PG Thesis
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Item Development of cocoa drier(Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1985) Abdassalam, M; John Thomas, KAn investigation for the development of an electrically heated, multistage, agitation type cocoa drier, suitable for the Kerala conditions for drying of cocoa beans without impairing the quality, was conducted in the Agricultural Engineering Department of the College of Horticulture under the Kerala Agricultural University. The mini box fermentation method developed in Kerala Agricultural University was selected for fermentation of the beans. The fermented cocoa beans were dried in the sun. The process of sun drying continued upto seven days. The pH of dried beans was 5.2, which was very close to the pH range, 5.3 to 5.5 for good quality beans as per international standards. Hence, the quality of the beans was considered satisfactory. A bulb heated drier developed earlier in K.A.U. was tested* The capacity of the drier tested was 30 kg of fermented beans. The bean could be dried to the desired moisture content in 38 hours. The moisture content of the dried beans was about eight per cent. From the result it was found that for drying one kg of fermented beans approximately 0.760 K.W.H. of electrical energy was required. pH of the dried beans was 5.00. The bulb heated drier was modified and fitted with a 500 watts electric coil heater was also tested. Beans were dried to the desired moisture content in 34 hours. Moisture content of the dried beans was about eight per cent. The result showed that approximately 0.57 K.W.H. of electrical energy was required for drying one kg of fermented beans. The quality of the dried bean was satisfactory because pH of the dried beans was 5.0.The cost of drying per kg of fermented beans was Re.0.47. A modified C.P.C.R.I. model drier of capacity 60 kg of fermented beans was fabricated, tested and economics worked out. For attaining the required moisture content of about eight per cent, the time taken was 64 hours. The result revealed that approximately 0.533 K.W.H. of electrical energy and an amount of Re. 0.36, was required for drying one kg of fermented beans. pH of the dried bean was 5.1 and hence quality of the dried bean was also satisfactory. The modified C.P.C.R.I. model drier fitted with an half h.p. electric motor and a blower was also tested.Beans were dried to the desired moisture content in 42 hours. The result showed that for drying one kg of fermented beans approximately 0.610 K.W.H. of electrical energy was required. Cost of drying per kg of fermented bean was Re. 0.56, Quality of the dried bean was satisfactory since pH was 5.2. An agitation type electrically heated multistage drier of 90 kg capacity was designed, fabricated, tested and its economics was worked out. Tests were carried out with two quantities of cocoa (i.e. 90 kg, and 60 kg), 3 3 different quantity of air (i.e. 0.4 m /second, 0.2 m / second) and varying temperatures (i.e. 56°C, 47°C and 42°C). Air temperature and humidity at various sections of the drier were noted. Also the weight loss of the bean at every hour of drying was noted by using an infrared moisture meter, and the final pH of the dried bean by using a pH meter. From the experiment, using various quantities of beans, with different temperature and air flow, it was found that for drying 90 kg of cocoa beans a temperature of 47°C and air flow rate of 0,4 m3/sec was optimum, for this type of drier. The energy consumed/kg of bean was appromimately 0.69 K.W.H. The pH of the dried beans was found to be 5.3 and hence the quality of the dried bean was satisfactory. Cost of drying per kg of fermented bean was Re. 0.45. One of the objectives of this project was to evolve suitable design of an equipment for drying large quantities of cocoa beans. With this in view an agitation type multistage drier of 2000 kg capacity of fermented beans was designed. Prom the cost analysis it was seen that the cost of drying one kg of bean was only Re. 0.22. The cost of the drier was about Rs.23,000/-. The advantage of agitation type multistage drier are as follows. As the beans were moving in the drier better uniformity in drying was achieved and they were not exposed to high temperature continuously which helped in maintaining the quality of the beans. The drying time was reduced considerably. Energy consumption was less and cost of drying was only 50 per cent compared to other driers. Due to stage by stage drying the loss of heat is reduced and hence the thermal efficiency is high.Item Quality and storage life of oriental pickling melon [Cucumis melo var.conomon(L) Makino] as influenced by major nutrients(Department of Olericulture, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1985) Lissamma Joseph; Ramachandran Nair, SThe oriental pickling melon (Cucumis melo var. cocomon (L) Makino) was grown in a randomised block design under different organic and inorganic fertiliser treatments, with four replications at the Main Campus of Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, to study the effect of organic and inorganic manures on the yield, quality and storage life of this crop. The yield response of oriental pickling melon to different treatments was found to be significantly different. The treatment which received the highest dose of NPK in the organic and inorganic combination recorded the maximum yield per plot and number of fruits per plot whereas the treatments which received NPK through organic manures alone recorded relatively low yield. The weight and size of fruits were maximum when the highest dose of NPK was given completely in the inorganic form. The quality of the fruit was assessed by estimating the nutrient content at harvest; moisture, acidity, vitamin C, starch, total soluble solids and crude fibre content of fruits at harvest and thereafter at monthly intervals during storage. Significant difference was observed between treatments for these quality characteristics. During storage moisture, starch and vitamin C content of fruits showed steady decline irrespective of the treatments, whereas acidity and total soluble solids showed an initial increase followed by a gradual decline. The effect of organic and inorganic manures on storage life of oriental pickling melon was assessed by recording the rotting percentage of fruits during storage and it was found that increased degree of rotting occurred in treatments which received inorganic form of NPK, during all periods of storage. The organic form of manures showed a definite advantage over inorganic fertilisers in respect of the storability of oriental pickling melon.Item Effect of pre and post -harvest treatments on storage and quality of banana cv. Nendran(Department of Horticulture (Pomology & Floriculture and Landscaping), College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1981) Aravindakshan, K; Sivaraman Nair, P CThe present investigations were carried out in the College of Horticulture, during the year 1978-1980. The objectives were to study (i) the growth and development of banana fingers cv. Nendran and to fix optimum tine for harvest (ii) the effect of pre-harvest sprays of growth regulators on post harvest quality of the fruits (iii) the effect of different storage methods on prolonging the shelf life and (iv) to assess the efficacy of different fungicidal treatments on controlling anthraonose disease of ripened fruits. Fruit growth in rainfed ‘Nendran’ was found to be a continueous process till it reaches maximum maturity at 90 days after shooting. The length, girth, volume and weight of fingers continued to increase rapidly during early stages of growth, accounting for 90 per cent of growth by 60 days after shooting. The accumulation of dry matter and the starch took place at increasing rates during the first two month of fruit growth resulting an increase in specific gravity from 0.36 at shooting to more than one after 70 days of shooting and pulp to peel ratio from 0.32 to 1.50 on 70th day. The study showed that rainfed ‘Nandran’ can be harvested from 70 days after shooting without impairing the quality but with light reduction in quantity. The growth regulators if applied as pre-harvest sprays on 60th day after shooting increases size, weight and quality of the fruits; the maximum Increase in size and weight was resulted by the application of 2, 4-D at 10 ppm. The quality was improved by way of increased TSS, total and reducing sugars by treatments of ethrel 400 ppm, NAA 50 ppm, 100 ppm and 2, 4-D at 4 ppm and 10 ppm. Improvement in quality followed by growth regulator application was more evident in ease of 70th day harvest than the harvest at full maturity. The comparative study of different storage methods have revealed that, the polythene bag with potassium permanganate increases the storage life by 10 days, polythene bag alone by 6 days as compared to smoke treatment and open storage. Eventhough the fruits in polythene bag with and without KMnO4 showed a reduction on TSS, total and reducing sugar content, the appearanoe of the fruits were much better than that of smoked fruits and open stored fruites and the eating quality were also good. The study on the Incidence of anthracnoae disease In the storage showed that all the fungicides used at both concentration viz. anthracol at 0.05% and 0.1 % Bavistin 500 ppm and 1000 ppm; Thiride 0.1% and 0.2%| were equally effective In reducing the black spot development on ripened fruits. Though few spots were present In spite of the treatments, the quality and colour were not effected. Among the storage conditions. Polythene bag + KMnO4 showed least lncidence of the spots while It was maximum In case of smoke treatment.Item Prediction of potassium fertilizer requirement of banana, Musa (AAB Group) 'Nendran'(Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1997) Sindhu, J; Korah, P AA study was undertaken in the field of a local farmer from May, 1995 to January, 1996 to assess the effect of application of different doses of potassium on the growth, yield and quality of bananacv. Nendran. The experiment also envisaged standardisation of the index plant part of K status and determination of K level in index plant part and soil for maximum and economic yield. The experiment was laid out in RBD with five levels of K (0,150, 300, 450 and 600 g K 2O per plant ) as treatments replicated four times . The soil , low in N,P and K status belonged to the taxonomic class Loamy Kaolinitic Isohyperthermic Rhodic Haplustox. All the biometric characters studied namely height of plant , girth of pseudostem, number of functional leaves , total leaf area and leaf area index showed an increasing trend with increase in the dose of K application from 0 to 600 g K2O per plant and the effects were more pronounced from the shooting stage of the crop after it had received the full dose of K supply.Item Development of osmo dehydrated red banana(musa spp)(Department of post harvest technology, college of agriculture, Vellayani, 2019) Archana, A K; Geetha Lekshmi, P RItem Post harvest deterioration of fruits by microbes and their control(Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1987) Anita Cherian, K; Susamma PhilipSeveral fungi and bacteria was isolated from decayed fruits like banana, mango, pineapple and orange collected from the local markets of Trivandrum city over a period of six months, Among these Botryodiplodia theobromas was the most common fungus with its occurrence on all fruits. Other pathogenic fungi isolated from each fruit