PG Thesis

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Author: search.filters.author.Rajendran, P

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    Effect of growth regulators and certain formulations on bunch development in banana var. palayankodan
    (Department of Pomology & Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1983) Rajendran, P; Aravindakshan, M
    The yield of banana in Kerala remains very low inspite of the adoption of proper manuring and other management practices. Investigations have indicated that the main barrier to the increased production in banana is the lack of sufficient leaf area at the active phase of growth of the plants. The present experiment was conducted with the banana cultivar ‘Palayankodan’ under sparsely irrigated conditions with a view to increase the plant growth and ultimate yield by the use of growth regulators and commercially available formulations. The growth regulators viz., 2-4-D and NAA and the commercially available formulation namely ‘Navras Banana Special’ were tried at four different concentrations as given below:- 2,4-D - 5,10,15 and 20 ppm NAA - 20, 30,40 and 50 ppm ‘Navras’ - 0.25, 0.50,0.75 and 1.00 per cent The various chemicals at different concentrations were applied as two foliar sprays at three and four months after planting. A third spray was also given on the bunches immediately after the female phase of flower opening. On an overall analysis, 2,4-D at 20 ppm and ‘Navras’ at 0.50 per cent were found to be more effective in promoting the vegetative growth of plants. With respect to flowering and duration of the crop, the growth regulators alone had significant effects when compared to the commercial preparation ‘Navras’. The effectiveness also depended on the concentrations of the growth regulators. Thus 2,4-D at 20 ppm induced early shooting of plants by about 12 days whereas NAA at 50 ppm caused substantial delay in shooting. The chemicals at their various concentrations were not effective in influencing the bunch maturity, thus indicating that the applied chemicals caused the earliness or delay observed, through their influencedon the vegetative growth only. Consequent to the application of 2,4-D at 20 ppm the crop duration was advanced by 22 days. Contrary to this, NAA at 50 ppm delayed the duration of the crop. The treatments with 2,4-D at 5 to 20 ppm, NAA at 40 and 50 ppm and ‘Navras’ at 1.00 per cent were found to advance the ripening of fruits. The best quality fruits in terms of TSS and total sugars were obtained by the application of 2,4-D at 20 ppm. Among the concentrations of ‘Navras Banana Special’, o.5 per cent gave the best results with respect to the growth and yield of plants. When the concentration was increased further, there was a decrease in the performance of the plants. The optimum doze of ‘Narvas Banana Special’ was worked out to 0.534 per cent. The correlations worked out from the data collected revealed that the vegetative and bunch characters such as girth of psuedostem, number of functional leaves, total leaf area, length of bunch, number of hands and fingers per bunch, number of fingers per hand and weight of hand, length, girth and weight of fingers amply contributed to the overall yield in the form of bunch weight. The yield increase observed in the present study due to the application of 2,4-D at 20 ppm was by 88 per cent and that for ‘Navras’ at 0.5 per cent was by 96 per cent. The benefit/cost ratio worked out for these treatments did not differ and hence application of 2,4-D (20 ppm) and ‘Navras Banana Special’ (0.5 per cent) were equally good for increasing the yield. The present investigations were conducted under sparsely irrigated conditions where, irrigation was given just for the maintence of the crop. Further investigations with rainfed and irrigated ‘Palayankodan’ bananas may be of particular interest.
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    Study of factors affecting the adoption of selected agricultural practices
    (Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1978) Rajendran, P; Menon, A G G
    Rice is the staple food of the people of Kerala. But Kerala is deficient in its rice production by about 50 per cent. All most all the cultivable area has already been brought under the plough. Therefore, the scope for increasing the area under rice is rather limited. The fact that more than 50 per cent of the cropped area is devoted for perinnial cash crops further limits the scope for expansion of area under rice. Besides 60 per cent of the holdings are less than 1 acre in extent . Therefore, the only possibility to increase rice production is to increase the gross area under rice by resorting to scientific cultivation practices. A number of development programmes particularly focused on rice production have been introduced and implemented in the state. Improved technology required for stepping up rice production was also diffused with great vigour and enthusiasm.
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    Feasibility and utilisation of improved vegetable production technologies in family farming by agricultural labourers in the Thrissur district
    (Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1996) Abdul Jabbar, P K; Rajendran, P
    The research study entitled “Feasibility and Utilization of Improved Vegetable Production Technologies in family farming by agricultural labourers in the Thrissur district” was conducted to analyse the feasibility and utilization of vegetable production technologies in family farming by the agricultural labourers in Thrissur district in relation to their personal and socio-economic factors and to assess the constraints and consequences these of. The study area comprised of five panchayats namely, Pananchery, Puthur, Nadathara, Mattathur and Thekkumkara and a total of 100 agricultural labourers engaged in family farming were selected as respondents. Data were collected from the agricultural labourers using a pre-tested structured interview schedule. Appropriate statistical techniques like correlation analysis, regression analysis and path analysis were done to analyse the data. The perception of feasibility of technologies and extent of utilization were measured using arbitrary scale developed for the purpose. Five crops namely, brinjal, bittergourd, pumpkin, ladies finger and amaranthus were selected for the study with five selected practices under each crop. The study revealed that amaranthus received the highest feasibility score, while bittergourd and brinjal received feasibility perception scores below the average feasibility score. Foliar fertilization in amaranthus received the highest feasibility perception score. Among crop varieties, pumpkin varieties were the most preferred while bittergourd varieties got the least scores. Majority of agricultural labourers belonged to the medium category in extent of utilization and only 19 per cent were low adopters. Amaranthus production technologies received the highest utilization score while bittergourd received the lowest. Split application of fertilizer received the high utilization index in brinjal and bittergourd cultivation. The correlation analysis revealed that all independent variables except experience in vegetable cultivation were positively correlated with feasibility perception. Variables like farm size, annual income, innovativeness, economic motivation, management orientation and knowledge were significant in influencing the feasibility perception. All variables except experience in vegetable cultivation were found positively correlated with utilization of IVPT. Knowledge on IVPT exerted the largest direct effect. Information seeking behaviour, FFT-Actual, social participation and attitude towards scientific agriculture, management orientation, area under vegetables and extension orientation were found to influence significantly. Plant protection was cited to be the most preferred area where training was required, followed by improved varieties of crops harvesting and post harvest aspects and manures and fertilizers respectively. Constraints such as uneconomic holding size, inadequacy of capital, increased cost of plant protection chemicals and lack of leisure time, availability were cited as most important.Economic utilization of leisure time, enhancement of family income, generation of additional employment and promotion of family integrity were the important consequences. Lack of time to care children and other house operations and drudgery were cited to be the negative consequences.