Department of Plant Physiology

Department Profile- Department of Plant Physiology

Mandate:

1. To impart teaching for UG and PG programmes in the College.

2. To impart research in the area of Stress physiology, Seed physiology, Production physiology and Weed physiology of various field crops.

3. To provide consultation service to farmers in the above areas in tackling field problems.

 

4. To undertake teaching, research and transfer of technology programme in specialized fields of plant physiology.

 

5. Improving the morpho-physiological frame work of crop plants to raise the yield potential.

 

6. To develop drought tolerant varieties for specific agro-climatic regions of Kerala.

 

7. To collaborate in the development of specific package of practices.

 

Facilities:

Portable photosynthesis system, Portable leaf area meter, Centrifuge, Spectrophotometer, Seed purity board, U.V cabinet, pH meter, Hot air oven, Electrophoresis Unit, -20 Deep Freezer, Refrigerator, Trinocular Microscope with Camera attachment, Hydroponic and Aeroponic units Conductivity Meter, etc.

Net house/ Polyhouse/ Glass house for abiotic stress studies.

 

Awards and Achievements

Seminar/ conference abstracts in last three years:

1. UGC-SAP National Seminar 2019: 1 Best paper award

2. National Conference of Plant Physiology 2019 held at KAU, Thrissur- 4 poster presentations

3. International Plant Physiology Virtual Conference, IPPVC 2020: Prospects of Plant Physiology for Climate Proofing Agriculture- 1 Lead Lecture and 3 poster presentations

4. National Conference of Plant Physiology 2021 held at ICAR-NIASM, Pune- 1 oral and 1 poster presentations

Courses offered :

U.G. programmes: Offers one course: Crps 1201 Fundamentals of Crop Physiology (2+1)

M.Sc programmes: The following courses are being offered to M.Sc students

Sl. No.	Catalogue No.	Title	Credit hours
1	PP 501	Principles of Plant Physiology-I	2+1
2	PP 502	Plant Developmental Biology-Physiological and Molecular basis	2+0
3	PP 503	Physiological and molecular response of plants to abiotic stresses.	2+1
4	PP 504	Hormonal regulation of plant growth and development	2+1
5	PP 505	Morphogenesis, tissue culture and transformation	2+1
6	PP 506	Physiology of growth, yield and modeling	1+1
7	PP 509	Physiology of Crop Plants- Specific case studies	2+0
8	PP 512	Principles of Plant Physiology-II	2+1

 

Also associated with common non credit course PGS.504: Basic concepts in Laboratory techniques.

Ph.D. programmes:  The following courses are being offered to Ph.D students

Sl. No.	Catalogue No.	Title	Credit hours
1	PP 601	Functional genomics and genes associated with a few physiological processes	2+0
2	PP 602	Signal perception, transduction and regulation of physiological process	2+0
3	PP 603	Molecular approaches for improving physiological traits	2+1
4	PP 604	Techniques in plant physiology	1+2
5	PP 605	Climate change and crop growth	2+0
6	PP 606	Post harvest physiology	2+0
7	PP 607	Weed physiology and herbicide action	1+1
8	PP 608	Seed physiology	2+1

 

Extension Services : Loranthus control

Projects : Completed, on going

Projects completed

1.    KSCSTE project-1: Evaluation of phenology, growth pattern and phytochemistry of Loranthus spp. (Dendrophthoe falcata L.) of Kerala in relation to host specificity and control. (PI: Dr. T. Girija)

2.    KAU Plan project- 1: Strengthening Plant Physiology Research: Standardisation of Crop Seed Purity Using Chemical techniques. (PI: Dr. K. Nandini).

Projects on going

1.      State Plan 2020-21 - Station wise Funding “Strengthening Plant Physiology Research in College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara” (PI: Professor and Head)

Faculty :

Sl no	Name	Highest Qualific-ation	Related work experience in the field	Professional licensure and certifications	Honors/awards	Continuous documented excellence in teaching
1.	Dr. Parvathi M Sreekumar	Ph.D with postdoctoral experience	Research Fellow and Research Associate in adhoc projects, Teaching	CSIR-UGC- NET ICAR- NET Life Member, Indian Society of Plant Physiology, New Delhi	B. Sc. (Ag.)-Third Rank, M.Sc. (Ag.)- Gold Medal, ICAR-JRF, CSIR-UGC-JRF, India EU NAMASTE Scholarship, B4 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Carl Storm International Diversity Award	Courses handled: UG- 1, PG-5, PhD- 4 Research publications: Articles in peer reviewed journals-13; Book chapters-5; International conferences/seminars-5, National conferences/seminars-5; Edited Books-1
2.	Dr. Niya Celine V J	Ph.D	Research Fellow in adhoc projects, Agricultural Officer in Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Kerala State	ICAR- NET Life Member, Indian Society of Plant Physiology, New Delhi	ICAR-JRF ICAR-SRF Second Best Agricultural Officer in Trivandrum District for Extension Member, Kerala Academy of Sciences	Courses handled: UG- 1, PG-2 Research publications: Articles in peer reviewed journals-3; Popular articles-9; Conferences/ seminars-3
3.	Dr. Krishna Kumar G	Ph.D.	Teaching and research for 3 years	CSIR-UGC-NET ICAR- NET Life Member, Indian Society of Plant Physiology, New Delhi	NESA Young Scientist of the Year Award-2020	Courses handled: UG-1, PG-4, Ph.D.-1 Research publications: Research papers:10 Reviews:1 Books:1 Book chapters:2 Proceedings:1 Softwares:1