Research
Divisions
Agronomy
Biometry
Crop Protection
Genetics & Plant Breeding
Plant Physiology
Processing Research
Soils and Plant Nutrition
Tissue Culture
Technology Transfer
Agronomy Division
| Acting Head/Sr. Agronomist |
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| Principal Agronomist | Dr. H A J Gunathilake, BSc (Agric), PhD | |
| Agronomist | Miss S C Somasiri, BSc (Agric), MSc | |
| Assistant Research Officer | Mr B A S Manjula, BSc. (Agric) |
The Mission of the Agronomy Division is to increase the productivity of coconut lands on a sustainable basis and the profitability of coconut farming through the development of appropriate technologies.
Current Research Programs in the Division
Agronomy
- Development of technologies for rehabilitation of low yielding coconut plantations
- Development of low cost weed management systems for coconut lands
- Development of an improved package of soil moisture conservation practices for soil classes 3, 4 and 5 to increase yield of coconut
- Development of a low cost manuring system for coconut utilizing organic/green manure
- Development of coir-based plant growing media
- Integration of livestock in coconut farming systems for improvement of land productivity & soil fertility
- Poverty reduction in rural communities through coconut based interventions
- Fuel wood production systems in coconut lands to generate dendro-thermal power
- Development of Vermiculture technologies for coconut plantations
Agricultural Economics
- Evaluation of the potentials & limitations of coconut-based activates for income generation among rural women
- Profitability analysis of different coconut-based income generation activates
- Evaluation of structure & the performance of the coconut marketing system in Sri Lanka
- Assessment of economic loss due to mite infestation
- Study on cost of production of coconut as influenced by land size class and type of management
- Determination of economic viability of CRI recommendations
- Assessment of climate change impact on coconut industry: Ricardian approach