Social Sciences
The Department of Social Sciences deals with the transfer of technologies, value chain analysis, production and marketing efficiency of agricultural and horticultural crops. Courses on social sciences will focus on developing agro-based entrepreneurship skills among the students through hands-on training and field exposure visits. This department will also mold the students to be competent to face the demands of the job market. This domain includes
Agricultural Economics
During the farmers field visits, the students are exposed to crop planning, adoption of technology, cost of production and cost of cultivation. While marketing visits, the students are learning the operations of existing regulated market, cooperative market, direct marketing, wholesale and retail marketing. In this course, Assessment of Demand Supply, price determination of Agricultural Commodities through market arrivals through suitable software is also taught to the students.
Agricultural Extension
Students are exposed to basics concepts related to rural sociology and educational psychology. Students learn the practical applications of important sociological and psychological concepts. This course intends to expose students to the fundamentals of following areas:- 1. Extension education
- 2. Extension systems in India
- 3. Programme Planning
- 4. Rural Development Efforts
- 5. Extension Administration
To impart knowledge to the students on different extension methods and approaches used for transfer of agricultural technology. This course will also provide an opportunity to students to visit different organizations involved in extension activities and rural development work. Students become self-confident individuals by mastering inter-personnel skills, team management skills, and leadership skills. Students are engaged to village for Practicing PRA Techniques in a Village Setting and they made to survey in local village to Understand the Socio Cultural and Agricultural Related Problems being Encountered by the Villagers/ Farmers. Students are exposed to visit State Department of Agriculture to understand the organizational setup, roles, functions and various schemes, likewise to study the Organizational Set up and Functions of District Rural Development.
Agricultural Rural Management
The practical on this course gives an opportunity to the students to visit the successful Entrepreneurs and leading business houses. While the visit to the spot helps the students in understanding the working of the organization, the meeting with the Entrepreneurs provides an opportunity to interact with them, who will share their experiences with the students. This will act as a motivation to the students to take up Entrepreneurship as their career. Students are taken in to different industries and that will help the students to start the industries by own.
English
The English course aims to make the students competent and well versed in the English language skills namely listening, speaking, reading and writing which are essential for the youth of today to meet the challenges in the changing global scenario. It also prepares them to be future ready for the career by offering training in interview skills, group discussion techniques, communication skills etc.
Statistics and Mathematics
The students are taught about fundamental concepts of statistical applications in agriculture and allied sciences and to acquire knowledge on the theoretical concepts of data collection, graphical and diagrammatical representation of data, descriptive statistics, sampling methods, testing of hypothesis, correlation, regression, ANOVA and basic design of experiments. Students are also trained in statistical softwares like SPSS, SYSTAT, R Programmes etc. In mathematics, Students were taught about the applications and fundamental concept of mathematics applicable in biology and to acquire about theoretical concepts of Algebra, Geometry, Calculus and Mathematical Modelling.
Horticulture
Horticulture
The Department of Horticulture is a branch of agriculture that deals with the management and improvement of horticultural crops such as medicinal plants, fruits, vegetables, flowers and non-food crops such as ornamental plants. It also deals with the plant conservation, landscape restoration, landscaping, gardening and arboriculture and the study of value-added products of horticultural crops. The various disciplines of this department are
Horticulture
During practical classes, the students are exposed to hands on training on orchard layout, pitting, planting, media preparation, potting and repotting, preparation and application of growth regulators, different propagation methods, nursery raising of vegetables, training, pruning, harvesting, lawn making, varietal identification, preparation of processed products from fruits and vegetables etc.
In addition to providing hands on training, KIA students have also established some model units such as Herbal garden, Butterfly garden, Exotic/Minor fruits garden and Rose garden as part of their project work. These model units will serve as germ plasm resources for identification of different varieties and species. The innovative ideas from the students are being carefully scrutinized every year and used for establishing different such units with financial assistance. Students are also given hands on training on layering and grafting techniques and boquet making.
Food Science
Hands on trainings are given to students to determine the energy value of foods processing of different value added products, food preservation, quality standards and safety management.
Crop Protection
Crop Protection
The Department of Crop Protection deals with the management of pests and diseases affecting the growth of the crop plants. The students will learn about integrated pest and disease management measures and strategies with special emphasis on Host Plant Resistance, Bio-control, measures using bio-pesticides and judicious use of chemical pesticides. The various fields under this department are
Agricultural Entomology
Hands on training help the students to acquaint themselves with external morphology of the insects, basic aspects of anatomy of different systems and identification of insects up to family level with hands-on experience. The students are exposed to the knowledge about the economically important insects like Honeybee, Silkworm, Lac insect, Pollinators, Weed killers, Parasitoids and Predators and principles governing the management of insect pest, including the concept and components of Integrated Pest Management. Students were exposed to different Pests of Field and Horticultural crops that throws light on the distribution, bionomics, symptoms of damage and management strategies of pests of crops like Cereals, Millets, Pulses, Oilseeds, Cotton, Sugarcane, Green Manures, Forage Crops, Stored Products, Vegetable Crops, Fruit Crops, Tuber Crops, Spices and Plantation Crops, Flower Crops and Medicinal Plants. Students are taken to farmer’s field to real assessment of pest incidence and their management.
Nematology
Students have been taught about the methods of extraction of plant parasitic nematode from soil and root, morphological characters of different plant parasitic nematodes, different symptoms and damages caused by nematodes, nematicide application methods and dosage calculation of nematicides. The students are taught about mass production of nematophagus fungi (Paecilomyceslilacinus & Pochoniachlamydosporia) for the management of plant parasitic nematodes.
Plant Pathology
The students are provided with training to identify the symptoms produced by various plant pathogenic organisms and their relationship with factors and host and also they are familiarized with the characters of plant pathogens through dissection and herbarium. Apart from this, they also learn about the taxonomic characters of plant pathogens. The students are provided with the dissection and Herbarium collection which are used to learn Etiology, symptoms, mode of spread, survival, epidemiology, host parasitic relationship and integrated management of important diseases due to fungi, bacteria, viruses, phytoplasma, phanerogamic parasites and non-parasitic causes of cereals, Millets Pulses, Oilseeds, Cash crops, Fruits, vegetables and Plantation crops. Students are also taken to farmers field to get exposure about symptoms produced by different plant pathogens for better understanding of the subject and identification of pathogens.
Crop Improvement
Crop Improvement
The Department of Crop Improvement deals with the breeding and evaluation of the crop varieties, improving seed quality and development of markers to identify these varieties and hybrids. The students are taught to be technically sound in both the disciplines of practical and theory aspects in these areas through their studies. The department includes the disciplines of
Plant Breeding and Genetics
Hands on training are provided to the students on Dissection of floral parts of crops like Rice, Sorghum, Cumbu, Ragi, Redgram, Blackgram, Greengram, Cowpea, Sunflower etc., individually, assemble the floral parts in the microscope and the same may be evaluated. To make the students thorough with the botanical features of different crops, they were taught to collect herbarium specimens of crops belonging to different families.
Hands on trainings are provided for students on the following aspects viz., Preparation of stains, preservatives and development of permanent slides of mitosis and meiosis stages, studying mitotic and meiotic cell divisions, induce mutations in crops. Pollen fertility studies of different crops like Rice, Maize, Redgram, Cumbu, Cotton, Blackgram, Greengram, Sunflower, Bhendi, Tomato and Chillies were also studied. The students were also trained on crossing and selfing techniques of different crops like Rice, Maize, Cumbu, Sorghum, Ragi, Redgram, Blackgram, Greengram, Cowpea, Cotton, Jute, Castor, Groundnut, Gingelly, Sunflower, Bhendi, Tomato and Chillies.
Plant Biotechnology
Hands-on training are given to the students in the following aspects viz., How to prepare the tissue culture medium, Plant micro-propagation techniques starting from explant selection, explant preparation, explant inoculation and sub-culturing and culture maintenance, Culturing of E. coli bacteria, Plasmid isolation, Restriction digestion and ligation of plasmid, Electrophoresis, Micro-propagation of Rose, Tapioca and Banana, Genomic DNA isolation from plant tissue, specific gene amplification using the PCR method and DNA finger printing using RAPD markers.
Seed science and Technology
Hands on trainings are given on seed quality enhancement techniques, seed pelleting, coating, priming, hardening, seed dormancy breaking treatments, seed moisture estimation techniques, physical purity analysis, seed germination and seedling evaluation test, seedling vigour test, quick viability test, seed health test, electrophoresis for variety identification and genetic purity analysis, tomato seed extraction technique, acid delinting in cotton, emasculation and dusting in cotton, detasseling and dusting in maize, jerking in cumbu and field inspection for seed production.
Crop Management
Crop Management
The Department of Crop Management deals with managing the various crop production factors like soil, climate, physiological parameters and soil biology, which influence the crop growth and productivity. The department’s mandate is teaching the concepts and approaches for sustainable crop production. It also aims at teaching the cost-effective and appropriate production technologies for efficient and optimal use of resources in a judicious manner. It also deals with the mechanization in agriculture using implements, machineries, equipment, etc. By learning these courses, students will get equipped with the knowledge about the maintenance of machineries and working of conventional machineries and recent technologies involved in agriculture. The various disciplines under crop management department are
Agronomy
Agronomy is basic course in the agricultural programme; in which students familiarize themselves in identification of agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, organic manures, chemicals, tools and implements. All the agronomy courses have field work in the practical classes. Students themselves actively involved in the field work which gives the confidence on agriculture. In agronomy courses field visits are arranged to various cropping system locations to understand the seriousness and magnitude in real world situations. Practical courses in crop production technology, students learn the all the package of practices and special operation of different crops. Students are also exposed to different weeds and their management practices, further they are also exposed to modern technology of different irrigation techniques.
During the crop production course, students are required to cultivate two field crops such as Rice, maize, cotton and black gram upon the agro-climatic conditions. Each student is allotted an area of around 5.0 cents of land and they are expected to follow the different crop production practices viz., seed bed preparation, seed treatment, raising nursery, transplanting, nutrient management, water management, weed management, pest and disease management, harvesting, threshing, drying, winnowing, storage and marketing. They also need to work out the economics of crop production showing the cost of cultivation, gross returns and net return.
Batch wise crops grown, area allotted per student and income generated is given in the following table
| Batch | Crop | Area (Per Student) | Income Generated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-2018 | Rice | 5 Cents | Rs.2700 |
| Maize | 5 Cents | ||
| 2015-2019 | Rice | 5 Cents | Rs.1700 |
| Cotton | 5 Cents | ||
| 2016-2020 | Rice | 5 Cents | Rs.1500 |
| Blackgram | 5 Cents |
Crop Physiology
Students will acquire basic knowledge on various functions and processes related to crop production, mineral nutrition, plant growth regulators and environmental stresses. In addition, hands on exposure to preparation of solutions, analysis of pigment composition, estimation of growth analytical parameters, diagnosis and correction of nutrient deficiencies and enzyme assays.
Agricultural Microbiology
The Students are given hands on training in basic and applied microbiological techniques in the Microbiology courses. Firstly, students are trained to handle bright field microscope to observe different microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and action bacteria. They are also given training on measurement of size of microorganisms by using ocular and stage micrometer. Sterilization techniques using Autoclave and Hot air oven are taught to carryout sterilization of media and glass wares respectively. Staining techniques are provided and students by themselves observe the morphology, cell arrangement, cell structure of microorganisms by applying different staining techniques such as simple staining, differential staining.
Practical exposure on isolation of microorganisms from different samples using classical serial dilution and plating technique is provided. Students learn to purify the colonies of bacteria, fungi and action-bacteria and study their colony characteristics. Growth of bacteria is taught and students themselves measure at different time interval of bacteria growth and prepare a growth curve using semi log graph. Biochemical characterization of bacteria and action bacteria are taught to identify their biochemical behaviour. Students are learned to isolate soil beneficial and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) such as Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Phosphobacteria, Potash Bacteria, Pseudomonas, sulphur oxidizing and Zinc oxidizing bacteria, VAM, Azolla, PPFM etc, The students are provided with hands on training in commercial production of Bio-fertilizers ( Azospirillum, Phosphobacteria, Pseudomonas , Sulphur Oxidizing bacteria and Zinc oxidizing bacteria) and enable them as entrepreneurs.
Environmental Sciences
Biodiversity assessment of various eco systems are taught in the practicals using Simpson and Shannon diversity index. Students are trained in analysing soil, water and wastewater parameters such as pH, EC, TDS, Acidity and Alkalinity, Ca and Mg, water hardness, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Biological Oxygen Demand to analyse the suitability of those waters for irrigation.
Students are given hands on training on production of composting, vermicomposting from farm wastes. Students are also exposed to contaminated sites and learn to observe the flora and fauna that ecosystem. Air pollution control and monitoring mechanisms are taught using High Volume Air Sampler (HVAS).
Animal husbandry
In this course, Students are given hands on training, with topics ranging from animal health and nutrition to regulations and disease management. In poultry aspect, they are taught different breeds and management. Students are taken to different cattle firms like GurunadhaSamyKovil Festival and KonguNattuKalandaiThiruvizha to expose them to different breeds of cattle, buffalo, horse and goat.
Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry
Practical and hands on training are given to students to familiarize themselves with the method of soil sample collection for analysis, estimation of soil physical and chemical properties which are basis to find out the soil fertility status. The training will be given to the students on the taxonomic classification of soils, and soil survey method. Students are exposed to identify the suitability of soil for crop growth and it will help to frame the policy decision for land utilization. The students are also exposed to the Soil fertility aspects. It helps to estimate the soil available nutrients, plant total nutrients and nutrients present in Manures. The practical and hands on training offered through the various courses on Soil Science will not only provide the students with the identification of soil fertility status but also train them to give soil nutrient management technique.
Agricultural Engineering
The department of Agricultural Engineering trains students in operating the different agricultural tools, types of machinery/implements. It also gives training in handling the various surveying and leveling instruments for measuring the field. Learning these courses equips students with knowledge about the maintenance of different types of equipment, working of conventional machinery, and recent technologies involved in agriculture. The design of course structure and syllabus for the UG programme creates skilled and technically sound human resources to cater to the engineering needs of farm mechanization, irrigation and drainage, soil and water conservation, post-harvest processing of crops, value addition, renewable energy, and appropriate design and utilization of agriculture resources.
- 1. To enable students to understand the practice of biogas applications and solar energy systems
- 2. To develop practical skills for the designing of drip and sprinkler irrigation system
- 3. To qualify students to understand the post-harvest handling of different crops
