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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: KAU × Author: Pooja, A E × End date: 2023 × Start date: 2021 × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Performance evaluation of underutilized edible alliums
    (Department of Plantation crops and spices, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2021) Pooja, A E; KAU; Mini, Raj
    Allium L. is one of the largest genera in the Amaryllidaceae, with around 900 species distributed throughout the world. Indian gene centre is fairly rich in wild species (about 30) mostly confined to Himalayas. Allium species may differ in appearance and flavour, yet biochemically, they are quite similar. Wild Allium species are the good source of biologically active phytomolecules, including organosulphur compounds, phenolic acids, flavonols, vitamins and nutrients. Underutilised Alliums can be an excellent substitute for onion and garlic in different regions of India, due to their wider adaptability and multipurpose usage, especially under the current unpredictable climatic conditions. It is in this context that, the current experiment entitled Performance evaluation of underutilized edible Alliums was taken up with the broad objective of morphological characterization and biochemical analysis of underutilised edible Alliums namely Allium tuberosum and Allium chinense under Kerala conditions and to standardise the storage methods. The study used a completely randomised design with four treatment combinations and four replications of the two species, A. tuberosum and A. chinense, which were cultivated in grow bags under rain shelter and open field conditions, separately. The observations recorded are number of leaves per plant, number of tillers per plant, number of leaves per tiller, plant height, leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf area and foliage yield. Physiological and biochemical parameters such as total chlorophyll, chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’, total carotenoides, dry matter, moisture content, relative water content, TSS, ascorbic acid, phenol, flavonoids, total sugar, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, and sulphur content were studied. The findings reveal that variability was present between the Allium species, as well as between the growing conditions under study. For storage study, the experiment was set up in completely randomised design with twelve treatment combinations and three replications. The treatment combinations included of three distinct storage conditions such as, refrigerated condition, cold storage and ambientcondition and four types of packaging materials such as, 200-gauge LDPE, 200- gauge LDPE with perforation, brown paper bag and tissue paper wrapping, the observations with respect to physiological loss of weight and organoleptic properties were examined. Among Allium species, morphological characteristics like plant height, number of tillers, leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf area and leaf yield were found to be significantly higher in Allium chinense than Allium tuberosum, whereas number of leaves per plant and number of leaves per tiller were significantly higher in A. tuberosum when compared to A. chinense. Physiological characteristics like total chlorophyll, chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’, total carotenoids, moisture content and relative water content was found to be highest in A. tuberosum compared to A. chinense, whereas dry matter content and TSS were found to be highest in A. chinense when compared to A. tuberosum. Biochemical characteristics such as ascorbic acid, total phenols, total flavonoids, total sugars, reducing sugar and non- reducing sugar was high in A. chinense compared to A. tuberosum, whereas sulphur content was found to be highest in A. tuberosum. Among the growing conditions, all the morphological characteristics such as number of leaves per plant, number of tillers, number of leaves per tiller, plant height, leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf area and leaf yield were found significantly higher under open condition when compared to rain shelter. Physiological characteristics such as total chlorophyll, chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’, total carotenoids, moisture content and relative water content was found significantly higher when grown in rain shelter compared to open condition, whereas dry matter content and TSS was found significantly higher when grown under open condition compared to rain shelter. Biochemical parameters such as ascorbic acid content, phenol content, total flavonoids, total sugars, reducing sugar and sulphur content was found significantly higher when grown under open condition compared to rain shelter, whereas non-reducing sugar was found significantly higher when grown in rain shelter in A. tuberosum and it is found higher under open condition in case of A. chinense.Storage study revealed that, storage conditions and packaging materials influenced the physiological loss of weight and organoleptic quality of Allium leaves during storage. The leaves of Allium tuberosum and Allium chinense stored in ambient conditions exhibited the most PLW compared to those held in cold storage and refrigerated conditions. In all storage conditions, the leaves packed in 200-gauge LDPE with perforation had the lowest PLW, followed by 200-gauge LDPE, and it was greatest in tissue paper wrapping, followed by brown paper bag. Among the Allium species, A. chinense showed lesser loss in physiological weight irrespective of storage conditions and packaging materials when compared to A. tuberosum. Regardless of storage conditions or packing materials, the organoleptic score for appearance, colour, texture, aroma, and overall acceptability decreased with prolonged storage. Leaves packed in 200-gauge LDPE with perforation and stored in refrigerated condition was found to be effective in maintaining the lowest PLW, appearance, colour, texture, odour, and overall acceptability throughout the storage period and with maximum shelf life of 15 days for Allium chinense and 12 days for Allium tuberosum. Allium tuberosum produces fragrant, white six-stellate flowers in umbels, and the plants are hermaphroditic. There were about an average of 59 flowers present in each umbel. The flowers opened 12 days after the emergence of buds and reached full flowering stage in 6.8 days. Seed set occurred 67 days after flowering in capsules. There were about 80 seeds present in each umbel.