M.S Swaminathan School Of Agriculture

Overview:

Agriculture and allied programs at Centurion University focus on smart agricultural processes and Industry 4.0, where students gain competency on all the underlying aspects of ‘Farm to Fork’. The university has experiential learning units where students get a full exposure on AR/VR, Paddy Predict and Kalgudi app-based rice health monitoring and nutrient optimization. UAV-based soil and crop health monitoring and management, hyperspectral and multispectral image capturing and processing are some of the initiatives taken by the university for smart farming. Some other key areas are hydroponics, aeroponics and vertical farming, micropropagation of G9 banana and bamboo through plant tissue culture, bacterial, fungal and plant genome sequencing using Nanopore sequencer, production of bio-control agents like Trichoderma, Pseudomonas and Trichogramma, organic farming, growing of flowers via the IOT-based automated polyhouse, and production and marketing of hybrid seeds with the aim of building entrepreneurship. Unlike other institutes, students get hands-on practice and skill in designing (3D models of machine components and their simulation using Dassault tools like CATIA and SOLIDWORKS), operating farm machineries including tractor-mounted combine harvesters and food processing equipment (Microwave Assisted Extraction and IR dryer), drone piloting, and using soft tools like ArcGIS, SWAT and HEC-RAS in water management. In the food processing domain, students gain insight into hot air drying, freeze-drying, extraction of essential oils (SC-CO2 extraction), value-added food and wine preparation. Students also learn statistical analysis of hydrological data, R-programming and Geo-spatial application in watershed management using ArcGIS software and IoT based water management.