Herbal Garden

Herbs have been used for centuries to help with a variety of ailments. It adds flavour to recipes besides providing various health benefits. The KIA Herbal Garden extending over an area of 2.5 acres is a treasure trove of healing powers. Around 85 medicinal and aromatic crops are grown in the garden. The herbal garden lies with the descriptive labels of their botanical names and vernacular names. The plants are grouped into herbs, shrubs, climbers, grasses, and trees. The garden has hedge plants like Henna and Clerodendron on all its sides. The Star Garden designed in the herbal garden expands over 0.35 acres. It has twenty-seven herbal plant species corresponding to the 27 astrological nakshatras. The herbal garden is registered under the State Medicinal Plants Board and Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research. This living museum of plants has been a rich source of knowledge for the students where they get exposure to various medicinal plants and get knowledge about their uses.

Rose Garden

Roses enjoy the privilege of being the most appealing and favoured flowers in the world. They lure people with their charm, scent, shades, and exceptional design. The Rose Garden in KIA displays a beautiful selection of twenty important and rare breeds of roses like Tajmahal, Edward, Andhra Red, Gold Strike, and Alba. The garden has a drip irrigation system, footpaths, and hedges. It’s a key source of information to the students and at the same time allows admiring the beauty and fragrance of roses.

Minor and Exotic Fruit trees

KIA has a well-maintained garden for minor and exotic fruit trees that spans over an area of one acre. It has rare fruit trees, tagged as minor because of their limited relevance in the international trade, and few exotic fruit trees labeled so since they do not have long shelf-life. The block nurtures fruit trees like breadfruit, date palm, sweet tamarind, litchi, dragon fruit, seedless lime, passion fruit, mangosteen, Vietnam jack, and garcinia with five plants of each species. The garden helps the students to learn and understand the specific features and growing patterns of the fruits.

Protected Structures

KIA preserves its plants with the best Protected Structures. The farm has a Polyhouse, a greenhouse covering the crop with polythene plastic uplifted either with bamboo or steel pipes to shield the plants from insects. The farm uses Shade Net made of synthetic fibre to lessen the intensity of direct light on crops. KIA farm also has the Mist Chamber with a fan and pad system to maintain humidity artificially at a high level with the help of mist installations, drip irrigation, and fogging. The protected structures ensure good cultivation of high-value vegetables and support the purpose of research.

Butterfly Park

The KIA Butterfly Park spreads across an area of 70*40 feet. It’s protected under the Shade Net to conserve the butterflies. It assists the students in getting expertise about the life cycle of the butterflies, their host plants, and ecology. It also satisfies the research and scientific activities. At present, the butterfly park houses diverse hosts and nectar-yielding plants like crops, weeds, and perennial ornamental plants that aid both the larvae and the adult butterflies to complete their life cycle. The park is a host to nearly fifty species of butterflies.

Nursery Unit

A Nursery unit is also part of the KIA Farm. It’s set up at the entrance of KIA to supply the best quality plants, horticultural crops, and tree species to the public at nominal cost. The mother block of the nursery units is in the North Farm. The college campus is also the site for the multiplication of different ornamentals, MAPs, fruits, and tree species.