Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio Optimization and Periphyton Development on the Production and Sustainability of Penaeus Monodon(Fabricius)in Extensive Culture System

Controlling the inorganic nitrogen by manipulating carbon / nitrogen ratio is a method gaining importance in aquaculture systems. Nitrogen control is induced by feeding bacteria with carbohydrates and through the subsequent uptake of nitrogen from the water for the synthesis of microbial proteins. The relationship between addition of carbohydrates, reduction of ammonium and the production of microbial protein depends on the microbial conversion coefficient. The carbon / nitrogen ratio in the microbial biomass is related to the carbon contents of the added material. The addition of carbonaceous substrate was found to reduce inorganic nitrogen in shrimp culture ponds and the resultant microbial proteins are taken up by shrimps. Thus, part of the feed protein is replaced and feeding costs are reduced in culture systems.The use of various locally available substrates for periphyton based aquaculture practices increases production and profitability .However, these techniques for extensive shrimp farming have not so far been evaluated. Moreover, an evaluation of artificial substrates together with carbohydrate source based farming system in reducing inorganic nitrogen production in culture systems has not yet been carried-out. Furthermore, variations in water and soil quality, periphyton production and shrimp production of the whole system have also not been determined so-far.This thesis starts with a general introduction , a brief review of the most relevant literature, results of various experiments and concludes with a summary (Chapter — 9). The chapters are organised conforming to the objectives of the present study. The major objectives of this thesis are, to improve the sustainability of shrimp farming by carbohydrate addition and periphyton substrate based shrimp production and to improve the nutrient utilisation in aquaculture systems.

Combined toxic effects of oil and pesticides on selected marine invertebrates

In recent years, pollution in general and sea water pollution in particular, has become an important topic for national and international considerations. Because of its impact on society, marine pollution has attracted great attention from politicians, administrators, natural scientists and technologists all over the world. To save our environment from further deterioration, it is essential to have an assessment of this problem This thesis involves investigation of the lethal and sub lethal effects of four pesticides and two petroleum oil, individually and in combinations on two commercially important bivalves. Among the four pesticides used two are organophosphates and the other two are organochlorines. Synthetic Pesticides, especially organophosphates and organochlorines have become increasingly important additions to chemical wastes polluting natural aquatic Communities special attention is given in the present investigation to delineate the combined toxic effect of oil and pesticides. The results are presented under different sections to make the presentation meaningful.

Refinance operations of the national bank for agriculture and rural development-the kerala experience

NABARD has completed 14 years of operation.ln the light of its experiences and achievements, the performance ev.ilu.ilion of the National Bank need to be looked into.This could provide certain criteria for its strength and weakness which may help in consolidating the institution for better utilisation of its potentialities. It is also noteworthy that no evaluative study on the National Bank has been conducted in Kerala. The Major objective of this study is to evaluate the role of NABARD in catering to the long-term agricultural requirements of Kerala for 1982 to 1992.This is done by analysing the quantum and quality of NABARD's schematic refinance. The qualitative indices like (1) the efficiency of loan recovery, (2) the impact or financial viability of NABARD refinanced schemes, (3) the credit gap, (4) the commitment-disbursement gap, and (5) the imbalances in the NABARD refinance form the core of the study.Hypotheses were formulated inorder to study and analyse these qualitative indices. The study is presented in eight chapters

Water relations, growth and gas exchange in Acacia auriculiformis under experimental and natural conditions

Investigations on the water relations and gas exchange of/tcacia aun'culiji_2rmis were carried out in natural and controlled environments. The experiments were performed in both seedlings and five year old trees. Different sets of experiments were conducted in Acacia plantations, at Kothachira, Palakkad District and in .seedlings, at KFRI campus nursery mainly during the summer months. Investigations were also extended to seedlings of A.mangium, Aaulacocarpa and /Lholocericea, which are also phyllodinous species with the intention of comparing their physiology with Acacia auriculifomus. Potted seedlings of four species of Acacia viz., A. auriculi/E)/7r:i.r, /I. aulacocarpa, A. holocericea and A. mangium were used for the study. Measurements of relative water content (RWC), water potential, photosynthetic rate, transpiration, stomatal conductance, water use efficiency etc. of phyllodes were measured diumally in plants subjected to three stress conditions namely, drought, salinity and flooding

Technological Change and the Development of the Primary Fishing Industry of Kerala - A Study of Limited Growth

Induction of growth in the primary marine fishing industry of Kerala is a sine gua Qgn for improving the economy of the fishermen, the state's domestic product as well as earning more foreign exchange for the country. The State Administration has been trying to instil growth into the industry eversince the output of the industry showed marked sign of decline (particularly after 1975). Significantly, it has attempted to strengthen the traditional sector, (which is considered to be the crucial sector of the primary marine fishing industry of the state) by introducing intermediate technology and by revamping the organisational structure of the industry. But it appears that the production system in the primary marine fishing industry of Kerala has been severely constrained by the existing technology, organisation of production and marketing institutions. Regeneration of growth in the industry calls forth an understanding of the 'process' of growth in the industry and the need to réorganise it with new technology, and new organisations. The present study is an attempt to unraval the process of growth in the primary marine fishing industry of Kerala since 1951

Studies on a syntax based approach for translation between structurally different languages and the development of a prototype for Malayalam to English translation

This thesis summarizes the results on the studies on a syntax based approach for translation between Malayalam, one of Dravidian languages and English and also on the development of the major modules in building a prototype machine translation system from Malayalam to English. The development of the system is a pioneering effort in Malayalam language unattempted by previous researchers. The computational models chosen for the system is first of its kind for Malayalam language. An in depth study has been carried out in the design of the computational models and data structures needed for different modules: morphological analyzer , a parser, a syntactic structure transfer module and target language sentence generator required for the prototype system. The generation of list of part of speech tags, chunk tags and the hierarchical dependencies among the chunks required for the translation process also has been done. In the development process, the major goals are: (a) accuracy of translation (b) speed and (c) space. Accuracy-wise, smart tools for handling transfer grammar and translation standards including equivalent words, expressions, phrases and styles in the target language are to be developed. The grammar should be optimized with a view to obtaining a single correct parse and hence a single translated output. Speed-wise, innovative use of corpus analysis, efficient parsing algorithm, design of efficient Data Structure and run-time frequency-based rearrangement of the grammar which substantially reduces the parsing and generation time are required. The space requirement also has to be minimised

Coastal regulation zone rules in coastal panchayats (villages) of Kerala, India vis-a` -vis socio-economic impacts from the recently introduced peoples’ participatory program for local self-governance and sustainable development

Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest of Government of India in February 1991 as a part of the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 to protect the coast from eroding and to preserve its natural resources. The initial notification did not distinguish the variability and diversity of various coastal states before enforcing it on the various states and Union Territories. Impact assessments were not carried out to assess its impact on socio-economic life of the coastal population. For the very same reason, it was unnoticed or rather ignored till 1994 when the Supreme Court of India made a land mark judgment on the fate of the coastal aquaculture which by then had established as an economically successful industry in many South Indian States. Coastal aquaculture in its modern form was a prohibited activity within CRZ. Lately, only various stakeholders of the coast realized the real impact of the CRZ rules on their property rights andbusiness. To overcome the initial drawbacks several amendments were made in the regulation to suit regional needs. In 1995, another great transformation took place in the State of Kerala as a part of the reorganization of the local self government institutions into a decentralized three tier system called ‘‘Panchayathi Raj System’’. In 1997, the state government also decided to transfer the power with the required budget outlay to the grass root level panchayats (villages) and municipalities to plan and implement the various projects in their localities with the full participation of the local people by constituting Grama Sabhas (Peoples’ Forum). It is called the ‘‘Peoples’ Planning Campaign’’(Peoples’ Participatory Programme—PPP for Local Level Self-Governance). The management of all the resources including the local natural resources was largely decentralized to the level of local communities and villages. Integrated, sustainable coastal zone management has become the concern of the local population. The paper assesses the socio-economic impact of the centrally enforced CRZ and the state sponsored PPP on the coastal community in Kerala and suggests measures to improve the system and living standards of the coastal people within the framework of CRZ.