Abstract

The Hebbal School trained students for a post-secondary diploma course in Agriculture. The school earned a great reputation and attracted students from other States in India and outside from Ceylon, Burma, Malaya and other countries. It was during this period that agriculture was introduced as an optional subject for study in selected middle and high schools in various parts of the State. The staff resources in the Research Divisions particularly in earlier periods were very limited. As a result of devoted research work on the part of these few workers, many useful information of practical value to farmers have come out. In the Division of Entomology, considerable intensive work on the use of chemical pesticides and insecticides was done in the past two decades. In consequence, Folidol, BHC, DDT and other chemicals in the protection of crops from pests and insects have gained wide acceptance and popularity. In the Division of Botany many new varieties of sugarcane, paddy, groundnut, ragi and other crops have been evolved. Similarly, the Division of Agricultural Chemistry after sustained experimental work has recommended economic and optimum manurial schedule for the several crops in the different soil and climatic regions of the State. The demand for fertilizers is growing by leaps and bounds. It may be mentioned in this connection, that research conducted at Hebbal on the direct use of anhydrous ammonia as a nitrogenous fertilizer for crops is the first of its kind in the region East of Suez and South East Asia. The work on the influence of lime and phosphate on pod filling of groundnut and the build up of soil phosphorus status as a means of improvement of red soils belong to the category of fundamental research.

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