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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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2016 - 20176
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End date: 2020 × Start date: 2016 × Thesis Type: M.Tech ×
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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Investigations on clamping and climbing mechanisms for the design of semi autonomous areca palm climber
    (Department of Farm power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2017) Supritha; KAU; Shivaji, K P
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Design and evaluation of a horizontal filter unit for ground water recharge through abandoned tube well
    (Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2016) Jomol, T Joseph; KAU; Rema, K P
    The groundwater table is declining at an alarming rate and it is essential to replenish the dried out aquifers by adopting proper artificial recharge methods. Field experiment on the design and evaluation of a horizontal filter unit for groundwater recharge through abandoned tube well was conducted in the research field of Nodal Water Technology Centre, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara. The specific objectives of the study were to design and develop a horizontal filter unit with alternate filter media for treating storm water runoff, and to evaluate the developed filter for hydraulic and pollutant removal efficiencies. Suitability of the tube well for recharging and availability of adequate amount of source water were analysed in the primary stages of study. The peak runoff expected from the area was computed and compared with the carrying capacity of the existing conveyance channel. Thus the existing channel was modified and a masonry structure with a filter unit for treating runoff and a recharging section was constructed. The filter unit had five compartments filled with Gravel, Sand, Charcoal, Synthetic fibre and Coir fibre combinations as treatments, T1: Gravel, Sand, Coir fibre, Gravel; T2: Gravel, Sand, Synthetic fibre, Gravel; T3: Gravel, Charcoal, Sand and Gravel. Three sets of length variation in three different media combinations were selected as factors, F1: 80 cm, 80 cm, 80 cm, 80 cm; F2: 80 cm, 100 cm, 60 cm, 80 cm; F3: 80 cm, 60 cm, 100 cm, 80 cm Inflow and outflow water quality was analysed for evaluating filter hydraulic and pollutant removal efficiencies in simulated and actual runoff conditions. Treatment T1F1 was better in pH normalising efficiency, T1F2 removed Nitrate and Sulphates effectively, T1F3 was better in Total hardness and Calcium removal efficiency, T2F1 performed well for Magnesium and Chloride removal efficiencies. Treatments T2F2 and T3F3 were effective for EC, TDS, Salinity, TSS, Turbidity, Acidity, Fluoride, Alkalinity, Iron removal and Hydraulic efficiencies. 135 The Gravel (80 cm), Charcoal (100 cm), Sand (60 cm) and Gravel (80 cm) combination was selected as best filter media combination and it was installed in the field for recharging. With an average annual rainfall of 2795 mm in the study area, a runoff depth of 1118 mm can be expected. Accordingly a runoff volume of 2.3 million litres of water can be diverted from the study area to the recharge well annually. Comparison of this enormous benefit from the artificial recharge structure with the cost incurred is indicating the promising future of the artificial recharge schemes. If the abandoned open wells and tube wells in Kerala are utilised as recharge wells, a large quantity of water can be recharged annually and it will improve the groundwater potential of the state for future benefits.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Investigations on the adaptability of wireless sensor networks (WSN) based technology for harvesting crops
    (College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Kelappaji, 2016) Ayisha, Mangat; KAU; Shivaji, K P
    Harvesting has been identified as one of the critical and resource consuming operation because of several reasons especially inside polyhouse structures. Knowledge of physical properties of crops and fruits like cucumber plays an important role in the design and optimization of its machinery. Evaluation of these properties like plant height, leaf numbers, leaf length, leaf width, fruit length and width were taken for observation. It was seen that, these properties had a direct impact on deciding the components of the harvester. Plant height determined the height of the harvester; leaf parameters decided the obstacle parameters in the work space. Fruit holding capacity of the cutting unit was depended on fruit parameters. By analyzing all these data and the past work in the field of robotics, a preliminary model of a harvester was fabricated. Out of the harvesters developed so far in the field of agriculture, the most simple and economical method was selected for this study. The principle of linear actuators was adapted for the design of the harvester by incorporating screw rods and DC motors. The basic components for the harvester were identified with three Degrees of Freedom. The moving unit with wheels contributes to the motion in X direction. The vertical screw thread makes the movement in Y direction and the horizontal unit gives the motion in Z direction. By studying the biometric properties of plants and crops, the height of the harvester was confined to 2 m, width of horizontal unit as 45 cm and the base platform with 45X45 cm. A control board was used for controlling the motors which causes motion for the threaded rods. Accordingly, a laboratory model was fabricated and its functionality was tested. It was found working successfully in the laboratory conditions. The current trend in high-tech agriculture is towards switching from a manual system to automatic operations. Hence, the present study is a promising technology that can be converted to a fully automatic machine with future developments.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Development of seedling uprooting unit for system of rice intensification
    (College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Kelappaji, 2016) Sreerag, P M; KAU; Shivaji, K P
    The present study was conducted to develop a seedling uprooting machine for System of Rice Intensification (SRI). System of Rice Intensification is a method developed in Madagascar in the early 1980’s, where, it has been shown that yields can be enhanced by suitably modifying certain management practices such as controlled supply of water, planting of younger seedlings and providing wider spacing. In this method 12 to 15 days old root washed seedlings are transplanted on the well puddled field. Only one younger seedling is transplanted per hill with row to row and hill to hill spacing of 25 cm. The preparation of seedlings for this method involves uprooting from nursery and washing the roots. This is done manually and no mechanical device for uprooting seedlings is available at present. In this circumstance, there is a need for the mechanization in the uprooting, washing and feeding the seedling to root washed transplanter. On this ground a seedling uprooting unit for system of rice intensification was developed and field tested. The seedling uprooting unit was consists of four major components namely bed cutting tool, conveyor unit, main frame and power unit. In order to cut the required thickness of soil bed, cutting tool was developed and fabricated with MS flat sheet of 2mm thickness. It consists of a rectangular base plate (25×30 cm) placed horizontally beneath the cutting blade. The cut seedling beds were conveyed through a slatted belt type conveyor having two adjacent roller chains inter linked with MS flat linkages giving overall belt width of 25 cm and 155 cm belt length. In order to drive the conveyor belt, a power unit from the existing vertical conveyor reaper was chosen. It consisted of 4 hp gasoline engine. According to the geometry of power unit a suitable frame was fabricated using MS angles (3×3 cm) to attach the cutting and conveying unit. The developed seedling uprooting unit was tested in the field to optimize the speed of operation and angle of cutting. Three levels of angle of blade viz., 20, 30 and 40 degrees and three levels of engine speed viz., 1000, 2000 and 3000 rpm were selected for the study. The thickness of bed, time of operation, wheel slip and plant damage were tested with respect to the above selected cutting angles and engine speeds. From the field observations it was found that cutting angle of 30° with engine speed of 2000 rpm was best for the effective seedling uprooting in terms of bed thickness, time of operation, wheel slip and plant damage. For this final prototype field performance characteristics like field capacity, field efficiency and fuel consumption were assessed. The theoretical field capacity was computed as 163.33 m2h-1 and field efficiency was found to be 81.2 per cent. The observed fuel consumption for the final prototype was in the range of 0.51 to 0.53 l.h-1. At the present wage rate of Rs 300 per day, the total cost for uprooting and washing of seedlings for cultivating an area of one hectare by manual method is about Rs 750. The total cost for uprooting and washing of seedlings for cultivating an area of one hectare by using machine is Rs 250. Hence a saving of Rs 500 can be expected by using the developed machine for preparing the seedlings required for cultivating one hectare.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Investigations on energy conversion of waste coconut water through an Up-flow Anaerobic Hybrid Bioreactor
    (College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Kelappaji, 2016) Dayanand Kumbar, Kumbar; KAU; Shaji James P, James P
    Many Agro-industries discharges considerable amount of wastewater to water bodies. Anaerobic digestion of organic effluents from agro-industries has a great importance in pollution abatement as well for renewable energy production. Waste coconut water (WCW) is a medium strength waste water for which high rate anaerobic treatment is an affordable technology. This technology offers simultaneous production of energy in the form of biogas along with pollution control. Conventional biogas plants are slow in operation with long Hydraulic Retention Times (HRTs) in the order of 35 to 55 days, necessitating very large digester volumes. Hence, anaerobic treatment of WCW is technically and economically feasible only through high rate bioreactors, where we can reduce the HRTs in the range of 6 to 8 days. Hence, an investigation was taken up to study the performance of a high rate bioreactor viz. Up-flow Anaerobic Hybrid Bioreactor (UAHBR) for biomethanation of WCW. It was revealed that the WCW had a low pH along with high Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Solids (TS). The semi-continuous digestion WCW was carried out in a lab scale floating gas holder digester. The digester was operated at different HRTs of 35, 30 and 25 day and performance evaluated. During all HRT there was a profound effect of pH over the working of the digester. The maximum daily biogas production and biogas productivity were 21.9 L and 3.5 L.L-1 during 30-day HRT. The TS reduction had the maximum value of 51.94 at 35-day HRT. The performance of the digester deteriorated at 25 day HRT and the minimum reduction was only 1.38 %. The system showed signs of failure. Existing full scale UAHBR was operated at different HRTs of 16.67 and 15 day and performance evaluated. The reactor was stable in operation throughout the period of operation and revealed high organic reduction with biogas production. The maximum specific biogas production and biogas productivity were 354.31 Lkg1TSadded and 13.50 L.L-1 during 15-day HRT. The TS reduction was in the range of 79.35 and 81.40 during the period of 15-day HRT.Experimental UAHBR was fabricated and performance evaluated at different HRTs of 15, 12, 10, 8 and 6 day. Reactor was stable in operation during 15, 12, 10, 8 and 6 day HRTs and exhibited high process efficiency characterised by good organic reduction and biogas production. The performance was slightly deteriorated with 8 and 6-day HRT. The maximum daily biogas production and volumetric biogas production were 114 L and 877 L.m-3 for 6-day HRT. The maximum specific biogas production and biogas productivity were 225.73 L.kg-1TSadded and 8.7 L.L-1 during 15-day HRT.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Modelling the hydrology of watershed by using HEC-HMS
    (Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 2016) Makkena, Jyothi; KAU; Vishnu, B
    A hydrological model is a commonly used tool to estimate the hydrological response of a watershed to precipitation. Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) is a physically based semi-distributed hydrologic modelling software developed by the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is designed to simulate the complete hydrologic processes of dendritic watershed systems under various widely varying geographic conditions. HEC-HMS is widely used and includes both traditional hydrologic analysis procedures such as event infiltration, unit hydrographs, and hydrologic routing as well as continuous simulation procedures including evapotranspiration, snowmelt, and soil moisture accounting. It can be used in conjunction with other software for studies of water availability, urban drainage, flow forecasting, future urbanization impact, reservoir spillway design, flood damage reduction, floodplain regulation, and systems operation. In the present study, Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) is calibrated and validated for Thuthapuzha sub basin of Bharathapuzha river basin in Kerala. The input data required for the model like precipitation, meteorological parameters, river discharge, soil characteristics, land use characteristics and topographical characteristics of the study area were collected from various agencies like Central Water Commission (CWC), Kerala State Land Use Board (KSLUB), RARS Pattambi and the Bhuvan geo-data portal of National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). The model performance of the calibrated HEC-HMS model for Thuthapuzha watershed was evaluated using the statistics -Nash Sutcliffe- model efficiency criterion, coefficient of determination and simulated time to peak. The analysis showed that CN, and lag time are the most sensitive parameters for the simulation of stream flow. The Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (E) was (0.77-0.8) and (0.86-0.88) and the coefficient of determination was (0.82- 0.91) and (0.91-0.93) before and after the calibration respectively, indicating the good performance of the model.