In vitro regeneration and conservation of Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.) by slow growth induction

An efficient protocol for rapid in vitro clonal propagation has been established. Shoot proliferation was obtained from nodal explants in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L-1BA and 0.1 mg L-1 IAA. The shoots were subsequently subcultured every four weeks. The shoots were then rooted in vitro in MS medium supplemented with varying concentrations of auxins. The most efficient rooting was observed in MS supplemented with 1.5 mg L-1 IAA. The effective acclimatization (91.67 per cent) was obtained in sterilized sand. Slow growth was induced with varying concentration of mannitol (5 g L-1 to 30 g L-1). Maximum slow growth induction with 100 per cent regeneration was recorded in mannitol (10 g L-1) supplemented medium. After 28 weeks in slow growth medium, cultures when transferred to shoot proliferation medium gave 100 per cent regeneration. The regenerants from slow growth induction were found to be genetically stable

Performance of Indian Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.) accessions as intercrop in coconut garden

Thirty accessions of Indian indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.), collected from inside and outside Kerala, were grown in a coconut plantation so as to identify the superior accessions with respect to leaf yield and indigo dye content. Observations were taken at various growth stages namely pre-flowering (90 DAS), flowering (150 DAS) and seed maturation stages (240 DAS). The best ten accessions that recorded maximum leaf yield and glycoside content, obtained from phase I experiment were selected for the phase II experiment. Considerable variations were not noticed in plant height increment in different accessions during both the phases. The accessions differed significantly with respect to plant spread in both the phases. Among the accessions, those that revealed a trend to dominate in plant spread increment during both the phases were IT-105, IT-108 and IT-114. Accession IT-109 dominated in the increment of number of leaves during phase I experiment. Accessions IT-96, IT-99, IT-101, IT-106 and IT-108 were found superior with respect to shoot fresh weight and dry weight in both the phases of the experiment. IT-96, IT-99 and IT-101 were superior in terms of indigo dye content. The present study has revealed the genetic superiority of IT-96, IT-99 and IT-101 accessions in terms of leaf yield and indigo dye content, when grown as intercrop in coconut plantation

Performance of Indian Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.) accessions as intercrop in coconut garden

Thirty accessions of Indian indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.), collected from inside and outside Kerala, were grown in a coconut plantation so as to identify the superior accessions with respect to leaf yield and indigo dye content. Observations were taken at various growth stages namely pre-flowering (90 DAS), flowering (150 DAS) and seed maturation stages (240 DAS). The best ten accessions that recorded maximum leaf yield and glycoside content, obtained from phase I experiment were selected for the phase II experiment. Considerable variations were not noticed in plant height increment in different accessions during both the phases. The accessions differed significantly with respect to plant spread in both the phases. Among the accessions, those that revealed a trend to dominate in plant spread increment during both the phases were IT-105, IT-108 and IT-114. Accession IT-109 dominated in the increment of number of leaves during phase I experiment. Accessions IT-96, IT-99, IT-101, IT-106 and IT-108 were found superior with respect to shoot fresh weight and dry weight in both the phases of the experiment. IT-96, IT-99 and IT-101 were superior in terms of indigo dye content. The present study has revealed the genetic superiority of IT-96, IT-99 and IT-101 accessions in terms of leaf yield and indigo dye content, when grown as intercrop in coconut plantation

Constraints in Implementation of Land Reforms Policies as Perceived by Agricultural Labourers of Erstwhile Cannanore District of Kerala, India

Kerala state was formed in 1956 by the amalgamation of three political units Travancore, Cochin and Malabar and agrarian relations were developed independently in these three units. The term land reforms refers to the redistribution of agricultural land from existing public or private landowners to tenant farmers and agricultural labourers who work on such land without owning it. The land reforms implemented in Kerala is considered and propagated as a model one. Land reform resulted in the end of feudalistic production relations and reduction in caste inequality. But the fact is that actual tillers of the soil failed to get benefits from the land reform policies. The present study was conducted in Erstwhile Cannanore district of Kerala state (Present Kannur, Kasargod and North Wayanad). Thirty agricultural labourers each from five selected blocks of three districts (Kalliasseri & Taliparamba from Kannur, Kanhangad &Nileswaram from Kasargod and Panamaram from North Wayanad.) were identified randomly and the total number of respondents was 150. A well-structured interview schedule was used for collecting data from the respondents. Delphi technique was used to identify the constraints. The data were tabulated and inferences were drawn after appropriate statistical analysis. The results shows that constraints like ‘Most beneficiaries of land reforms were from upper part of the society’ is having highest total score (297) among the others and it is considered as the most severe constraint perceived by the agri. labourers followed by ‘Agricultural labourers are not much benefitted by the law’ (283) and ‘During tenancy reforms, bigger share of benefits went to richer sections than the actual tillers of soil’ (273)

Extent of Awareness of Farmers on ITD Methods Implemented by Different Agricultural Institutions in Kerala

Innovations in Technology Dissemination (ITD) is part of the agricultural extension system that   holds key to rapid development and transformation of rural society and it is greatly influenced by the linkage between the research subsystem, extension subsystem and client subsystem. In  Kerala, several linkage mechanisms are existed at the state and regional levels to provide  strong ties between research and extension system. The study was conducted   in Kannur district of Kerala to identify the extent of awareness of farmers on ITD methods implemented by different agricultural institutions in Kannur district. Thirty farmers each from four selected grama panchayats (Ezhome, Kankol- Alapadamba, Kadannapalli- Panapuzha and Mayyil) of Kannur were identified using simple random sampling and a total of one hundred and twenty respondents were included in the study. A well-structured interview schedule was used for collecting the data from the respondents. The data were tabulated and inferences were drawn from the appropriate statistical analysis. The result shows that majority of the farmers were aware of the ITD methods like training programmes by ATMA (68.33%), ATMA newsletter (58.33%), LEADS activities (53.33%) and training and workshops by Department of Agriculture (66.67%). Most of the farmers lack awareness about the innovations by NGOs and farmers clubs formed by different banks

Constraints of Extisting Innovations in Technology Dissemination (ITD) Methods in India- A Critical Analysis

Extension in many countries has come to cover a variety of activities in both the public and private sectors, yet the transfer of information continues to be the ultimate focus of all extension activities. The present study was conducted in Kannur district of Kerala state, to identify the constraints of existing ITD methods implemented by different agricultural institutions in Kannur and find out the suggestions from farmers for improvement. Thirty farmers each from four selected Grama Panchayats (Ezhome, Kankol- Alapadamba, Kadannapalli- Panapuzha and Mayyil) of Kannur were identified using simple random sampling. A well-structured interview schedule was used for collecting data from the respondents. The data were tabulated and inferences were drawn after appropriate statistical analysis. The results shows that lack of awareness about the latest ICT methods for technology dissemination’ is having highest mean score (72.17) and it is considered as the most severe constraint by the farmers followed by ‘trainings are not effective to meet farmer’s needs’ (71.5) and ‘Less training programs for farmers and extension personnel (69.77)

Perceived Boundarylessness in Relation to Success Factors: A Descriptive Study of Nine Bangalore Organizations in the IT Sector

The importance of organization boundaries and their nature of permeability is of special concern in a globalized world. The role of systems theorists and that of boudary management intervention theorists show the need to study the people sub system more. Managerial perceptions are critical in this context. Sensing and perceiving boundarylessness will lead to a better consciousness of boundary management. This paper describes the way nine HR managers perceive their boundaries in the IT sector of Bangalore. The managers are asked about various types of boundaries namely, vertical, horizontal, external, geographic, and psychological boundaries. The boundaries are also understood in terms of success factors namely, innovation, flexibility, speed, and integration. Results show variations in managerial perception of organizational boundarylessness in the context of the boundary types. Interestingly innovation remains controversial as none of the Indian managers concur on the influence of boundaries on innovation

Overview of wind energy conversion systems focussing on its generator and converter topologies

LAUREA MAGISTRALEWind energy conversion systems plays a pivotal role in contributing to the total power production in today’s world. From the past 30 years many research and Development have been done in order to extract maximum power from wind energy. As a result of this we have been able to produce more power by using cost efficient method. We have also been able to increase the life span of the wind turbines and its components using advanced technology. In this thesis we discuss about wind energy conversion systems based on their location, types, the types of generators used and their advantages, various power converters used, the interconnection systems, reliability and protection. We further discussed about the future scope of wind energy conversion systems

Slavery as a Social Institution Gleaned from Tarisappalli Copper Plates

Slavery as a universal social evil had its origins in time immemorial. Slavery was a part of the social life of Kerala society until the second half of the nineteenth century. According to the mythical story embodied in Keralolpathi, Parasurama reclaimed Kerala from the Ocean by throwing his axe. On this divine gift of the Arabian Sea, Parasurama settled the Brahmins as the lords and brought the indigenous people as cultivators and enslaved people. The story is indicative of the origin of agrestic slavery in the land. Several documents discovered from various parts of Kerala throw light on the existence of slavery in Kerala. The first inscriptional evidence of slavery as a social institution in Kerala belongs to the ninth century (AD 849). It is named the Tarisappalli Copper Plate, Syrian Christian Copper Plate, and Kollam Copper Plate. This inscription is the only document from ancient Kerala that gives proper knowledge about the existence of ‘Adimakasu’ or slave levy. The Venad Raja Ayyan Adikal Tiruvadikal granted certain privileges to the Nasranis or the Syrian Christians of Quilon. The institution of slavery existed among the Syrian Christians, and the origin of the slave levy can be traced from these copper plates. The Tarisappalli plates are, of course, not only crucial for the Syrian Christians of Kerala but hold an essential position in the history of Kerala because it is one of the oldest records with detailed evidence of the existence of slavery and also about the extensive trade with Arabs, Portuguese, Persians, and Jews. This article attempts to trace the institution of slavery from the early records of the Tarisappalli copper plate

Cyber-Physical Defense in Smart Distribution Networks

The existing electric grid is transitioning to a smart grid with increased penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs), such as photovoltaic (PV) units, battery storage units, electric vehicles (EV), and EV chargers. DERs facilitate the increase in renewable energy generation, which leads to a more sustainable, efficient, and reliable grid paradigm. However, with the rise of communication exchanges and data flow due to DERs, cybersecurity vulnerabilities arise. Much of the literature has focused strictly on mitigating data attacks resulting in non-technical losses, false state estimation, and inaccurate load forecasting. However, the grid paradigm's cyber-physical security also needs to be taken into account to ensure that no grid operations take place that impact the physics of the system. Our project achieved that by developing a Machine Learning (ML) algorithm that will detect anomalies in the commands issued to the distribution network's assets. The algorithm was trained using data from a base case obtained from the simulation of the IEEE 34 distribution network. It was tested and improved by adding modifications to the base case. We successfully developed a local anomaly detection algorithm for a photovoltaic system and two voltage regulators, achieving F1-scores of 0.5141, 0.8173, and 0.8982, respectively. All three algorithms achieved low values of false negatives, which is promising as false negatives have a much higher cost since missing one anomaly can result in disastrous effects on the entire grid