PG Thesis

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://localhost:4000/handle/123456789/2

Browse

Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Paddy

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Relationship between weed density and yield loss in semi- dry rice
    (Department of Agricultural Statistics, College of Horticulture,Vellanikkara, 2001) Shiji, C P; Krishnan, S
    Sacciolepis interrupta and Isachne miliacea are two major problem weeds of rice in Kerala. An investigation on the quantum of crop loss incurred due to different densities of these weeds was undertaken to study the extent of damage inflicted on the crop which would necessitate early control of these weeds. The observations recorded on the various crop and weed characteristics were analysed as a 52 factorial experiment. It was found that crop characteristics like total bio- mass of paddy at harvest, number of tillers of paddy at harvest, number of productive tillers at harvest, grain yield and strain yield. And weed characteristics like number of tillers of S. interrupta at 60 DAS, height of S. interrupta at 60 DAS, number of tillers of S. interrupta at harvest of rice, dry matter production of S. interrupta and drymatter production of 1. miliacea were found to be affected by the weeds. The intra and interspecific competition was also brought to light based on the analysis. Single weed species models like that of Cousens (1985), Hakansson (1983), the first model of Watkinson (1981), Marra and Carlson (1983), Wilson and Cussans (1983), Wilcockson (1977) and Carlson et al. (1981) fitted well to the yield loss - S. interrupta/ 1. miliacea density relationship whereas those models proposed by Ngouajio et al. (1999), Kropff and Spitters (1991), Dew (1972), Zakharenko (1968) and Chisaka (1977) fitted well only to the yield loss- S. interrupta density relationship. The extended version of the Cousens (1985) model by Swinton et al . . (1994a) to a multi-species model was also fitted to the data and the same explained the yield loss - S. interrupta + 1. miliacea densities relationship to a considerable extent. The reduced form of the multispecies model to an equivalent single species model as worked out by Swinton et al. (1994b) also had a good fit. The numerical assessment of yield loss _. S. interrupta + 1. miliacea density relationship as illustrated by Berti and Zanin (1994) revealed the extent of damage on the crop by the weeds. The new curvilinear models tried also explained the yield loss - weed density relationship with the exception that the role of 1. miliacea deterring the yield of crop could not be highlighted due to its peculiar way of growth. The threshold weed densities worked out on a economic loss basis revealed that even the presence of two S. interrupta plants in a square meter area was hazardous for the crop whereas even the presence of 321. miliacea plants in the same stipulated area was not as detrimental as S. interrupta.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Nitrogen balance studies in the rice soils of Kerala
    (Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1986) Meera, K; Ramasubramonian, P R
    Nitrogen balance studies were carried out under pot culture conditions in CRD to assess the rate of efficiency of applied nitrogen in five diifferent soil types viz., karapadam, kole, sandy loam, low level laterite and black soils and two irrigation levels, viz., 5 and 10 cm with respect to short and medium duration varieties of rice viz., Triveni and Jaya. The effect of soil type, submergence levels and fertiliser nitrogen application on growth and yield of rice, nitrogen uptake and NPK content in soil, plant, grain and straw were studied and the recovery and loss of nitrogen were computed.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Studies on the effect of potassium on the growth, yield and nutrient uptake of two newly introduced rice varieties (Tainan 3 and Taichung Native I)
    (Division of Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Vellayani, 1967) Raman Kutty, N N; Brito Mutunayagam, A P A
    A pot culture study was carried out at the Agricultural College & Research Institute, Vellayani, to determine the influence of potassium on the growth and yield characters of two varieties of rice recently introduced into Kerala, viz., Tainan 3 and Taichung Native 1. The uptake of major nutrients by the two strains was also assessed. The experiment was laid out in randomised block design with 8 treatments and 3 replications. The levels of potash applied were 0, 40, 80 and 120 kg K20/ha.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Crop insurance scheme for paddy in palakkad district -an economic analysis
    (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Anirudh, K C; Anil Kuruvila
    Agriculture in India has become an inherently risky venture due to uncertainty in production and price volatility of agricultural commodities triggered by increased climatic aberrations and globalization. Hence, crop insurance plays an important role in stabilizing farm income, ensuring credit flow in agriculture and decreasing over dependence on public exchequer for relief measures. Various insurance products along with stringent measures to enforce them were taken to enroll the maximum number of farmers in crop insurance. In spite of all these efforts, the adoption rate of crop insurance was still low and Kerala is one of the states with lowest growth rate of voluntary subscription of crop insurance. With this background, the present study was undertaken to analyse the performance and progress of crop insurance schemes in Kerala, estimate the impact of crop insurance on paddy cultivation, assess the viability of crop insurance schemes, identify constraints in the adoption of crop insurance and estimate the willingness to pay for crop insurance schemes. The study is based on both primary and secondary data. The time series data on area, production and productivity of rice in Kerala and Palakkad district from 1980-81 to 2017-18 was analysed. It was found that the area and production exhibited a decreasing trend whereas productivity showed an increase over the years. Primary data was collected from 180 selected farmers of Palakkad district using pretested interview schedule by personal interview method. Time series data on the area insured, number of farmers insured, gross premium collected and claims settled for a period from 2002 to 2019 were collected from the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Kerala. From the analysis, it was observed that the crop insurance coverage also displayed an increasing trend. The distribution of crop insurance subscribers during Kharif 2017 and Rabi, 2017-18 highlighted the fact that more than 97 per cent of the subscribers were borrower farmers suggesting that the growth in subscription was attributed to bundling of insurance schemes with crop loans. The claims to premium ratio, which should ideally be less than one, showed a cumulative average of 1.31 for the period under consideration and reflected the un-sustainable nature of the design of crop insurance products. The cost of cultivation of paddy in the study area was found to be ₹78,819/ha and the major constraint faced by the farmers in crop production was inadequate supply of irrigation water. The other constraints encountered were excess growth of weeds, delay in procurement and abrupt weather changes. The most preferred method of coping with income variations was availing gold loans and the major reason for subscribing to crop insurance scheme was compulsory enrolment. Delay in settlement of claims, inadequate compensation and dissatisfaction with area based approach were the major constraints in voluntary adoption of crop insurance schemes. Logit regression model was employed to ascertain the factors affecting voluntary subscription of crop insurance programmes using gross cropped area, education, income, cost of cultivation and farm experience as independent variables. Levels of education showed significant influence over the decision of voluntary adoption of crop insurance schemes. The odds of a farmer with graduate level of education, that he subscribes to crop insurance voluntarily than due to compulsion, was found to be 16 times higher compared to a farmer with primary education. The Willingness To Pay (WTP) for a crop insurance scheme with features of timely settlement of claims, usage of drones and satellite imageries for crop loss assessment and claims based on procurement price of the produce was elicited using single bounded contingent valuation method. The WTP was estimated to be ₹1753/ha using probit model employing maximum likelihood method. The suggestions for improving the existing crop insurance schemes were identified and ranked. Majority of the farmers assigned first, second and third ranks respectively to timely settlement of claims, ensuring adequate compensation and introducing individual coverage. Ensuring claims based on procurement price of the produce; using drones, satellite imageries and other advanced technology for quicker crop loss assessment and implementing schemes based on individual coverage are recommended to address the constraints faced by farmers in adopting crop insurance. Administering the crop insurance schemes through Krishi Bhavans will make it easier for the farmers to have access to information related to the schemes as they are more acquainted with KBs than banks. The farmers’ share of premium may be raised as high as ₹1753/ ha with the suggested improvements over the existing schemes.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Economic analysis of rice milling industry in central Kerala
    (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2018) Athira, B; Chitra Parayil
    Rice milling is the oldest and the largest agro processing industry of the country. At present it has a turnover of more than Rs. 25,500/- crore per annum. It processes about 85 million tonnes of paddy per year and provides staple food grain and other valuable products required by over 60 per cent of the population. As demand for food grain increases with the growth of population, the need for efficient paddy processing units is felt in the country. Main challenges encountered by the rice processors are to find appropriate solutions for quality rice processing and meeting the demand of current population growth rate. This work provides the basic information about the economics of rice mills in Kerala, factors affecting the milling efficiency and also will study the stakeholder responses (farmers, traders, and millers) on the rice milling industry. The study was based on both Primary and secondary data. The primary was collected from stakeholders in milling industry in Palakkad and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. This includes millers, farmers and traders of Palakkad and Ernakulum districts. Data was collected from 40 mills (20 from each district), farmers and traders. The year 2016-17 is considered as the year of reference. Capital investment pattern of rice mills in Palakkad and Ernakulam districts were calculated and analysed. The results showed that from 1980 to 2017 investment on rice mills had increased from Rs. 30 lakh to 300 lakh. Capitallabour ratio of 40 rice mills were also calculated and showed an inverse relation between the ratio and capacity of rice mills. Low capital- labour ratio indicated a higher profitability and employment generation in rice mills. Response of the rice millers to the processing industry was analyzed. Millers purchase paddy from farmers in weekly, monthly seasonally and irregular time intervals. Major varieties preferred by the rice millers were Uma, Jaya, Jyothi and TK-9. They mainly procure the paddy varieties from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka farmers compared to the farmers in Palakkad and Alappuzha districts due to the low price. Milling, polishing, supply to the exporters, local trading and by product trading are the major processing activities in rice mills. Major buyers of rice from the rice mills were Traders, consumers, restaurants and public agencies with varying number. Efficiency analysis of rice mills was done using three tools such as percentage analysis, financial ratio and Data Envelopment Technique. Capacity utilization of rice mills were calculated using percentage analysis and found to be higher for large capacity rice mills followed by medium and small capacity rice mills. Financial ratios used were B:C ratio, Gross margin and Operating expense ratio and proved that all the rice mills in Palakkad and Ernakulam were running on a profitable basis. Data envelopment analysis showed the efficiency of rice mills with a mean technical efficiency of 0.95 in Palakkad and 0.96 in Ernakulam. Mean scale efficiency value of 0.91 and 0.93 was obtained from Palakkad and Ernakulam districts respectively. Peer count and input targets of both districts were also obtained from DEA analysis. Major constraints in the rice milling industry were identified using Garret ranking technique. Maintenance cost, labour shortage and irregularity in paddy supply were the main three hindrances to the smooth functioning of rice mills. With the increase in demand for processed rice in India and Kerala there is great need to improve the quality of rice and installed capacity of processing