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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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ThesisItem Open Access Nutritional status of women engaged in fishvending in Thivandurm district(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Karuna, M S; KAU; Prema, LThe study on the “Nutritional status of women engaged in fishvending in Trivandrum District” comprises of the socio-economic and food consumption pattern of the fisherwomen families with special reference to their actual food intake, energy expenditure and nutritional status. Families surveyed were nuclear type belonging to under privileged communities. Main occupation of the families was fishing and fishvending. Most of the families belonged to the income groups of Rs.1000 to 2000. In these families as the income increased the percentage of income spent on food items decreased. Expenditure on education and health was very low. Male members spent much money for their faulty habits like alcoholism and playing cards. Most of the families were in debts and only women were responsible for the economic management of the families. Index developed from various socio-economic variables revealed that all the families lived below the poverty line. All the families were non-vegetarians and fish was the main nonvegetarian food in their diet. However, consumption of vegetables, pulses, eggs and green leafy vegetables was less due to lack of knowledge about nutritious food. Preparation of food is not upto the standard and this results in the poor quality of the food. Unbalanced, monotonous meal pattern was observed in the community. Compared to other stages of life, special attention was given only during infancy and pre-school period. Besides fishvending women were responsible for household tasks and child care practices. The women got employment for 7 months in a year. Most of the women sold the fish either in the markets in the city or by home to home delivery. Income getting from fishvending was not in proportion to the distance covered. Time spent for fishvending activity was more than the time they spent for other activities. Most of the household activities were combined with fishvending activities. It was found that total time spent for fishvending and household activities was more than 10 hours in a day. Time spent for fishvending activities was positively associated with family income, age of the fisherwomen and income of the fisherwomen. Compared to recommended daily allowance, higher energy expenditure was noticed in all the fisherwomen studied. Majority of the women were below the normal weight. Body Mass Index of the women showed that 33.33 percent suffered from energy deficiency. Nutritional status index was developed from height, weight and body mass index. The index developed ranged from 14.04 to 18.58. A highly significant positive association was observed in between nutritional status index of the women and their height, weight, BMI, Index developed from socio-economic factors and their energy expenditure. Clinical examination of the fisherwomen revealed that 95.33 percent of the women were suffering from any one of the nutritional deficiency disorders. Consumption of food quantity and availability of nutrients from the food were not satisfactory. The nutrients like energy, calcium, iron , retinol, thiamine , niacin and riboflavin and Vitamin C were deficient in their diets. As a result nutritional deficiency symptoms were more prevalent among them. Energy expenditure was more than the intake of energy. Blood constituents like haemoglobin, total protein albumin and Vitamin A were deficient in many of the women studied. From the above findings it was concluded that the nutritional status of the fisherwomen was found to be affected by geographic, environmental and disease factors.ThesisItem Open Access Inter-relationship of applied nutrients on growth, productivity and latex flow characteristics of havea brasiliensis muell. arg.(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Punnoose, K I; KAU; Sreedharan, CThree field experiments were conducted in three locations representing the major rubber growing regions in South India to study the response to nutrient applications on growth characters, yield and latex flow characteristics and to study the inter-relationship between soil and plant nutrients on yield. It was also envisaged to assess the relative response in the different locations and to make economic analysis of the benefit of manuring. Three levels of 0, 40 and 80 N ha-1, 0, 30 and 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 and 0, 40 and 80 kg k2O ha-1 and two levels of 0 and 10 kg MgO ha-1 were used. A 33 x 2 partially confounded factorial split plot experiment in randomised block design with two replications was followed. The 80 kg level of N and 30 and 40 kg levels respectively of P and K were optimum for girth increment in all the locations. Application of Mg was also beneficial. For virgin bark thickness the 40, 30 and 40 kg levels of N, P and K respectively were sufficient in all the locations and application of Mg was not beneficial. For bark renewal 80 kg N was optimum at Thodupuzha whereas the 40 kg level was sufficient in the other locations. The 60 kg level of P was useful at Kulasekharam and Thodupuzha while 30 kg was sufficient at Balussery. The 40 kg level of K was optimum in all the locations and application of Mg was not beneficial. The 80 kg level of N gave the maximum weight of leaf litter in all places while for P and K the 30 and 40 kg levels respectively were sufficient. Magnesium was beneficial only at Balussery in one year. The 40, 30 and 40 kg levels respectively of N, P and K gave the highest total volume of latex in all the locations except at Balussery where 80 kg K was superior to 40 kg. Application of Mg was beneficial at Balussery while it had a reducing effect at Kulasekharam and no effect at Thodupuzha. Application of N and K reduced the plugging index and that of P and Mg increased it in all the locations. For dry rubber content, the 80 kg level of N was optimum at Kulasekharam while the 40 kg level was sufficient in the other locations. With regard to P and K the 30 and 40 kg levels respectively were sufficient. Application of Mg was beneficial only at Thodupuzha. In the case of yield of rubber 40 kg N and 30 kg P2O5 were found to be optimum in all locations. The 40 kg level of K2O was sufficient at Kulasekharam and Thodupuzha while the 80 kg gave the highest yield at Balussery. At Thodupuzha and Balussery application of Mg was beneficial while at kulasekharam it reduced the yield. Application of N increased the organic carbon content of soil. The available P, K and Mg contents of soil were increased by the application of the respective nutrients. The N, P, K and Mg contents of leaf and latex were increased by application of the respective nutrients. Application of P as rock phosphorus also increased the available Ca content of soil and Ca contents of leaf and latex. The yield of rubber was positively correlated with girth increment, rate of bark renewal, initial flow rate, total volume and dry rubber content of latex and negatively with plugging index. Yield was also positively correlated with the available N, P, K and Ca contents of soil N, K and Ca contents of leaf and P and K contents of latex and negatively correlated with Mg contents of soil and leaf. The strongest correlations with yield were given by soil N, latex P and K and leaf Ca. Total volume of latex was positively correlated with the available N, P, K and Ca contents of soil, N, K and Ca contents of leaf and P and K contents of latex. The dry rubber content of latex was positively correlated with the available N, P and Ca contents of soil, N, K and Ca contents of leaf and N, P, K and Ca contents of latex. The plugging index was positively correlated with the P and Ca contents and negatively with the N and K contents of soil, leaf and latex. Positive correlations, were obtained between soil and leaf nutrients, soil and latex nutrients and leaf and latex nutrients in the case of N, P, K and Ca. In the case of yield of rubber 40 kg N and 30 kg P were found to be optimum in all the locations. The 40 kg level of K was sufficient at Kulasekharam and Thodupuzha while the 80 kg level gave the highest yield at Balussery. Application of Mg was beneficial at Thodupuzha and Balussery while at Kulasekharam it reduced the yield. An overall evaluation of the economic analysis indicated that 40 kg N, 30 kg P2O5 and 40 kg K2O were the optimum doses in all the three locations. Application of Mg was profitable only at Thodupuzha.ThesisItem Open Access Rice based cropping system analysis in kerala(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Chidananda Pillai, M R; KAU; Sreedharan, CWith the objectives of identifying the most economic crop combination for the double crop wet rice fields of Kerala and to assess soil fertility changes due to rice based cropping systems and also to find out the residual effects of the summer crops on the succeeding rice crops an investigation was conducted at the R.A.R.S. Pattambi in a split – split plot design, for a period of two years. The salient findings of the investigation are as follows. In the Cassava-rice-rice system 25 per cent saving was recorded for P and K for maximum grain yield of kharif rice than the recommended doses. A saving of 50 per cent each of P and K was recorded for the maximum straw yield than the recommended doses. In cowpea–rice-rice system for maximum grain yield of kharif rice there was a saving of 25 per cent of P and K than recommended doses. The same trend followed for the maximum yield of strew also. In groundnut –rice-rice system, for maximum grain yield of kharif rice there was a saving of 25 per cent of P and K than recommended doses. For the production of maximum straw yield full dose of recommended nutrients were required. In bhindi– rice-rice system for maximum grain yield of kharif rice there was a saving of 50 per cent of P and K than recommended doses. For the production of maximum straw yield full dose of recommended nutrients were essential. In rice-rice-rice system for maximum grain yield a saving of 25 per cent of P and K was recorded than recommended doses. For the production of maximum straw yield full dose of recommended nutrients were required. In fallow-rice-rice system for maximum grain yield full dose of recommended nutrients were essential, whereas for the production of maximum straw yield a saving of 25 per cent of P and K than the full dose was recorded. In cassava, rice and fallow systems for the manifestation of residual effect to the rabi rice, balanced nutrients at high doses are to be applied to the preceding kharif crop where as in the cowpea, groundnut and bhindi systems, residual effects of nutrients are seen manifested to the rabi rice crop even when the kharif rice crop is applied with medium doses of nutrients. There was a trend of slight decrease in the organic carbon content of the soil under all the cropping systems. The status of available nitrogen and potash after one and two year crop sequences also followed the above trend. Regarding the status of phosphorus in the soil, there was a slight increase after one and two year crop sequences. Cassava system produced maximum yield in terms of energy value followed by groundnut. From the economic point of view bhindi system gave the maximum net return. Maximum dry matter production (biomass production potential) was recorded in the cassava system followed by groundnut system. A vegetable crop like bhindi or a tuber crop like cassava seem to be more profitable than growing rice in summer season in the double crop wet rice fields of Kerala, rice being least economic. Among the cropping systems rice-rice-rice system generates maximum employment opportunities for the farm labourers with maximum job opportunities for women labourers as well.ThesisItem Open Access Vocational higher secondary education in agriculture in Kerala - a multimidensional analysis(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Kumari Sushama, N P; KAU; Thyagarajan Nair, GThe study aimed at analysing the various dimensions of vocational Higher Secondary Education in Agriculture (VHSEA) in Kerala and to suggest a model for strengthening the same. The study was undertaken in nine VHSEA schools spread over eight districts in Kerala, where the scheme was first introduced in 1983-84 and where VHSEA courses are still being offered. There were 300 student-respondents for the study, viz. 150 respondents who have passed VHSEA from these nine schools during 1986-87, 1987-88 & 1988-89 and 50 each of VHSEA students undergoing PP,F & V and NM & OG courses in these schools at the time of the investigation, selected using probability proportion to size-random sampling. Besides, all the available teachers of VHSEA numbering 36 and 60 randomly selected experts from the State Department of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University and the Directorate of VHSE also formed the other categories of respondents for the study. The dependent variables were the student-respondents’ knowledge about the subject matter of the VHSEA Courses, attitude towards VHSEA programme, attitude towards scientific agriculture and evaluate perception of VHSE courses in agriculture. These variables were quantified using standardized measurement devices developed for the study. Ten independent variables were selected and quantified with the help of available procedures. Vocational interest areas, vertical mobility and employment status and factors affecting vertical mobility and employment status were also collected from the student-respondents. Data on the evaluative perception of VHSE courses in agriculture, evaluation of VHSEA syllabi and factors affecting vertical mobility and employability were gathered from the teachers of VHSEA and the experts. Constraints in and suggestions for improvement of VHSEA were also collected from the students and teachers of VHSEA. Pre-tested and structured interview schedules/questionnaires were used for data collection. The study revealed that majority of the student – respondents hailed from rural areas with agricultural background, they had secured low marks in SSLC/VHSEA and their family educational status and economic status were poor. Majority of them had high level of aspiration, and a sizeable number did not have financial support for starting self employment ventures. Majority of the student-respondents had only medium level of knowledge and favourable attitude towards VHSEA programme and scientific agriculture. Majority of the respondents had rated the VHSE courses in agriculture as ‘moderate’ the independent variable significantly influencing the dependent variables in general were marks obtained in SSLC, caste, family economic status, family educational status, level of aspiration (past, present and future) and finance for self employment. Commercial flower production and general agriculture were the most preferred vocational interest areas. Half of the VHSEA certificate holders were studying in degree classes and more than one fourth of them were not continuing their studies. Majority of the VHSEA certificate holders were unemployed. Over six per cent of them were working as Lab assistants and only two respondents were engaged in self employment avenues. Interest in higher education, job opportunities due to higher qualification and attitude towards higher education were the most important factors influencing their vertical mobility while awareness about the avenues for self employment, skill training for doing self employment and interest in taking up self employment were the most important factors influencing their employability. The teachers and experts in general rated the VHSEA as moderate. Low standard of pupils, lack of library facilities, lack of building facilities and lack of facilities for doing practicals were the most important constraints. Permanent teachers should be employed, scholarships and grants should be provided, provision for higher education, job opportunities to the pass outs and public should be made aware of the relevance of the VHSEA were the important suggestions for improvement of VHSEA. Based on the results of the study, a model to strengthen VHSEA in Kerala is suggested.ThesisItem Open Access Assessment of immunity to duck plague virus (duck virus enteritis)(Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 1993) Diwakar Dattatrayrao, Kulkarni; KAU; James, P CDuring 1991, six outbreak clinically suspected to be duck plague (DP) with 33 per cent morbidity and 26 per cent mortality were investigated Duck plague virus was isolated from each outbreak. The isolates were able to produce the lesions and death of the duck embryos but failed to kill the chicken embryos during initial passages. One of the strains, named DP-S was partially attenuated by 10 passages in chicken .embryos following 20 passages in duck embryos. Though the attenuated strain did kill ducks, its pathogenicity index was reduced from 1.9 to 1,23. The isolate DP-S under transmission electron microscope revealed virions of herpes virus morphology. Two DP vaccines - commercial vaccine and lab-adapted vaccine having virus titres 0.74 and 3.5 log 10 ELD 50/ml respectively, were separately inoculated into four groups of ducklings respectively, two groups receiving single dose and two receiving double dose of corresponding vaccines at an interval of four weeks. Another group of ducklings was kept as control without vaccination. Three ducks in each group were challenged with virulent DPV at four,eight and 20 weeks post-vaccination. The birds in all the five groups were screened at regular intervals for studying the immune response by virus neutralization (VN), leucocyte migration-inhibition (LMI) and passive haemagglutination (PHA) test The challenged and survived birds were screened for the carrier status of DPV by examination of their rectal swabs for virus isolation. In an organized farm, 180 ducks were given commercial vaccine at one year of age and were screened for VN antibodies, LMI response and PHA titres before and eight weeks post -vaccination. Randomly selected two birds were challenged six weeks post-vaccination. The findings of the study are briefly listed as under: Six duck plague outbreaks were investigated, the virus isolated, and characterized. It was partially attenuated in duck and chicken embryos. The commercial, vaccine could elicit very poor immune response as compared to laboratory adapted vaccine. The immunity could not last long even upto eight weeks in single vaccination and 20 weeks in double vaccination.ThesisItem Open Access Characterization of plasmids of Escherichia coli isolated from mastitis(Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Mannuthy, 1993) Avinash Ganpatrao, Karpe; KAU; Punnoose, K TEscherichia coli. were isolated in 15.33 per cent cases of mastitis. Of the 46 E. coli isolated 43 were resistant to one to nine antibiotics and three were sensitive to all the 13 antibiotics tested. The organisms were resistant to rifampicin (78.26%) followed by oxytetracycline (50%), tetracycline (37.78%), nalidixic acid (19.56%), co-trimoxasole (8.69%) and gentamicin (6.52%). All the organisms were susceptible to kamamycin and norfloxacin. Among the .multiple drug resistance oxytetracycline - rifampicin (OR) resistance was noticed in 76.2% cases. Twenty-six different patterns of antibiotic resistance were noticed among 43 E. coli isolates giving a reliability of 60.46 per cent in differentiating the isolates. Hence, antibiogram could only be used as an adjunct to plasmid profiling in epidemiological studies. The resistograms revealed cent per cent resistance to lead, followed by antimony (32.6%), copper (30.43%), silver(19.56%) and cetrimide (2.17%). All the isolates were sensitive to cadmium and mercury. Among the 46 E. coli isolates, 9 different resistogram patterns were obtained giving reliability of 19.56 per cent in differentiating the strains. A correlation between the antibiotics and heavy metal ac; lead an+-imcny and copper, was observed inresistance such as leaa, descending order. of the forty-six E. coli isolates three (6.52%) were hemolytic on sheep blood agar. Two of the three hemolytic strains were also enterotoxigenic. Thirteen of the 46 (28.26%) E. coli isolates were enterotoxigenic, when tested by rabbit ligated ileal loop assay. Two of the thirteen (15.38%) enterotoxigenic isolates were also hemolytic. Fourteen of the 24 (58.33%) drug resistant E. coli transferred drug resistance against one or more antibiotics to the recipient organism. In none of the cases the furazolidone resistance was transferred. All the three hemolytic E. coli isolates transferred the hemolytic character by conjugation indicating the plasmid borne nature of hemolysin production. None of the enterotoxin producing E. coli could transfer the character to recipient by conjugation.ThesisItem Open Access Nutritional status of ICDS (Integrated child development services) beneficiaries with respect to participation(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Mary Ukkuru, Pulikkottil; KAU; Prema, LA study entitled “Nutritional status of ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) beneficiaries with respect to participation" was carried out' in Malappuram district selecting 170 beneficiaries representing three categories via preschool children, pregnant mothers and lactating mothers and 70 nonbeneficiaries from similar socio-economic background far parnparison. The study enlightened the socio-economic and personal characteristics of the respondents, appraisal of the programme implemented in the area, nutritional status of the respondents through dietary, food consumption, anthropometric, clinical and biochemical parameters, participation index and nutrtianal status index of the respondents, and the interre1 ationhip between participation index and nutritional status index. Major findings Majority of the respondents were from Hindu community. Joint family system with 'small family norm' prevailed in the area. Major expenditure is for food. Beneficiaries had the correct perception about the ICDS programme. Their, highest preference was for supplementary nutrition' and least for referral service. Beneficiaries considered supplementary nutrition most useful followed by immunization and ‘health check-ups'. "Sharing of the food supplement", incomplete utilization of immunization, Irregular supply of vitamin supplements, lack of motivation for health education calsses, under utilization of referral services were some of the lacunae identified. Anthropometric measurements of the preschool children and that of mother beneficiaries were superior to that of their counterparts in the contorl group. Dietary and food consumption pattern of the experimental group was better than the control group. Nutrient intake was adequate with respect to calories and proteins in both the groups, while other nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and riboflavin were inadequately met, and were much lower in the control group. Clinical evidence of various deficiency diseases were lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. So also the biochemical parameters. Various socio-economic personal characteristics were not found to influence either the participation or the participation levels of the respondents. The nutritional status index developed wa.s significantly better in the experimental group. Participation index of the beneficiaries was found to be high and nutritional status index increased significantly with participation index in the beneficiaries except in pregnant mothersThesisItem Open Access Adoption of farm implements by the rice farmers of Kerala(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Ahamed, P; KAU; Tampi, A MThesisItem Open Access Fertiliser use behaviour of rice farmers of Kerala(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1993) Geethakutty, P S; KAU; Menon, A G GThe study was conducted with the main objective of developing an index for measuring the fertilizer use behaviour of rice farmers. A total of 300 rice farmers were selected following multistage random sampling procedure, 60 from each District, so selected that each District represented one NARP Zone. Besides farmer respondents, 40 agricultural scientists, 40 agricultural extension personnel and 40 input dealers were also selected as other categories of respondents for the study. The Composite Fertiliser Use Behaviour Index (CFUBI) was developed by identifying six dimensions of fertilizer/ manure use for rice, (quantity, time of application, split application, type, method of application and related management practices). The weightages of the identified six dimensions were obtained through judges’ rating and also through the relevancy rating of the practices under the identified dimensions. The CFUBI derived by the formula method was compared with the index developed by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method. Based on relevancy rating and pilot study, 17 behavioural characteristics were selected as independent variables. The variables were quantified using standardized procedures. Mean and percentage analysis, Delinious Hodges Cumulative Root ‘f’ stratification, Critical difference, Coefficient of variation analysis of variance, kendall’s coefficient of concordance, Chi – square analysis, Correlation analysis, Multiple regression analysis and Principal Component Analysis were the statistical tools used for data analysis. The study revealed that more than 60 per cent of rice farmers were under ‘good’ and ‘satisfactory’ categories based on their CFUBI. The NARP Central Zone had highest percentage of farmers under ‘good’ category of CFUBI, while the Problem Zone had the highest percentage of farmers with regard to the use of nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic fertilizers. The High Range Zone had the highest percentage of farmers with respect to the use of organic manures. Based on the use of nitrogenous and phsphatic fertilizers, majority of the farmers were categorized under either ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ category, while with respect to the use of potassic fertilisers, it was found that farmers were almost similarly distributed under ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘poor’ and very poor’ categories. The Problem zone and Northern zone were found to be ‘very poor’ with respect to the use behaviour of organic manures and potassic fertilisers respectively. There was significant difference among the five NARP Zones in respect of the different dimensions of use of nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic fertilizers and organic manures. The use behaviour of potassic fertilisers had the highest factor loadings in explaining variability in the CFUBI of farmers followed by the use behaviour of nitrogenous fertilisers. Split application of nitrogenous fertilisers, quantity and time of application of phosphatic fertilisers, quantity and split application of potassic fertilisers and quantity of organic manures were found significant in predicting the AYI of farmers. The behavioural characteristics of farmers found to be significant in predicting the fertiliser use behaviour of rice farmers were main occupation, level of aspiration, rational decision making ability, attitude towards fertiliser use, information source utilisation and economic performance index. The important technological and situational factors contributing to fertiliser use hehaviour as perceived by the farmers, extension personnel, scientists and input dealers were irrigation facilities, perceived appearance of crop stand, drainage facilities, price of produce, availability of rain and availability of labour. Lack of knowledge about fertiliser use, lack of assured irrigation facilities, high cost of fertilizers, high rate of labour wages, increased incidence of pests and diseases, non availability of organic manures and improper drainage facilities were the major constraints in the composite fertilizer use behaviour of rice farmers in Kerala.
