Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering

About the Department

The Agricultural and Food Engineering Department was established in 1952, as the Agricultural Engineering Department on the recommendation of the Dhar Committee appointed by the Board of Governors, IIT Kharagpur in 1950. Subsequently on the upgradation of its academic programme, the department was renamed as the Agricultural and Food Engineering Department in 1994. Among the sixteen IITs, IIT Kharagpur has the sole distinction of having an Agricultural and Food Engineering Department.It conducts annual fest named Prakriti to create a platform for sharing ideas about agricultural developments from all over the country.

Achievements

Tractor drawn combination tillage implements

Tractor drawn combination tillage implements are developed which can prepare the seed bed with less time, fuel and number of passes as compared to conventional tractor drawn tillage implements.

Educational and design software

The department has developed a few window - based interactive software packages for use as teaching and research tools. These include Decision Support System for estimating Reference Crop Evapotranspiration (DSS_ET), Hydrologic Calculator to perform various hydrologic analyses and Soil Conservation Structure Designer to design various soil conservation structures. DSS_ET includes more than 20 ET estimation methods. It estimates ET and ranks applicable ET estimation methods based on data availability and climatic condition.

Improved device for wet soil preparation

The traditional method of rice cultivation in wet soil requires 5-6 times ploughing by bullocks. The time and energy spent by man and animal has been found to be greatly reduced by the use of IIT Puddler. The machine can be pulled by a pair of bullocks and can cover 1 hectare area in a day.

Mechanized production of Indian milk sweets

Products like �Chhana', is the base material used for preparation of several Indian sweets like rasogolla and sandesh. A technology has been developed for continuous production of chhana by using helical tube heat exchangers and a whey separator. Sandesh, a delicious milk-sweet can be produced continuously by using a screw kneader and a vented single screw extruder. Untouched by human hand, the product attains greater shelf-life than those available in markets.

Tea cultivation in non-traditional area

Tea is conventionally cultivated in sloping lands and foothills. The department has developed technology to successfully cultivate tea in plain lands and wastelands by adopting appropriate land slope, drainage, plantation of shade trees and pressurized irrigation. With these management practices tea can be grown in lateritic plains and wastelands.

Improved tractor seat

A tractor seat having 18.9 N.mm-1 spring constant and 1.09 N.s.mm-1 damping coefficient has been found to reduce significantly the vibration and bring comfort to the operator. The seat has been field tested and recommended for Indian tractors.

Low-cost polyhouse technology

Polyhouse has been constructed for cultivation of off-season crops at controlled temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide inside the structure as per the requirement of the crops. The house can also be used to raise seedlings of vegetables and flowers. It is made of locally available bamboo and GI poles, mild steel flats and ultra-violet stabilized plastic films.

Air-recirculatory tray dryer for fruits and vegetables

In an air-recirculatory dryer, a part of the exhaust air is recycled along with the ambient air. This gives higher thermal efficiency and produces dry products having low surface hardness and improved colour and flavor characteristics. The developed dryer can produce 2-3 kg dry products in about 6-7 hours. The technology has been transferred to SSP Ltd., Faridabad.

Recycling of waste into compost

Waste materials generated from agricultural, forest, aquatic, domestic and industrial sources are recycled and converted into compost. Different microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria and earthworms have been used as compost accelerators. The technology has already been transferred to Shewood Agrotech to commercially produce solid Vermicompost and liquid Vermiwash.

Biodiesel production from non-edible oils

A suitable process along with a processor has been developed to produce biodiesel from nonedible oils such as Jatropha, Karanja, Mahua, Simaruba with high free fatty acids. The processor comprised a reactor, chemical mixing tank and a settling funnel and it can handle 10 liters of oil per batch. The yield of biodiesel is around 98% and the fuel properties of biodiesel so produced are within the biodiesel standards prescribed by India, America and Europe.

Microbial enzymes in food

Various technologies are developed and transferred to use microbial enzymes for clarification of apple juice, debittering of pomegranate juice and polishing of germinated brown rice.

Research & Development Facilities

Farm Machinery & Power

The discipline has developed modern Tillage & Traction lab, Tractor testing lab, Ergonomics lab and Biofuel lab. These labs are equipped with modern Data acquisition system, Gould recorder, Torque pick up, Breath analyser, Ergometers, Microprocessor based engine test facilities, Sound and vibration equipment, Operator work place simulator, Gasifier etc.

Land and Water Resources Engineering

The discipline has developed Irrigation and drainage lab, Surface and groundwater hydrology lab, Remote sensing lab and a unique Field water management laboratory. These labs are equipped with Hydrology study system, Agrimultimeter, Ground truth radiometer, Micro-irrigation equipment test set-up, Overland flow hydraulic flume, Pump testing rig, Automatic weather station, Rainfall simulator, Ion-chromatography as well as with various softwares: ANSWERS, AGNPS, SWAT, MIKE SHE, IDRISI, Arc-VIEW, SNNS etc.

Food Process Engineering

The discipline has developed vacuum dryers, recircualroty tray dryer, single screw extruder, rising film and scrapped surface evaporator, UHT milk sterilizer, aseptic packaging machine, continuous chhana, paneer and sandesh making machines and energy efficient ovens. The laboratories of this discipline are equipped with Karl Fisher titrator, freeze dryer, spray dryer, plate freezer, high pressure dairy homogenizer, laboratory evaporator and distillation column. The discipline has also acquired a state-of-the art High pressure food processing system, Prototype Satake rice mill and developed Dairy engineering lab, Physical and Thermal properties lab, Drying lab, Grain testing and grading lab, Product development lab, Food engineering lab, Food science & technology lab and Food packaging lab. These labs are equipped with Differential scanning calorimetry, Thermo gravimetric analyzer, Rheotron, Instron universal testing machine, Atomic absorption spectrophotometer, Microprocessor based single screw extruder, Twin screw lab compounder, CA storage system, Super critical fluid extraction system, Colorimeter, Texture analyzer, Micro-pulverizer, Brabender wheat mill, etc.

Aquacultural Engineering

The discipline has developed Aquacultural Engineering lab, Water quality management lab, Aqua processing lab, Fish culture and Fish biology lab. These labs are equipped with Single screw extruder, Twin Screw Extruder, Retort system for ready to eat foods. Power measurement panel, Variable speed drive system with Thyrister controlled unit, UV Spectrophotometer, Kjeldhal nitrogen analyzer, Multi parameter water quality monitoring system, Microprocessor based water analyzing kit, Ion meter, Advanced research microscope, Microbiological analysis facilities, Aerator testing facility, Recirculatory aquaculture system etc.

Agricultural Biotechnology

The discipline has developed microbial biotechnology lab, Tissue culture and cryo-biology lab, Algal biotechnology lab and Natural product biotechnology lab. These laboratories are equipped with Laminar flow cabinets, Plant and algal culture facilities, Growth chambers, BOD incubators, Koji room facility, Fuorescent, Phase contrast and light microscopes with digital photographic facilities, Refrigerated centrifuges, Cryo-med with planer, Vacuum rotary evaporators, VA tracer analyzer, Freeze dryers, Deep freezers, UV-Vis spectrophotometers, Deionized water purification facilities, Electrophoresis units, PCR work station, Gradient thermocycler, Gel documentation unit, Transilluminator, Vacuum rotary concentrator, GC, HPLC, GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, etc.

Soil Science

The discipline has developed Soil physics lab and Plant nutrition lab. These labs are equipped with Pressure plate apparatus, Neutron moisture meter, Depth moisture and density probe, Steady state porometer, Laboratorium permeameter, Growth chamber, Leaf water status console, Spectrocolorimeter, Double beam spectrophotometer, Ion meter, Soil testing equipment etc.

Agronomy

The discipline has developed Agronomy lab, Biofertilizer lab. and Tea engineering lab. These labs are equipped with Atomic absorption spectrophotometer, Flame photometer, Gas-liquid chromatography, Leaf area meter, Laminar air flow cabinet, Colorimeter, GC, HPLC, etc.

On-Going Sponsored Research Projects

» All India coordinated research project on ergonomics & safety in agriculture, ICAR, New Delhi.

» Characterization of soil reflectance in the visible and near-infrared region for the iron-rich soils of Eastern India. DST, New Delhi.

» All India coordinated research project on farm implements and machinery, ICAR, New Delhi.

» All India coordinated research project on harvest and post harvest technology, ICAR, New Delhi.

» Climate change & rice-based crop production system of eastern & south eastern India: Impact assessment & risk Management through simulation study, CSIR, New Delhi and Centre for Mathematical Modelling & Computer Simulation, Bangalore.

» A value chain on aloe vera processing, National Agricultural Innovation Project, ICAR, New Delhi.

» Development of a GIS based decision support system for irrigation system management, INCID, New Delhi.

» Agro-meteorology advisory services, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi.

» Development of an automatic vegetable transplanter with technology for paper pot seedlings, CSIR, New Delhi.

» Biodepolymerization of low-grade ligniteto biomethane and humic acid, ONGC, New Delhi.

» Development of biotechnology based process for water reduction in potato processing, TIFAC, Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi.

» Impact assessment of MGNREGA in one district of Madhya Pradesh (Mandla) & West Bengal (Paschim Medinipur), MORD, New Delhi.

» Development of cage for mariculture through numerical and physical modeling. Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi.

» Integration of rainwater harvesting and climate resilient agriculture in sustaining productivity and profitability of rainfed agro-climatic zones of Eastern India, ICAR, CRIDA, NICRA, Hyderabad.

» Ensemble modeling of rainfall-runoff transformation process, INCOH, New Delhi.

» Interdisciplinary network for holistic environment system analysis, eco-system services, integrated modelling and sustainable resources management (INNO-ASIA)", German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

» Elucidating Fragrant Methoxybenzaldehyde Biosynthesis in hairy root/normal root cultures of Hemidesmus Indicus, DAE, BRNS, Mumbai.

» Land use land cover dynamics in relation to human dimension and climate in Mahanadi river basin, Orissa�, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Department of Space.

» Flood inundation zoning for different return periods in Mahanadi river basin, INCOH, New Delhi.

» Modelling the performance of a few major cropping systems in eastern India on the light of projected climate change, National Agricultural Innovation Project, ICAR, New Delhi

On-Going Consultancy Projects

» Crop diversification in Darjeeling, Sampad Vikas Ltd., Kolkata.

» Construction of periphery road at Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Pvt. Ltd., Salboni, West Bengal.

» Design of irrigation projects for Binpur-I and Binpur-II blocks, District Magistrate, Paschim Medinipur.

» Design of chassis parameters for 24 hp small tractor, TMTL, Bhopal.

» Drawbar performance of 24 hp small tractor, TMTL, Bhopal.

» Evaluation of antioxidant potential, synergistic behaviour and stability of Rosemary and Sage extracts, Synthite Industries Ltd. Kochi, Kerala.

» Evaluation of probable maximum flood for Nagarjun Sagar Dam, Irrigation and CAD, AP.

» Groundwater assessment and recharge analysis software, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur.

» Integrated composite anthropometer, Various Agencies.

» Performance evaluation of ploughs (prototype), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Kolkata

» Performance evaluation of power weeder and vertical conveyer reaper, Bengal Tools Limited, Kolkata.

» Preservation of fresh betel leaves cultivated in and around Midnapore districts, Sreekrishna cold storage, Purba Medinipur.

» Rainwater harvesting at aluminium refinery, NALCO, Damanjodi.

» Rainwater harvesting, reuse and groundwater recharge, Aarti Steels Ltd. Orissa.

» Soil and water quality management of Tata Steel, The Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited, Jamshedpur.

» Technical clarifications of CPHEEO Manual, Mohindra Tubes Pvt. LTD. Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.

» TPIA for creation of teaching laboratories for NIFTEM, IICPT, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, New Delhi.

Faculty Directory

Name	Designation	Phone Office	Phone (Res)	Phone (Res [p])	E-mail
Office	282243
Head	282244
PHE	282287
Banerjee Rintu	Professor	283104	283105	277073	rb @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Bhadoria P B S	Professor	283106	283107	278044	pbsb @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Chatterjee C	Professor	283158	283159		cchatterjee @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Das B S	Professor	283162	283163		bsdas @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Das M	Associate Professor	283108	283113		madhu @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Das S K	Professor	283112	283113	278224	skd @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Datta A K	Professor	283118	283119	277772	akd @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Dutta Gupta S	Professor	283114	283115	278261	sdg @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Ghosh B C	Professor	283120	283121		bcg @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
ZamWQ >Goswami T K	Professor	283122	283123	277362	tkg @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Guha P	Assistant Professor	283124	283125		pguha @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Jha M K	Professor	283116	283117		madan @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Machavaram R	Visiting Professor	283126	283127		rajendra @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mailapalli D R	Assistant Professor	283102	283103		mailapalli @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mallick N	Professor	283166	283167	279729	nm @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mishra A	Associate Professor	283890	283891		amishra @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mishra H N	Professor	283130	283131	279724	hnm @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mitra Adinpunya	Professor	283168	283169	277061	adin @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mitra Arunabha	Associate Professor	283132		278158	arunabha @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mitra J	Assistant Professor	283142	283143		jayeeta.mitra @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Mukherjee C K	Assistant Professor	283136	283137	277537	ckm @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Panda R K	Professor	283138	283139		rkpanda @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Panda S N	Professor	283140	283141	278686	snp @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Raghuwanshi N S	Professor	283146	283147	220118	nsr @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Raheman Hifjur	Professor	283160	283161	279239	hifjur @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Rao P Srinivasa	Associate Professor	283164	283165		psrao @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Shrivastava S L	Assistant Professor	283172	283173	278105	sls @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Singh R	Dean, UGS	283148	283149		rsingh @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Srivastav P P	Associate Professor	283134	283135		pps @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Swain D K	Associate Professor	283170	283171		swain @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Tewari V K	Professor	283152	283153	277855	vktfeb @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Thomas E V	Professor	283154	283155		vareed @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Tiwari K N	Professor	283150	283151	277769	kamlesh @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Tripathy P Punam	Assistant Professor	283174	282911		punam @ agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in
Agri. Extension Cell	281313
Agricultural Biotechnology	281312
Agriculture Farm	281310
Agronomy, Main Bldg	281311
Aqua Bio Lab	281315
Aquacultural Engg	281314
Byproduct Utilization Lab	69942
Computer Lab	281316
Dairy/Food Engg	281318
Down Stream Processing	281319
Drying Lab	281320
Energy Engg	281321
Entomology Lab	69941
Exam Control Room	281099
Farm Machinery Shed	281322
Food Engg Lab	69939
Food Packaging & Testing	281317
Food Chemistry & Technology Lab	281323
Food Science & Tech. Lab.	281674
G.L.C., Res.Bldg	281324
Grain Processing Unit	281337
Grading-Quality	281325
IRFP-Training Centre	281673
Image Processing Lab	69940
Library	281327
Microbial Biotechnology	281328
P B Cryobiology	281329
PHT Scheme	281326
PHTC Store	69944
Physical Properties Lab	281341
Remote Sensing Lab	69948
Research Bldg	281330
Rice Mill	281331
RTE Food Laboratory	69808
RTE Food Pilot Scale Unit	281357
Soil Conservation	281333
Soil and Water Engg Lab	281334
Soil Science Lab	281332
Soil Water Conservation	281335
Store	281336
Test Shed	281337
Thermal Analysis Lab	69949
Thermal Properties Lab	69945
Tissue Culture	281338
Work Shop	281339
Workshop AgFE	69946
Plant Nutrition Lab	69943