S.No	Particulars	Completed plinth area(sq.m)	No.rooms
Buildings
1	Administration buildings	415	9
2	PC quarters	200	3
3	SMS quarters
4	Cattle shed	124	1
5	Poultry shed	27	1
6	Sheep shed	46	1

 

Land Particulars of KVK 

 

Items	Area (ha)
Under buildings	1.250
Under demonstration units	0.003
Under crops	8.00
Orchard / Agro forestry	0.40
Others	5.097
Total Area	14.75 ha

       

 Vehicles 

 

Type of Vehicle	Year of purchase
TATA Sumo SE+ (AP 02 L 8107)	1.03.2005
Tractor MF 575 BP (AP 02 BC5945 )	06.08.2015
TVS Suzuki MAX 100 R (AP02C 0201)	2.05.1995
Hero Honda (AP02 AX 4443)	17.07.2014
Tractor Trailor	30.03.2006

KVK has good infrastructural facilities and resources for its activities of on farm research and for establishing instructional units for training purpose. KVK has 14.75 ha farm with tractor drawn implements.

 During past few years, KVK constructed all the buildings sanctioned by ICAR which include Administrative Building, Cattle Sheds, Poultry Shed, Staff  quarters, farmers hostel Soiltest laboratory

  The instructional units in agricultural and allied fields are mainly established for giving first hand information and to provide practical experience for skill development in the farmers based on the principle of “Teaching by Doing” and “Learning by Doing” the Units are mainly established to provide experience in innovative technologies like cost reduction technologies (Seed treatment, STBF, sowing with planter, spraying for LLS with boom sprayer), semi dry rice, seed production in paddy, groundnut, castor, sheep rearing, water management technologies, Azolla cultivation improved poultry breeders, income generating activities, nursery raising through shade net  etc.

 

Facility available to KVK:

Training hall:

KVK is having well equipped training hall with audio visual aids, laminations, live samples etc., with a capacity to accommodate 40-50 members.

Soil Test Laboratory:

KVK is having well equipped sophisticated soil and water testing laboratory which was started during February, 2006. During the last five years 4503 soil samples and 2532 water smaples were analysed .

Farmer’s hostel:

Farmers hostel with modest facilities to accommodate about 35-40 members is available at KVK. Lodging is provided on cost basis, and for own programmes of KVK it is provided on free of cost. All amenities for boarding are also arranged.

Ernet facility

Education and Research Network (ERNET) has made a significant networking og KVKs in the country. Through Ernet facility KVK is interlinked with 200 KVKs throughout India, through which easy transfer and sharing of ideas.

Video conference

Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference (also known as a video conference or video teleconference) by a set of telecommunicationtechnologies which allow two or more locations to communicate by simultaneous two-way video and audio transmissions. Video conference is established at KVK during 2014-15 which is very feasible to communicate with the officials, by saving time and fuel without travelling to other places.

Kiosk 

The university has sanctioned to develop technology resource centre one in each district. With the mission to give the farming community a seamless access to information like never before, ANGRAU is planning to roll out touch based SMART KIOSKS to present farmers with relevant, topical, localized and personalized content at all the technology resource centers.

Demonstration units  

VERMI COMPOST

Vermicomposting is the scientific method of making compost, by using earthworms. They are commonly found living in soil, feeding on biomass and excreting it in a digested form. Earthworms feed on the organic waste materials and give out excreta in the form of “vermicasts” that are rich in nitrates and minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and potassium. These are used as fertilizers and enhance soil quality. Vermicomposting at KVK, Reddipalli is prepared by pit Method. In this method, the organic matter is collected in cemented pits. 

Process of Vermicomposting

 

1. To prepare vermi compost pits, 30 ´ 4.5 ft. pits were prepared with Kadapa slabs.
2. Collect the biomass and place it under the sun for about 8-12 days. Now chop it to the required size using the cutter.
3. Prepare a cow dung slurry and sprinkle it on the heap for quick decomposition.
4. Add a layer (2 – 3 inch) of soil or sand at the bottom of the tank.
5. Now prepare fine bedding by adding partially decomposed cow dung, dried leaves and other biodegradable wastes collected from fields and kitchen. Distribute them evenly on the sand layer.
6. Continue adding both the chopped bio-waste and partially decomposed cow dung layer-wise into the tank up to a depth of 0.5-1.0 ft.
7. After adding all the bio-wastes, release the earthworm species (10 – 20 /pit) over the mixture and cover the compost mixture with dry straw or gunny bags.
8. Sprinkle water on a regular basis to maintain the moisture content of the compost.
9. Cover the tank with a thatch roof to prevent the entry of ants, lizards, mouse, snakes, etc. and protect the compost from rainwater and direct sunshine.
10. Have a frequent check to avoid the compost from overheating. Maintain proper moisture and temperature.

 

 After the 24th day, around 4000 to 5000 new worms are introduced and the entire raw material is turned into the vermi compost. After 3-4 months it is ready to harvest.

The nutrients profile of vermi compost:

 Advantages of Vermicomposting

 The major benefits of vermicomposting are:

1. Develops roots of the plants.
2. Improves the physical structure of the soil.
3. Vermicomposting increases the fertility and water-resistance of the soil.
4. Helps in germination, plant growth, and crop yield.
5. Nurtures soil with plant growth hormones such as auxins, gibberellic acid, etc.

 Vermicomposting is an eco-friendly process that recycles organic waste into compost and produces valuable nutrients.

 

 

SEED PROCESSING UNIT UNDER SEED HUB  PROJECT

 

Quality seed production is one of the most critical components for ensuring quality seed supply of pulses at the doorstep of farmers. Provision of quality seeds is an important step in enhancing the yield and production of pulses. Replacing old varieties from seed chain and farmers’ fields remains a major concern among research managers, extension workers and other stakeholders. Realizing importance of quality seed in enhancing productivity of pulses, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Government of India (GoI), approved a special project “Creation of seed hubs for increasing indigenous production of pulses in India” worth INR 225.31 crores during 2016 involving eight ICAR Institutes, 47 centers of All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRPs) located in State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and 95 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). The main objective of this project was to ensure supply of quality seed and maintain sustainability with profitability to the farmers locally by developing suitable infrastructure for seed quality enhancement, safe storage and seeds development.

Seed hub -pulses was created at KVK, Reddipalli in 2016 under the funding of Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur with seed processing plant & storage godown. 

 

Aim / Purpose of Project

 

1. Production of quality seed of pulses.
2. Increase productivity of pulses.
3. Establishment of seed hubs for pulses in different states with major pulse crop.
4. Establishment of seed processing plant & storage godown.
5. Production of quality seed & its availability for other stakeholders of the farming community.

 

Procedure at seed hub:

 The major crops that are grown under seed hub are redgram, greengram and bengalgram with a target of 1000 q.

 

 

 

Good practices : The seed hub project was allotted to KVK, Reddipalli, during 2016-17 and a one-time grant of INR 50 lakhs was sanctioned in the first year for creating infrastructure such as seed processing plant and storage facility. In addition to this, INR 1 crore has been allocated to the seed hub as a revolving fund to meet expenses for production, procurement and processing of seeds. At KVK Reddipalli, the seed production was implemented on farmers’ fields across different villages of Ananthapuramu and Satya sai districts.

 

Farmer Selection: Farmers were selected based on prior experience in pulse seed production and availability of adequate irrigation. The selected farmers were already a part of the seed production programme of AP State Seed Certification Agency (APSSCA) and had good knowledge and skills for undertaking quality seed production. Their fields were equipped with appropriate irrigation, infrastructure and assured supply of water.

 

Farmer Training: Farmers were trained by KVK staff in seed certification procedures viz., online registration, rouging, isolation distance, field inspection, seed processing and geo-tagging. The KVK conducts oncampus and off campus trainings to farmers.

 

 

Seed Distribution: Subsequently, breeder seeds of different varieties of red gram, green gram and bengalgram were distributed by the KVK to seed producing farmers for producing foundation seed in farmers’ fields.

 

Field Inspections: Inspections and field visits were organised by scientific staff of KVK, Reddipalli, certification officers (APSSCA) consultants during cropping period to create awareness of production technologies of pulses.

 

Buy back policy: Under the buy-back policy, farmers and KVK entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The farmers agreed to follow suggestions the KVK makes with respect to seed production including quality, purity, other management practices and sell seeds to the KVK based on the price offered by the University.

 

 

Targets and achievements under seed hub from 2016-2022

 

Year	Target (q)	Achievement (q)
2016-17		26.61
2017-18		191.25
2018-19		154.03
2019-20		286.98
2020-21	1000 q	417.44
2021-22	1000 q	39.67
2022-23	1000 q	508.1

 

 

Field inspection by SCO in redgram (PRG-176) fields

 

 

Field inspection in bengalgram fields by SCO under seed hub project

 

 

Field inspection in redgram fields by ADR, ZSPO, Programme Coordinator under seed hub project

 

 

 

 

POULTRY DEMO UNIT

Breeds Maintained:  Kadaknadh;  Aseel; Ghagus & Vanashree

Kadaknadh

Kadaknath is the most popular native chicken breed of India. This breed is experiencing higher demand due to its unique characteristics and perceived health benefits of its meat and eggs. The entire bird including plumage, skin, shank, and internal organs is black. Kadaknath is a small-sized bird with small shanks (51.5 mm at 8 weeks). It attains the body weight of 865 g at 20 weeks. Cocks and hens weigh about 1500 and 1200 g, respectively, at 40 weeks. The average age at first egg is high (185 days) and the egg production potential of this breed is somewhat less (50 to 55 eggs in 40 weeks). Egg production up to 52 weeks was 90 to 105 eggs and the annual egg production is estimated to be in the range of 120 to 140 eggs. This breed has good fertility (80 to 85%) and hatchability (83 to 90%) status. Eggs are small in size (42 to 45 g) but have good shell quality (10.47% shell) with light brown to brown coloured shells, and low yolk to albumen ratio (0.51). Consumers prefer Kadaknath meat due to its desirable flavour and lean meat (0.11 to 0.52% abdominal fat) as compared to broiler meat (1.74 to 1.85% abdominal fat).

 

Aseel Birds

Aseel is an important native chicken breed of India, known for its martial qualities (aggressive fighting abilities), pugnacity, and majestic gait. Aseel hens are poor layers but have excellent broodiness traits and are quite formidable in the protection of their young ones under free-range conditions. Eight variants of Aseel breed were reported in India. The productivity is low in Aseel chickens, but the birds are known for their meat quality with desirable taste and flavour. The average annual egg production is estimated to be in the range 50 to 70 eggs.

 

 

Ghagus Birds

 

Ghagus is a dual purpose poultry breed with good brooding capacity. Male birds of this breed are morphologically characterized by the shining bluish black feathers on tail (Sickle feathers) and golden yellow feathers at neck and wings. Female birds have mostly brown plumage mixed with black and white coloured feathers. Cocks and hens weigh about 2160 g and 1430 g, respectively. Age at first egg production is 23wks (161 days). The average annual egg production is estimated to be in the range of 70 to 95 eggs.

 

 

Vanashree:

 

Vanashree is an improved pure bred native chicken. Therefore, they can grow faster and produce more number of eggs. These birds have attractive golden yellow coloured feather pattern with longer shanks help to run faster. These birds attain higher body weight gain and produces more number of medium sized eggs with light brown coloured. Produces lean or low fat content meat. The average annual egg production is estimated to be in the range of 120 to 160 eggs.    

 

 

 Vaccination Schedule Followed

 

 

SHEEP & GOAT DEMO UNIT

Breeds Maintained:    Nellore (Sheep)

                                    Black Bengal & Local Goats (Goat)

Nellore (Sheep):

The Nellore is a breed of sheep found in India, primarily in the state of Andhra Pradesh. There are three distinct varieties of Nellore Sheep, each distinguished by color:

a) Palla/White, which are completely white or have light brown spots on their head, neck, back, and legs

b). Jodipi, which are white with black spots around the lips, eyes, and lower jaw, as well as on the belly and legs

c). Dora, which are completely brown.

Generalized Characters:

1. Relatively tall body with little hair, except at the brisket, withers, and breech
2. Horned rams and polled ewes
3. Long and drooping ears
4. 86% of animals have wattles
5. Short and thin tail

Reproductive traits:

1. Age at first lambing is 846 days
2. Lambing interval is 428 days
3. Essentially single litter size

Production traits:

1. Age at slaughter is 6 months
2. Dressing percentage is 47.00%
3. Feed conversion efficiency is 15.06%

 

 

Vaccination Schedules:

First day of Vaccination followed & later annual dose is followed

Disease	Age at 1st Vaccination
PPR	60 days
Enterotoxaemia	67 days
Sheep Pox	74 days
Blue Tongue	81 days
FMD	88 days
Haemorrhagic Septicaemia	85 days
Anthrax	92 days

Black Bengal Goat:

Generalized Characters:

1. Black Bengal goats are the dwarf goats which are a good source of meat, milk, and leather.

Production Traits:

1. The bodyweight of an adult  Buck and Doe varies from 22-25 kg and 15-18 kg respectively.
2. The newborn kid of Black Bengal goat weighs around 800g to 900g on an average.
3. The milk yield ranges from 400ml to 700ml  a day.

Reproductive traits:

1. Twinning/Triple kidding Percentage is  80.
2. They breed around the year.
3. There can be 2 kidding cycles in a year.
4. There is a high chance to have 3 to 5 kids a year.
5. The age at sexual maturity in males and females varied from 6 to 8 months.
6. The average age of the first conception is the 7th month.
7. The preweaning kid survival rate is 85%.

AZOLLA UNIT

1. Azolla is a branched free-floating aquatic fern, and it rapidly grows on the water’s surface. Azolla is an ideal sustainable feed for cattle, fish, pigs, and poultry. Apart from this, it’s also used as a biofertilizer on the farm.
2. Azolla fixes nitrogen; it is an excellent source of nitrogen and has a high nutrient value. Azolla contains very high proteins, amino acids, vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin B12, Beta Carotene), and minerals, so it is an excellent nutrient feed for livestock.
3. Azolla has low lignin content, so animals can easily digest. It is observed that Feeding Azolla to poultry birds improves the weight of broiler chicken and increases the egg production of layers birds. In animals, it showed an overall increase of milk yield by 15–20% when 1.5–2 Kg of Azolla was combined with regular feed.

 Cultivation

For a 2M X 2M size pond, addition of  10-15 kg soil & super phosphate along with cow dung slurry of 4-5 days old  is added. Cow dung increases the available nutrients. Next, fill the pond with water to a level of about 10 cm. After 2-3 days  Azolla culture is added to the pond by gently rubbing Azolla in  hands. It helps break Azolla into smaller pieces for faster multiplication. After a 2wk period 1kg of azolla can be harvested.

 HYDROPONIC UNIT

Growing hydroponic green fodder is very easy and simple, and you can start growing quality fodder for your animals very easily. Hydroponics is actually a scientific way of growing plants or crops in water without any soil in controlled environment. In this technology, water is enriched with well-balanced nutrients which are essential for the plant’s growth and better yield.

When it comes to green fodder production, hydroponic green fodder production technology takes the pressure off the land for growing green fodder for the livestock animals. Fodder crops such as oats, maize, barley, sorghum and wheat can be grown using the hydroponic green fodder production technology.

 

Hydroponic green fodder results in good health of the livestock animals apart from high milk yield. This technology can also be used for growing wheat grass and paddy saplings in just 7 to 10 days of time. Green fodder obtained from hydroponics consists of grass with grains, roots, stem and leaves. Whereas conventionally grown fodder consists of stem and leaves only. Hydroponic green fodder production system allows growing green fodder at wider temperature in the range of 15°C to 33°C and humidity range at 70-80 percent without fungal growth.

 

1. The hydroponic green fodder production technology is environmental friendly.
2. Fodder grown in this system is free from contamination.
3. The fodder produced from this system saves water and labor costs.
4. The fodder is highly nutritious and tasty for the animals.
5. The green fodder from hydroponic system improves animal health and reproductive efficiency.
6. Feeding the animals with hydroponic green fodder will result in higher milk yield in dairy animals.

 

 Advantages of hydroponic green fodder production

 

ü  Water saving: Hydroponic green fodder production system requires less amount of water. Generally the system requires only 2-3 litres of water for growing 1 kg of quality green fodder (when compared to 55 to 75 litres of water used in traditional system of green fodder production). Apart from this, there will not be any water wastage as the water is always recycled.

 

ü  Require less labour: The hydroponic system generally require less labour. The labour required for green fodder production is about 2-3 hours a day, whereas conventional fodder production requires continuous intense labour.

 

ü  Requires less land: The hydroponic green fodder production system generally requires minimum amount of land. Generally an area of 50 square meter will be enough for producing 600 to 650 kg of green fodder. But for producing same amount of green fodder, you will need to have about 1 hectare land. So, hydroponic system require less amount of land.

 

ü  The system requires less time: Traditional fodder production system generally require more than 45 days for producing green fodder. Whereas hydroponic system generally require 7 to 8 days for seed germination to fully grown plant of 8-12 inches height.

 

ü  Round the year production: This is another advantage of hydroponic green fodder production. You can actually produce the fodder throughout the year.

 

ü  Increased nutritious value: The fodder produced from hydroponic system is highly nutritious for the animals as compared to conventionally grown fodder. So you can supply quality milk from your animals by using hydroponic green fodder.

 

ü  Minimal loss of green fodder: The green fodder produced from the hydroponic system will be fully utilized, because there won’t be any loss of the green fodder. But there would be wastage of chopped traditional green fodder or green grasses during consumption by the animals.

 

ü  Faster growth and high yield: The hydroponic system has faster growth rate as compared to traditional system. And you can produce fodder for your animals faster than the conventional system.

 

ü  Natural green fodder supply: The green fodder produced from this system is completely by natural source and to pesticides or chemical fertilizers are used in the production.

CUSTOM HIRING CENTER

 

To  perform  the  various  agricultural operations the workforce needed is scarce as the population  of  draft  animals  is  decreasing  and there is labour shortage in the country due to the migration of  the rural  workforce to urban areas for  non-agricultural  work  in  search  of  earning livelihoods. Delay  in  timely sowing  and  harvesting  of  crops  leads  to  low quality  and  quantity  yield  of  the  produce.  This suggests  the  utilization  of  mechanized  farm power as it plays a significant role in timely and precision  operations,  drudgery  reduction,  the safety  of  labours,  reduced  crop  loss,  and increased  food  grain  productivity  with  better economic returns to the farmers. The farm power availability (FPA) in the country per ha in the year 2020-21 was 2.761 kW. Marginal  and  small  farmers  due  to  their  poor socioeconomic condition are unable to afford the costly  machines  required  for  farm  operations. Many such farmers still practice their old traditional methods of farming which are tedious, time-consuming, as well as produce low yields. The hiring  of machinery at cost-effective  prices has helped the farmers in enhancing agricultural production  with  efficient  use  of  inputs,  and precise  farm  operations. Custom Hiring Centre (CHC) is a unit consisting of a set of farm machinery, implements, and equipment that is provided to the farmers at affordable prices on a hiring basis. Custom hiring was first introduced in the country in the year 1912 in Punjab with the use of a steam thresher.

Objectives: 

 

1. To make available various farm machinery / equipments to small and marginal farmers 
2. To offset the adverse economies of scale due to high cost of individual ownership 
3. To improve mechanization in places with low farm power availability 
4. To provide hiring services for various agricultural machinery/implements applied for different operations. 
5. To expand mechanized activities during cropping seasons in large areas especially in small and marginal holdings. 
6. To provide hiring services for various high value crop specific machines applied for different operations.

Establishment of CHC:

Custom Hiring Centre (CHC) was established at KVK-Reddipalli under NICRA and RKVY-NIPHM sponsored by ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad in 2012-13. Different farm machineries are made available on hire to the farmers at nominal charge by CHC.

Machineries at CHC:

Different types of farm machineries have been made available to the farmers since 2012-13. Lists of farm machineries available at CHC are mentioned below for different agricultural operation:

 

4 Row Spring Type                                    Groundnut Thresher

 

 

9  Tyne Spring Automatic Seed Drill                          Tarpaulins

 

S.No.	Implement	Number
1	Groundnut Thresher	2
2	Plant digger	1
3	Seed drills	8
4	Chisel plough	1
5	Tarpaulins	10
6	Battery Operated Sprayers	2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shade net:

 

 

            This is sanctioned under RKVY scheme for the year 2011-12. The operational area is 500 sq.m. the nurseries available in this nursery are chillies, tomatoes and marigold

 

Poultry Unit:

 

It is a small unit in KVK rearing about 20 Rajashri birds.

 

Gobar gas plant :

  

This is a model unit running at KVK , especially for diary community in order to utilize the waste products as a source of energy for cooking or other domestic  purposes.

 

 Checkdam :

 

Checkdam is renovated at KVK with the assistance of NREGS works in the mandal.

 

Vermi compost unit

 

Sheep rearing unit

 

Sheep unit is one of the income generating activity at KVK.  A unit with 90 sheeps are maintained at KVK . It is one of the model under Integrated farming systems.

 

Cattle shed

 

Rejuvenation of Guava trees: