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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Open Access
Formulation of low fat beef burger with fat replacers
(Department of Livestock Products Technology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,Mannuthy, 2010) Govande Premanand, Laxmanrao; KAU; George Oommen, T
Health conscious meat consumers prefer low fat meat products due to increasing incidents of high fat induced diseases. Manufacturing meat products with fat replacers (FR) enable to reduce fat and to alleviate the problems with the reduction of fat in products. Therefore, the present study was undertaken with the objectives of developing a palatable and economic formulary for low fat beef burger (LFBB) with carrageenan (CG), tapioca starch (TS), pregelatinised pork skin collagen (PSC) and their blends as FR and to assess its pH, cooking characteristics, proximate composition, nutritional value, textural and organoleptic qualities and shelf life under aerobic (AP) and vacuum packaging (VP) at 0-4oC and -20oC and its cost of production. Beef burgers (BB) are formulated at two different fat levels, viz., full fat (FF) 20 per cent and low fat (LF) 5 per cent as controls. Seven formulations of LFBB with 5 per cent fat are prepared with 0.5 per cent CG, 1.5 per cent TS, 2 per cent PSC and their blends, viz., CG-TS - 0.5% CG & 1.5% TS; CG-PSC - 0.5% CG & 2.0% PSC; TS-PSC - 1.5% TS & 2.0% PSC; CG-TS-PSC - 0.5% CG, 1.5% TS & 2.0% PSC as FR. BB are prepared as per the formularies with minced lean beef trimmings, tallow, salt, spices and condiments, rusk, ice flakes and FR. They are packaged aerobically in HDPE and in vacuum in polyethylene-polyamide (PEPA) pouches. pH, cook yield (CY), cook loss (CL), fat retention percentage (FRP), moisture retention percentage (MRP), dimensional shrinkage (DS), water holding capacity (WHC), Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF), Hunter L*, a*, b* colour values, proximate and mineral composition and nutritional value, purge loss (PL), Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) value and sensory qualities are assessed on d 0, 10, 20 and 30 of storage at 0-4oC and -20oC or till spoilage, whichever is earlier. Six trials of the experiment were conducted. Cooking reduced the acidity of all the burgers. By the addition of FR a significantly (P< 0.05) very low acid cooked LFBB could be prepared. CY of burgers with CG-TS-PSC was significantly (P< 0.05) the highest with 85.84 per cent. LFBB with blends of FR significantly (P< 0.05) increased CY and correspondingly reduced CL. The DS in LFBB with CG-TS-PSC was significantly (P< 0.05) the lowest with 13.21 per cent. Addition of blends of FR holds water and fat in LFBB and reduces DS during cooking. FRP and MRP in CG-TS-PSC formulation was significantly (P< 0.05) the highest with 97.66 and 74.36 per cent, respectively due to blends of CG, TS and PSC. The WHC of LFBB with CG-TS-PSC was 95.36 per cent and WBSF value 5.30 N comparable to FF and the burgers were significantly (P< 0.05) most succulent, juicy and tender with the addition of blends of FR compared to tougher BB without FR. According to Hunter L*, a*, b* values, LFBB with blends of FR, especially CG-TS-PSC was lighter, less reddish (more bluish) and less yellowish (more greenish) and comparable to FF burger. Fat content in the beef trimmings and PSC were < 1.76 per cent. Cooking significantly (P< 0.05) reduced moisture content with a corresponding increase in the protein, fat, carbohydrate and ash. The percentage total calorific value of LFBB ranged from 6.36 to 7.18 of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). The contribution of fat to RDA of calorific value was from 2.22 to 2.42 per cent only, which was below the recommended 30 per cent. More than one third of the daily requirement of protein is obtained from 100g of LFBB. LFBB with FR are good sources of Na, K and P but not of Ca. Blends of FR in LFBB, especially CG-TS-PSC, were more efficient in significantly (P< 0.05) reducing PL and TBARS value on storage at 0-4oC for 10 days and at -20oC for 30 days in AP and VP. TBARS values were lower than the acceptable range of 1mg malonaldehyde/kg for oxidative rancidity. The low fat content and the presence of onion containing antioxidants in the formulary would have synergistically acted with CG in reducing the TBARS. On sensory evaluation on zero day, the LFBB with CG-TS-PSC scored significantly higher (P< 0.05) values of 7.00 and above for very good appearance and colour, very intense flavour, very desirable texture, juiciness, practically nil mouth coating and very acceptable overall acceptability similar to FF burger. But saltiness was very desirable than in FF. The LFBB with CG-TS-PSC in AP and VP retained all the sensory attributes and proximate composition even on storage. The very acceptable nature of CG-TS-PSC formulation might be due to the synergistic effect of fat replacers. The LFBB with 5 per cent fat and CG (0.5%), TS (1.5%), PSC (2%) and their blends as FR are developed economically with very acceptable overall acceptability, CY, nutritional quality, reduced PL and oxidative rancidity and shelf life up to 10 days at 0-4oC and 30 days at -20oC under AP and VP. The best LFBB with overall acceptability was CG-TS-PSC followed by CG-TS, CG-PSC, TS-PSC, PSC, CG and TS. Blends of FR are better than single FR, particularly CG-TS-PSC, as they increased CY, FRP, MRP, WHC, sensory attributes and decreased pH, CL, DS, WBSF, PL and TBARS. Further investigations with production of large quantities are required for calculation of cost of production at commercial scale.
Open Access
Standardisation of thermal processing of cuttle fish nidamental glant
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Fisheries, Panangad, 2007) Bikash kumar Pati; KAU; Sherief, P M
Cuttlefish nidamental gland is a pair of flattened glands associated with the female reproductive system in cuttlefish. The glands are exported as a frozen product under the name cuttlefish roe. The procedure for thermal processing of cuttlefish nidamental gland in brine packed in tin plate can is standardised to produce a ready- to- eat product. The standardisation process essentially involved determination of optimum blanching conditions, retorting temperature, process time, processing parameters, optimum solid- liquid ratio and process levels to produce a safe product and assessment of quality changes during storage at room temperature. Cuttlefish nidamental gland in brine was packed in tin plate cans in 65 : 35 ratio (gland : brine) and thermal processed in an overpressure retort. The optimum blanching condition was found to be 5 % brine for 5 min. The retorting temperature and process time were selected as 121.10C and 25 min, respectively. The F0 value attained by the process was found to be 11.25 min with total process time of 30.54 min. The cook value meant to achieve tenderness of product was 81.54 min. The processed product was found to be commercially sterile. The product was acceptable even after 3 months of storage at room temperature with regard to all sensory attributes like appearance, colour, odour, taste, texture and overall acceptability. There were significant variation in the salt, pH and TBA values (P<0.05). The cut- out test showed a marginal increase in solid weight. The study showed that the cuttlefish nidamental gland can be used for processing ready to eat product, which can be stored at room temperature for long periods.
Open Access
Growth and survival of penaeus monodon in monosex and mixed sex culture under laboratory condition
(Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Panangad, 2008) Bajaniya Viralkumar, Chhaganlal; KAU; Mohanakumaran Nair, c
Sexual dimorphism is apparent in the black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon with females achieve larger size than the males. This character may be attributed to behavioral and/or physiological differences between the sexes. An experiment was developed to determine if there were advantages in rearing all female or all male P. monodon as opposed to mixed-sex populations. Juvenile shrimps (4.46±0.54 g) were collected from earthen pond and individually hand sexed and stocked in the circular cement tanks. Treatments all male, all female and mixed-sex were stocked @ 8 nos./tank. Each treatment had five replicates. The shrimps were offered commercial shrimp feed. The experiment was conducted for a period of 50 days. At harvest, all female shrimps had shown significantly higher growth than all male and mixed-sex treatment. Survival was not significantly different among treatments. FCR of all female was significantly lower than the all male and mixed-sex treatment. Result of the present study demonstrates a benefit to all female culture of P.monodon against the all male or mixed-sex culture. Thus culture of all female may be commercially more attractive to entrepreneurs. Although additional research is required to find a reliable and quick procedure for separation of the sexes or techniques for the production of all female populations.
Open Access
Molecular taxonomy of selected species of macrobrachium bate, 1868 (DECAPODA, PALAEMONIDAE) of Kerala waters
(Department of Fishery Biology, College of Fisheries, Panangad, 2011) Jayaraj, G; KAU; Jayachandran, K V
Freshwater prawns of the genus Macrobrachium are a conspicuous and important prawn constitute one of the most diverse, abundant and widespread crustacean genera. They are distributed in different water bodies of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world and comprises over 200 described species (Jayachandran, 2001). The palaenonids have taxonomically difficult groups because they appear to be morphologically higher conservative and also greater confusion among the evolutionary status. The present study was carried out both on morphological and molecular data to investigate the confirmation of species status and finding phylogenetic relationship of selected species of Macrobrachium in kerala waters. The species of M. canarae, M. idella, M. latimanus and M. scabriculum were collected from different water bodies of kerala, such as hill streams, rivers and brackish water. The four species inhabit varied habitats: M. latimanus is a hill stream prawn; M. canarae inhabits valleys without migration; M. idella and M. scabriculum inhabits lower stretches of river with estuarine migrations. These species were accurately identified based on morphology of earlier literature done by Jayachandran, 2001 and it shows variations within the individuals of M. idella. The use of DNA based methods to infer phylogenetic relationship can potentially overcome some of the difficulties encountered through the use of morphological characters. In molecular part, 16S rRNA and COI genes of mitochondrial DNA were analysed. Sequences of 16S rRNA and COI were obtained and submitted to NCBI. Based on sequence information, M. canarae shows few minor variations within the individuals. M. idella is shows significant variations within the two types of individuals. M. latimanus is shows separate clades of other country species. M. scabriculum is also shows significant variation with NCBI sequence of M. scabriculum. Phylogenetic relationship is clearly shows two types of M. idella based on NJ and MP tree. Hence, both morphological and molecular data is very effective for finding species variants and phylogeny.
Open Access
Performance evaluation of primary co-operative agricultural development banks in central Kerala
(Department of Co-operative Management , College of Co-operation & Management,Vellanikkara, 2019) Niranjana Chandran, KAU; Veerakumaran, G
Agriculture in India has shared the thought, outlook and culture of the people of India for centuries and constitutes the backbone of Indian economy. Agricultural credit has played an important role in the development of agricultural sector, specifically investment credit in increasing production and productivity. Agriculture, during its primitive stage, the necessity of long term credit was not felt. However, the innovations in agricultural technologies paved way for vast potentialities for agricultural development. Currently, the long term credit has been viewed as essentially a vibrant credit in such a way that it supports the farmer to create assets on land, thereby augmenting his output which subsequently adds to the agricultural production in the country. The most important agency that lends long term investment credit to farmers is the Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks. The Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks were the pioneers in providing investment credit for agriculture and were started primarily for this purpose. The banks have been assigned a vital role in agricultural development in the state. However, the PCARDBs in Kerala are passing through a critical stage of their growth. A good number of them are running at loss and their overdue are mounting over the years (RBI, 2015) which is already explained by a number of studies. It was found that the constraints are due to the poor recovery management, differential rate of interest when compared to commercial banks and private banks, restricted area of operation, restricted mobilisation of funds and restricted investments. In this context, a study on the “Performance Evaluation of Primary Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks in Central Kerala” was taken up with the objective of analysing the financial performance of these banks, examining the operational and managerial problems existing in the banks and to study the loan utilisation pattern and repayment behaviour of farmers. The study area covered Thrissur, Ernakulum and Palakkad districts of Central Kerala which were selected based on the highest number of PCARDBs in each district in Central Kerala. From each district, the PCARDB which had the highest loan disbursed during the year 2015-16 was selected for the study. Thus, Irinjalakkuda PCARDB from Thrissur, Aluva PCARDB from Ernakulum and Alathur PCARDB from Palakkad districts were selected for the study. 231 The secondary data for studying the financial performance was collected from the Annual reports for ten years (from 2008-09 to 2017-18) of these banks and was analysed with the help of statistical tools such as financial ratios, CAGR and simple growth rate. The primary data for examining the operational and managerial problems existing in the banks was collected from board of directors and employees of the selected banks using a pre-tested structured interview schedule. The data thus collected was analysed using the tools indices, percentages and Kruskal-Wallis H test. The primary data for studying the loan utilisation pattern and repayment behaviour of farmers was collected from randomly selected 180 farmers (60 from each bank) using a pre-tested structured interview schedule and was analysed with the support of the statistical tools percentages, indices, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and binary logistic regression model. By analyzing the first objective, it was found that Aluva and Alathur PCARDBs were efficient in mobilising funds, in deployment of the funds and also efficient in its operations. However, Irinjalakkuda PCARDB after bifurcation during the year 2015-16 witnessed decline in their operations resulting in subsequent loss for the bank from the year 2015-16. However, among the three banks, Alathur PCARDB excelled in performance. The second objective was analysed from the perspective of board of directors and employees. From the point of view of the directors the issue was studied under four heads viz., administrative problems, functional problems, structural problems and human resource related problems. The administrative problems were further subdivided as problems related to board meeting, problems related to general body meeting and problems related to audit. In the same way from the employee’s perspective it was studied under the heads viz., structural, functional, administrative and human resource problems. The results showed that in the opinion of board of directors the major problem confronted by the banks were increasing NPA. Further, according to the board no other major administrative/functional/structural issues were persisting in the banks. However, the perception of employees were different from that of the board of directors. In their opinion, the major problems confronted by the banks were “absence of technological upgradation”, “lack of modern practices of banking” “absence of modern management techniques and MIS” as structural problems, “mounting NPA”, “high interest on loans” “existence of govt. loan waiver schemes” as functional problems “competition from other financial intermediaries” and “impact 232 of demonetization” as administrative problems “absence of specialised staff”, “lack of professional skills” and “staff paucity and employee overburden” as human resource related problems. The analysis of the third objective concluded that majority of the borrowers had diverted the loan for other purposes like renovation, repair and maintenance of houses, marriage ceremonies, building up of commercial space, purchase of inputs, payment of wages, medical expenses, emergency needs of friends and relatives etc. The study on repayment behaviour of farmers found that the variables, age, economic status and membership in bank had statistical significance in repayment behaviour of the borrowers of Aluva bank, whereas education status, income status and land holding were found to have statistical significance for borrowers of Alathur bank and for Irinjalakkuda bank variables education status and duration of membership in the bank had statistical significance on the repayment behaviour of borrowers. Further, high interest rate, reduction in employment and fall in price of agricultural commodities were found to be the major causes of non-repayment of loan by the farmers. Finally, incentives for prompt repayment, timely reminders, reduction in interest rates, small installments and fixation of recovery period in coincidence with the harvest/income period were the suggestions put forth by the farmers for reducing loan default. The member farmers, the board of directors and the employees are the three important pillars on which the success and sustainability of a cooperative organisation rests. It is obvious from the study that the board of directors of the sample banks are scrupulous, conscientious and meticulous in carrying out their duties and responsibilities supported by a band of committed employees and dedicated member patrons. However, a few issues had been revealed in the study which could be addressed by the concerted efforts of all these three stakeholders. The banks should initiate measures to check the problem of mounting overdue by creating awareness among the borrower farmers for proper loan utilisation and prompt repayment. Banks should introduce mechanisms for post loan supervision and monitoring which should be the joint responsibility of the employees and the members of board. In toto, the overall performance of the selected banks were satisfactory which can be improved further and sustained in the future for the betterment of the cooperative banking structure and to induce confidence in the minds of the member patrons of the cooperatives.

Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

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