The research programmes of the University are mainly applied in
nature for solving problems of farming community of particular
location coupled with overall increase in agricultural production of the State.
Emphasis is also given to basic research supportive to applied research for
tackling fundamental problems. Adaptive research is also undertaken for
developing and refinement of newly developed technology under farmers' field condition,
validation and ensuring acceptance. Further, the research programmes of the
University are oriented towards improving potentiality of various crops and
related inputs and resources in agriculture. Research activities of the
University are carried out in six zonal and 15 Agricultural Research Stations
located in six agro-climatic zones of the state covering 15 Southern districts
of the State besides, seed production activities in field as well as horticultural crops.
At present, a total of 289 research projects, including 32 ICAR Coordinated Research
Projects and the remaining 257 Adhoc Projects funded by ICAR, Government of India,
Foreign agencies, Government of Karnataka, Short-term Projects sponsored by
Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, other funding agencies and the
University are in operation at different Research Stations.
The University has released several varieties / hybrids of different field as well as horticultural crops for the benefit of farming community. The promising crop varieties were Tanu, KHRS-21, MO-4 and KRH-2 hybrid in Paddy; GPU-28, 26 and 48 of Ragi; NAC-6002, NAC-6004 and NAH-2049 (hybrid) of Maize; Co 7804 and Co 86032 of Sugarcane; KBSH-1, 42 and 44 hybrids of Sunflower; Ullal1-4 of Cashew and TLB varieties of Tomato. The dry farming and watershed technologies, IPM and INM for different crops like paddy, ragi, redgram, sunflower, groundnut and sugarcane etc. and aerobic rice are very popular among the farmers. Efforts are also being made by the University to develop crop varieties resistant to pests, diseases and drought besides with high yields coupled with good quality. Emphasis is being given for farm mechanization, value addition, market intelligence and farming system approach for sustainable agriculture.
