lack of toxicity towards other species of animals and human beings, B.t. has emerged as a safe candidate in the IPM programmes of various agroecosystems. Frequent exposure to one type of B. thuringiensis toxins can develop resistance in insects. Isolation of novel strains is important to overcome the onset of insect resistance. The present study on “Bio-efficacy and molecular characterization of native isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner” was conducted at the Department of Agricultural Entomology and CPBMB, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during the period from 2006 to 2008 with an objective to study the pathogenicity of 20 B. thuringiensis isolates collected from the Western Ghats of Kerala, one of the well known hot spots of biodiversity. The tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura Fb. which was used as the test insect was reared in semi-synthetic diet (Ballal, 2004) and also in natural diet on castor leaves. The preliminary screening was performed for lepidopteran specificity with the ideal dose of 1 x 109 spores per ml showed that three isolates were toxic to S. litura. The per cent mortality caused by the lepidopteran effective isolates, namely, KAU-11, KAU-51, KAU-166 and the reference strain, HD-1 were 76.7 per cent, 80.0 per cent, 86.7 percent, 96.7 per cent respectively. A standardized bioassay was carried out with five different concentrations of all the selected isolates namely, KAU-11, collected from Thusharagiri (Calicut Dt.), KAU-51 from Kolahalamedu (Idukki Dt.), KAU-166 from Nelliyampathi(Palakkad Dt.) and the reference standard HD-1 (B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki). The mortality ranged from 63.3 to 100.0 per cent in various isolates and there was no significant difference between isolates. This indicated the equal effectiveness of the native isolates with the standard strain, HD-1. The LC5o value for the isolates was calculated by Finney’s Method of Probit Analysis. The lowest LC50 was obtained in KAU-51, with 6.3095 x 104 spores per ml and highest in KAU-11, with 1.2589 x 106 spores per ml. The lethal time to cause 50 per cent mortality (LT50) ranged from 44.4 h. to 96.0 h. in different isolates. The lowest LT50 was recorded in HD-1, which shows the ability of the standard to cause mortality slightly earlier compared to other isolates. The molecular characterization of the selected isolates was performed with RAPD-PCR technique. RAPD-PCR is a simple and rapid method for determining genetic diversity in various organisms and is a means of creating a biochemical finger print of an organism. Out of the 20 primers screened, 10 primers which produced more than five bands were selected for RAPD analysis. The RAPD data was used to generate a similarity matrix using the NTSyS programme. Clustering was done and dendrogram was drawn using Unweighted Pair Group Method of Arithematic Averages (UPGMA). The results showed that high variability exists between the selected isolates. Further studies are required to identify the subspecies of the efficient B.t. isolates to evaluate the field effectiveness against S. litura and other major lepidopteran pests for its utilization in pest management programmes. More primers need to be screened to study the genetic diversity of the isolates.