Journal

LIFE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY OF KRISHI VIGYAN1. A.P.S. Dhaliwal, KVK, Bathinda (Punjab)2. Ajay Kumar, KVK, Mukatsar (Punjab)3. Ajay Kumar, KVK, Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand)4. Akhil kr.Deka, KVK, Karbi, Anglong 782460 (Assam)5. Amrish Vaid, KVK, Kathua, (Jammu & Kashmir)6. Anand Aneja, KVK, Mansa (Punjab)7. Aseem Verma, KVK, Ludhiana ( Punjab)8. Ashok Kumar, KVK, Patiala (Punjab)9. B. N. Sinha, KVK, Una (Himachal Pradesh)10. Baljit Singh, KVK, Kapurthala (Punjab)11. Berjesh Ajrawat, KVK, Kathua (Jammu and Kashmir)12. B.S. Dhillon, KVK, Amritsar (Punjab)13. Bharat Singh, KVK, Mansa (Punjab)14. D. S. Dhillon, Deptt. of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab)15. Daljeet Kaur, KVK, Kapurthala (Punjab)16. Devinder Tiwari, KVK, Ludhiana ( Punjab)17. G. S. Aulakh, KVK, Faridkot (Punjab)18. Gagandeep Kaur, KVK, Kapurthala (Punjab)19. Gurdarshan Singh, KVK, Faridkot (Punjab)20. Gurdeep Singh, KVK, Mansa ( Punjab)21. Gurinder Pal Singh Sodhi, KVK, Patiala ( Punjab)22. Gurmeet Singh, KVK, Kapurthala (Punjab)23. Gurpreet Kaur, KVK, Kapurthala (Punjab)24. Gurupdesh Kaur, KVK, Patiala (Punjab)25. Hardeep Singh Sabhikhi, KVK, Patiala ( Punjab)26. Inderpreet Kaur Kular, Guru Angad Dev University of Vety. and Animal Husbandry, Ludhiana27. Jagdish Kumar Grover, Bathinda ( Punjab)28. Jagmohan Singh, KVK, Amritsar (Punjab)29. Kanwar Barjinder Singh, KVK, Moga ( Punjab)30. Karamjeet Sharma, KVK, Mukatsar (Punjab)31. Kuldeep Singh, KVK, Jalandhar ( Punjab)32. Kuldeep Singh Bhullar, KVK, Hoshiarpur (Punjab)33. M. I .S. Gill, Deptt. of Horticulture Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab)34. Mahendra Kumar Muwal, KVK, Nagaur (Rajasthan)35. Manoj Gupta, KVK, Sirmour (Himachal Pradesh)36. Manoj Sharma, KVK, Kapurthala ( Punjab)37. Mrs. Lakhwinder Kaur, Deptt. of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University,

Ludhiana (Punjab)

38. Mrs. Lopa Mudra Mohapatra, Deptt. of Extension Education, Punjab AgriculturalUniversity, Ludhiana (Punjab)

39. Mukesh K. Gupta, Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Instituteof Technology, Rourkela (Odisha)

40. Mukhtar Singh Gill, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab)41. Narender Deo Singh, KVK, West Kameng, Dirang, (Arunachal Pradesh)42. Netrapal Malik, KVK, Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh)43. Nirmajit Singh Dhaliwal, KVK, Mukatsar ( Punjab)44. Nityanand Singh, KVK, Siris, Aurangabad 824 112 ( Bihar)45. P. K. Sharma, KVK, Kheda ( Gujarat)46. Pankaj Mittal, KVK, Sirmour (Himachal Pradesh)47. Pardeep Goyal, KVK, Mukatsar (Punjab)48. Parminder Singh, KVK, Patiala (Punjab)49. Pushpinder Kaur, KVK, Bathinda (Punjab)50. R. D. Kaushik, KVK, Jind ( Haryana)51. Rachna Singla, KVK, Patiala (Punjab)52. Rajni Goya, KVK, Patiala(Punjab)53. Rakesh Kumar Singh, KVK, Faridkot (Punjab)54. Ratnesh Kumar Jha, KVK, Manjhi, Saran (Bihar)55. Renuka Aggarwal, KVK, Faridkot (Punjab)56. Rishi Pal Rathore KRIBHCO, Jalandhar ( Punjab)57. Shelly Nayyar, KVK, Faridkot (Punjab)58. Simerjeet Kau, Deptt. of Agronomy and Agro meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University,

Ludhiana (Punjab)59. Sukhdev Singh Paliyal, KVK, Sirmour (Himachal Pradesh)60. Sukhwinder Singh, KVK, Faridkot (Punjab)61. T.S.Riar, Deptt. of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab)62. Tasneem Mubarak, KVK, Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir)63. Vipin Kumar Rampal, Deptt. of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana

(Punjab)

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) plays a vital role inthe transfer of technology to the farmers. KVKsestablished at district level act as a knowledge andresource centre for farming community. The majorrole being rendered by KVKs is to impart vocational,refresher and short duration trainings enabling therural youth/ farmer /farmwomen to start their ownagri-based enterprises, to upgrade the knowledge ofextension functionaries and to enhance for unitproductivity, respectively. Another important roleplayed by KVKs is the assessment and refinedmentof the technologies evolved by the research systemat cultivators’ field. Therefore, initiatives need to betaken up for capacity building of farmers in minimalagro processing and other related areas of valueaddition for enhancing the farm income. The KVKsare giving more attention on intensifying anddiversifying farming systems of small farmers in orderto increase the productivity and income of farmfamilies without any degradation of the naturalresources.

Each KVK has multi disciplinary subject matterspecialists (6 in number) involved in trainings,promotion of pulses, oilseeds and commercial cropsthrough frontline demonstration. Likewise, on-farmtrails are conducted disciplinewise to solve the locationspecific problems. The KVKs have to strengthenlinkages with research institutions, farmers’organisations, non-governmental organisations, publicextension services and input providers in the districtso that technology assessment and transfer can beundertaken in a coordinated and more effectivemanner. Further, the specialised training programmeon production, protection, quality certification andgrading, packaging, storage, transportation etc. needto be given in large number for both domestic andexport markets.

I opine that the scientists working under KVKsystem need to be constantly motivated for situation

MESSAGEhandling, behaviouralphenomenon andeffective way ofcommunication in orderto make their tasksimple and effective. Atpresent, 630 KVKsworking in the countryare doing commendablework in disseminatingknowledge and bestpractices across the country. It was felt that KVKsshould improve the documentation and presentationof their innovative experiences using suitablestatistical tools and adequate theoretical backgroundemphasising on the output, outcome and impact.Hence, a society namely “SOCIETY OF KRISHIVIGYAN” has been formulated involving thescientists working in the KVKs as well as researchand teaching schemes across the country with thesole objective to share their experiences whileworking with the farmers. All these experiences willbe compiled in the form of a half yearly journal namely“JOURNAL OF KRISHI VIGYAN”. On thisoccasion, I express my sincere gratitude to all thescientists who have contributed in one or other wayto bring out the first issue of the journal which is inyour hands. Similarly, I hope that this type ofendeavour will bring out more impact on the scientificcommunity about the working of the KVKs. At thesame time, I appeal to all the young scientists workingin the various research institutes as well as in theKVKs system for the benefit of the farmers, farmwomen and rural unemployed youth, by enrollingthemselves as members for this journal.

With Best Wishes.

(M S GILL)

Dear Colleagues,

The Society of Krishi Vigyan (www.iskv.in) is introducing the Journal of Krishi Vigyan which isa multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal in subject of agriculture that will be published six- monthlyby the society. Society of Krishi Vigyan is dedicated to increasing the depth of the subject acrossdisciplines with the ultimate aim of expanding knowledge of the subject.

Editors and reviewers

Society of Krishi Vigyan is seeking energetic, qualified and high profile extension workers andresearchers to join its editorial team as editors, subeditors or reviewers. Kindly send your resumeto: [email protected], [email protected]

Call for Research Articles

Journal of Krishi Vigyan will cover all areas of the agriculture with special thrust on extensionrelated studies. The journal welcomes the submission of manuscripts that meets the general criteria ofsignificance and scientific excellence, and will publish:

● Original articles in basic and applied research

● Case studies/Success stories

● Critical reviews, surveys

We invite you to submit your manuscript(s) to: [email protected], [email protected] for publication. Our objective is to inform authors of the decision ontheir manuscript(s) within four weeks of submission. Following acceptance, a paper will normally bepublished in the next issue. Guide to authors and other details are available on our website: www.iskv.in

JOURNAL OF KRISHI VIGYAN WILL BE OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL

Open access gives a worldwide audience larger than that of any subscription-based journal andthus increases the visibility and impact of published works. It also enhances indexing, retrieval powerand eliminates the need for permissions to reproduce and distribute content. Journal of Krishi Vigyanis fully committed to the Open Access Initiative and will provide free access to all articles as soon asit’s published.

Best regards

Editor

Journal of Krishi Vigyan

E-mail: [email protected]

CONTENTSSr. No. Title Page No.

1. Analysis of Kisan Mobile Advisory Service in South Western Punjab.Hardevinder Singh Sandhu , Gurdeep Singh and Jagdish Grover 1

2. Botanical Description, Diversity Resources, Distribution and Present EcologicalStatus of Luisia Gaudichaud - A Botanically and Horticulturally less known EpiphyticOrchid Species of Darjeeling.Rajendra Yonzone and Samuel Rai 5

3. Effect of Age of Seedlings and Irrigation on Mortality, Bolting, Bulb Weight and Yield ofOnion (Allium cepa L.) var. Punjab Naroya.Gurteg Singh, Sat Pal Saini and Amandeep Singh Sidhu 10

4. Effect of Intercropping of Vegetables and Width of Polythene Sheet on Yield andEconomic Returns Under Low Tunnel Technology.Monika Gupta 14

5. Effect of Polypropylene Covers on Frost Protection and Yield of Potato Crop.Kuldeep Singh Bhullar 18

6. Ethnobotanical inventory on medicinal plants of North Western Himalayas.Vishal Mahajan, Amrish Vaid, A. P. Singh and Sanjeev Kumar 21

7. IDM- In Combating Blast Disease in Rice Crop in Temperate Environment.T.Mubarak, M.A.Zarger and Z.A.Bhat 27

8. Impact of KVK Training Programme on Socio-Economic Status and Knowledgeof Trainees in Kathua District.Berjesh Ajrawat and Ajay Kumar 31

9. Implication of Participatory Communication in Indian Agricultural DevelopmentContest : Few Selected Strategies.Ajay Kumar and Netrapal Malik 35

10. Job Performance of Agricultural Scientists of Selected State Agricultural Universitiesand its Relationship with Socio-Personal CharateristicsKiran Yadav, D S Dhillon and R K Dhaliwal 40

11. Knowledge Level of Farmers Regarding Package of Practices for Gram crop.Nikulsinh. M. Chauhan 46

12. Knowledge of Dairy Farmers about Improved Animal Husbandry Practices in KhedaDistrict of Gujarat.P. K. Sharma, B. S. Shekhawat and M. K. Chaudhary 49

13. On Farm Testing and Popularization of Integrated Management Module of AppleRoot Rot Under High Altitude Temperate Conditions.Z.A.Bhat, F.A. Sheikh, T. Mubarak, J. A. Bhat, M.A. Zargar,Akhlaq A. Wani, G.H. Rather and H.U. Itoo 54

14. Performance of Fruit set, Yield and different Attributes of Kiwi Fruit Varieties underWest Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh.N. D. Singh, T.S. Mishra and A.K. Singh 58

15. Reaction of Farm Women about the Self Help group in Navasari District of GujaratR. M. Naik, G.G. Chauhan, M.R. Prajapati and C.S. Desai 61

16. Recycling of Hair (Saloon Waste) by Vermicomposting Technology.Kamla Kanwar and S.S. Paliyal 65

17. Review of Factors Affecting the Adoption of Drip irrigation Technology.Mahendra Kumar and R. C. Jitarwal 69

18. Social Metabolism: The Kinetics of Entropy and Osmosis in TransformingFarming System.Acharya, S K, Sharma, N K and S Bera 72

19. Studies on Seeding Depths and Establishment Methods of Direct Seeded Ricein North-Western Indo-Gangetic Plains.Simerjeet Kaur and Surjit Singh 78

20. Use of Information and Communication Technology in Agriculture by Farmersof District Kapurthala.Manoj Sharma, Gagandeep Kaur and M S Gill 83

Sr. No. Title Page No.

1Journal of Krishi Vigyan

Analysis of Kisan Mobile Advisory Service in SouthWestern Punjab

Hardevinder Singh Sandhu , Gurdeep Singh* and Jagdish Grover

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bathinda 151 005 (Punjab)

ABSTRACT

Kisan mobile advisory service (KMAS) was launched for sending agricultural informationthrough Short Message Service (SMS). The content of message was typed in Punjabi languageby using English language alphabets and information related to agronomy of crops, insect pestcontrol, horticulture, dairy farming and weather forecasting etc was sent to the end users. 150farmers were randomly surveyed to know their reaction about the KMAS. Results of the surveyshowed that majority of the farmers found agricultural information in the form of SMS throughmobile phone as useful (69.3 %), comprehensible (74.7 %) and timely (64.7%). About 15 percent farmers who registered for KMAS did not utilize the availed service. About nine per centof the users could not decode SMS due to language barrier. Lack of the interest of the beneficiarydue to excessive length of the content was reported by 12.7 percent of the farmers.

Key words: KMAS, SMS

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture in India comprising of crops,dairy, fishery, horticulture, agro-forestry alongwith small enterprises like beekeeping, mushroomgrowing etc needs the use of modern technologiesto achieve the target growth. Need is to harnessproductivity along with sustainability, minimisepost harvest losses and getting appropriate pricesfor the produce. For this extension has to playexpanded role including improved access tomarkets, research, advice, credit, infrastructure,farmer organization development and businessdevelopment services (Sulaiman, 2003).

The information and communicationtechnologies like radio, TV, newspaper,telephones and magazines are playing a major rolein sustainable agricultural development sinceearly decades and now the modern ICTs asmobiles and computers and have created arevolution. In the 21st century in the era, costeffective and efficient communicationtechnologies are required to take lead in changingagricultural scenario. The use of Kisan MobileAdvisory Service scheme in main line extensionsystem of Krishi Vigyan Kendras, is new ICTinitiatives to meet the needs and expectations ofthe farmers. The growing information needs of

farmers due to diversification andcommercialization need to be addressedimmediately but at the same time extensionsystem need to continuously evaluate ICTinitiatives to improve and improvise the deliveryof information.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

For collecting information a semi structureinterview schedule was designed and theirresponses on Kisan Mobile Advisory Servicealong with socio-personal profile were recorded.A three point continuum scale was also designedto know the level of comprehension of themessage i.e. Comprehensible, difficult tocomprehend and not comprehensible. Similarly,usefulness of the SMS was studies on three pointcontinuum i.e. Very useful, Not so Useful and notuseful.

It was hypothesized that education level havebearing on comprehension while education level,age and land holding may have bearing onusefulness of the SMS. So, these hypotheses werealso tested during the study. The objectives of thepresent study were to know the level ofcomprehension and the extent of usefulness ofthe agricultural information sent in the form ofSMS.

* Asstt Prof (Extension Education), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mansa, (Punjab)Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected],

2 Journal of Krishi Vigyan

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Kisan Mobile Advisory Service was startedwith the aim of passing the agriculturalinformation to maximum number of farmers inshortest, cheapest way and also timely advicewithout any distortion of message. Initially, SMSwere sent in local language font (Punjabi) butmessage did not display in end users receivingmobile phone due to compatibility issue. Later onit was decided to use the english alphabets forpassing information in local language. A total of104 SMS were sent pertaining to differentdisciplines related with agriculture. Maximum 31(29.8 %) SMS were sent in the field of Agronomy,followed by Plant Protection 18 (17.3 %). Similarlyinformation related to soil science, animal science,horticulture, weather related information andinformation pertaining to training programmeswas sent to farmers.Table 1. Number of SMS sent pertaining to different

disciplines

Sr No. Area No. of SMS

1. Agronomy 31 (29.8 )2. Plant Protection 18 (17.3 )3. Horticulture 15 (14.4 )4. Animal Science 11 (10.5 )5. Soil Science 16 (15.3 )6. Weather Forecasting 04 (3.8 )7. Miscellaneous 09 (8.6 )

Total 104

Figures in parenthesis are percentages

Socio-economic Profile

Majority of the respondents i.e. 56.7 per centwere young i.e. less than 30 years of age. Eighteenper cent of the farmers belonged to Middle agecategory while one fourth (25.3%) were of morethan 45 years of age. More than 1/3rd of therespondents (70.6%) were Medium categoryfarmers having land between 2 to 10 hectareswhile 18.0 per cent were small and marginalfarmers and 11.3 per cent were large categoryfarmers.

As far as education level was concerned,majority of the respondents (65.3%) were ofmedium category having education between 10th

to secondary or having any diploma. About onefourth of the respondents (22.6%) had higheducational level while 12.0 per cent were of loweducational level. Agriculture was the majorenterprise of 2/3rd of the respondents, 22.0 percent were engaged in horticulture ( includingvegetable growers, orchards, bee keepingmushroom growing etc.) while 11.33 per cent weredairy farmers.

Level of Comprehension

The data presented in Table 3 revealed thatmore than 80 per cent of the respondents havingmedium level of education were able tocomprehend the information sent via mobile setas SMS. While in low education category grouponly 16.6 per cent could comprehend theinformation easily. The 85.2 per cent respondents

Table 2 . Socio-economic profile of the respondents (N = 150)

Sr No. Socio-economic Profile Number of respondents Percentage

1 AgeYoung (< 30 years) 85 56.6Middle (Between 30 to 45 years) 27 18.0Old (> 45 years) 38 25.3

2 Land holdingMarginal and Small (< 2 ha) 27 18.0Medium (2-10 ha) 106 70.6Large (> 10 ha) 17 11.3

3 EducationLow (< 10th Class) 18 12.0Medium ( 10th – 12th Class) 98 65.3High (Graduation or above) 34 22.6

4 EnterpriseAgriculture 100 66.6Dairy 17 11.3Horticulture 33 22.0


with high education level were able to comprehendthe information. Nearly 80 per cent respondentsreported information was not so comprehensible.About 2/3rd (77.7%) of the respondents in loweducation category could not comprehend theinformation and 2.0 per cent in medium educationcategory could not comprehend the informationproperly. From total sample 9.3 per centrespondents in low education category could notcomprehend the information due to languagebarrier. Thus, it can be said that farmers with higheducation level were at ease in comprehendingthe information sent via SMS.

Usefulness of Information

Eighteen per cent of the farmers who gotregistered for kisan mobile advisory service werefrom small and marginal category. Majority ofmedium category farmers (73.5%) reported theinformation as useful followed by large farmers(64.7%). More than 50 per cent (55.5%) small andmarginal farmers also found the information asuseful. About 15 per cent (14.8%) small and

Table 3. Relation between education and level of Comprehension (N = 150)

Sr No. Education Level Level of ComprehensionComprehensible Not so Not

comprehensible comprehensible

1 Low (< 10th Class) 03 (16.6) 01 (5.5) 14 (77.7)2 Medium ( 10th – 12th Class) 80 (81.6) 16 (16.3) 02 (2.0)3 High (Graduation or above) 29 (85.3) 05 (14.7) 00 (0.0)


marginal farmers found the information as notuseful as it was oriented towards main crops whileinformation was missing on vocationaloccupations like beekeeping, mushroom, poultryadopted by them.

As expected respondents with medium levelof education (75.5%) and high level of education(64.7%), reported the information via text messagethrough mobile as useful. Nearly 1/5th ofrespondents with medium level of education, 17.6per cent respondents with high level of educationand 38.2 per cent respondents with low level ofeducation reported information as not so useful(Table 4). Lack of interest due to lengthy SMSwas reported by 12.6 per cent of the farmers.

Higher percentage of respondents (74.1%) in the middle age category found kisan mobileadvisory useful as compared to other young(69.4%) and old age category (65.8%)respondents. This may be due to the lack ofinterest of young farmers in agriculture and lesseducation level and less participation of old agefarmers in practicing agriculture.

Table 4. Relationship between education and land holding with usefulness of Information(N = 150)

Sr No. Parameter UsefulnessUseful Not so useful Not useful

1. Land holdinga Marginal and Small (< 2 ha) 15 (55.5) 08 (29.6) 4 (14.8)b Medium (2-10 ha) 78 (73.5) 24 (22.6) 04 (3.7)c Large (> 10 ha) 11 (64.7) 04 (23.5) 02 (11.7)

2. Educationa High (Graduation or above) 11 (64.7) 04 (17.6) 03 (17.6)b Medium ( 10th – 12th Class) 74 (75.5) 19 (19.4) 05 (5.1)c Low (< 10th Class) 19 (55.8) 13 (38.2) 02 (5.8)

3. Agea. Young (<30 years) 59 (69.4) 23 (27.1) 03 (3.5)b. Middle (Between 30-45 years ) 20 (74.1) 5 (18.5) 02 (7.0)c. Old (> 45 years) 25 (65.8) 8 (21.0) 05 (13.2)



In totality agricultural information via textmessage through mobile was reported ascomprehensible, useful and timely by 74.6%,69.3% and 64.6% respondents respectively(Table 5). Low education was the major reasonfor low comprehension or lack of comprehension.

Majority of the respondents found theinformation useful but few reported that lack ofinterest due to lengthy text and lack of specificinformation was reason for finding the informationas not so useful. Few respondents (6.67 %)reported the information as not useful as they didnot get information pertaining to their enterprise.

CONCLUSION

The information disseminated via textmessage through mobile ICT can play a great rolein enhancing efficiency of extension system byreaching large number of people. Farmers arefinding this source of information as timely and

Table 5. Overall analysis of the Kisan Mobile Advisory Service (N = 150)

Sr No. Indicator Comprehensible Difficult to Comprehend Not comprehensible

1 Comprehension 112 (74.6) 22 (14.6) 16 (10.6)Useful Not so useful Not useful

2 Usefulness 104 (69.3) 36 (24.0) 10 (6.6)Timely Sometime late Often late

3 Timeliness 97 (64.6) 46 (30.6) 07 (4.6)

Figures in parenthesis are percentage

of great use but the extension system has toregularly evaluate the responses of target groupsto eradicate the problems in delivery of message.The information has to be tailored according tothe enterprises, crops adopted by the farmers andbased on the assessment of felt needs of thestakeholders. The information sent should bespecific, brief and clear so that interest of the targetgroup could be maintained.

REFERENCESSulaiman, R. 2003. Agricultural Extension-Involvement of Private

Sector, National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development,Mumbai, India.


Botanical Description, Diversity Resources,Distribution and Present Ecological Status of Luisia

Gaudichaud -A Horticulturally less known EpiphyticOrchid Species of Darjeeling

Rajendra Yonzone and Samuel Rai*

Department of Botany, St. Joseph’s College, P.O. North Point,District Darjeeling 734 104 (West Bengal)

ABSTRACT

The present paper deals with four horticulturally less known Luisia Orchid species diversityresources, distribution and present ecological status in Darjeeling Himalaya of India. Of them,two are sparse, one is rare and another one is threatened status at present in study regions. Thisattempt is the first step to correct taxonomic identification to workout currently accepted botanicalnames with ecological status, voucher specimen numbers, habitat, altitudinal ranges, phenologyand local and geographical distribution of Luisia species in the regions.

Key words: Luisia Orchid Species, Diversity Resources, Distribution, Present Status, DarjeelingHimalaya.

INTRODUCTION

Orchids are considered to be the most highlyevolved in the floral specialization and diversifiedform among the monocotyledons. In India,Orchids form 9% of our flora and are the largestfamily of higher plants. It is estimated that about25,000 –35,000 species with 800 – 1,000 generaare distributed throughout the world. About 1300species with 140 genera of Orchid species arefound in India with temperate Himalayas as theirnatural home (Yonzone and Kamran, 2008). Theregion is rich in Orchid diversity and harvour anumber of species (Yonzone et al. 2012).

Darjeeling Himalaya is the northernmost partof the state of West Bengal, India. It is triangularin shape extending over an area of 3254.7 sq.kms.It is bordered by Sikkim in the North, Terai andDooars in the South, Bhutan in the East and Nepalin the West. The Sub–Divisions of Darjeeling areDarjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Siliguri(Fig. 1). The Darjeeling district has twotopographical features. Darjeeling, Kalimpong andKurseong form the hill areas whereas Siliguri isstationed at the foot hill giving way to vast

stretches of the plains. The hilly region covers2320 sq.km. and the remaining 934.75 sq.km. ofthe area falls under Terai and plains. The altitudinal

*Programme Coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Darjeeling, West Bengal.Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

Fig. 1. Location of Darjeeling district (study area) ofWest Bengal, India


variations of the district ranges from 150m atSiliguri to 3636m at Sandakphu – Phalut with asharp physiographic contrast between the plainsand the mountainous regions. A trijunction ofboundaries of Nepal, Sikkim and India is formedat the peak of Phalut (3600 m). In the presentinvestigation, the current status of Luisia genusof Orchid available in Darjeeling Himalaya hasbeen carried out through the survey of nationalparks, forest area and far–flung villages of theregion to find out the present status of the species.

Botanical Description

Plants epiphytic, climbing. Stem oftenbranched at base giving a tufted habit, some witha single short. Leaves distant, terete, linear.Inflorescence axillary, racemose, densely,subsessile, fewer than 10-flowered; peduncle andrachis attenuate. Flowers small, fleshy. Sepals andpetals free, spreading; petals usually longer andnarrower than the sepals. Lip fleshy, pendent,immobile; hypochile concave; epichile wrinkled.Column shorter than the lip, stout; lacking a foot;rostellum short; stipes short; viscidium short,broad. Anther broad, 2-celled; pollinia 2, porate.

The genus Luisia was established in 1826 byCharles Gaudichaud-Beaupre in Louis deFreycinet’s Voyage sur I’Uranie et La Physicienne.The genus comprises about 40 species distributedin Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan, China, Thailand, Indo-China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guineaand the Pacific Islands.


The intensive field survey was conductedduring the year 2007 – 2011 covering all theseasons of the year in the entire Darjeeling districtincluding the forest areas, floral nurseries andfarms of as low as Siliguri which is located at 150m to as high as Sandakphu-Phalut located at 3636m of entire Darjeeling Himalay of West Bengal.While working on Orchid flora of DarjeelingHimalaya, the Luisia Orchid species found werealso studied intensively. All the relevant data wererecorded in the field note book with theirnecessary information. The collected specimenswere dissected and examined in laboratory duringflowering period. Herbarium specimens wereprepared by standard methods (Jain and Rao,1977), specimens so collected were processed,

preserved and mounted on herbarium sheets anddescribed, properly identified and authenticatedwith the help of the Orchid flora of ArunachalPradesh. The Flora of Bhutan (Pearce and Cribb,2002); Orchids of Sikkim and North EastHimalaya (Lucksom, 2007) and confirmed atBotanical Survey of India, CAL. Finally all theVoucher specimens were deposited in theHerbarium of Department of Botany, St. Joseph’sCollege, North Point, Darjeeling and Taxonomyand Ethnobiology Research Laboratory, ClunyWomen’s College, Kalimpong. All the plantspecimens were arranged alphabetically as pertheir altitude wise distribution in the area withbotanical names, date of collection, voucherspecimen numbers, habitat and phenology.Quadrate plots of 10m x 10m for epiphytic Orchidspecies were laid down diagonally in habitat richfield to find out the current status of Luisia speciesfrom study areas.

Key to the species

1a. Lip simple, without dividing line betweenhypochile and epichile; epichile notsuddenly widened……………….….… Luisiabrachystachys

1b. Lip 3-lobed, with a distinct dividing linebetween hypochile and epichile and epichile;epichile suddenly widened ………..2a

2a. Leaves second (on one side of stemonly)………….………….. L. filiformis

2b. Leaves not second ……………..……..….3a

3a. Apical lobe or epichile more than 5mmwide………………… L. trichorrhiza

3b. Apical lobe or epichile less than 5mmwide……………………. L. zeylanica

Systematic Enumeration

1. Luisia brachystachys (Lindl.) Bl., Rumphia4: 50 (1849). Plant 18-30cm tall. Stem stout,covered by leaf sheaths. Leaves 5-11 x 0.07-0.12 cm, terete, jointed. Inflorescence leaf-opposed, 3 or 5-flowered; peduncle thick,attenuate; rachis thick, 4-5 mm long. Flowers3-4 mm long; sepals pale green, purple within,petals yellow-green, lip yellow-green topurple; pedicel and winged ovary glabrous,4-6 mm long. Dorsal sepal 2.2-4.5 x 0.8-1 mm,


oblong, obtuse; Lateral sepals 2.6-3 x 0.7-1mm, spreading, oblong-elliptic, obtuse. Petals3-4.4 x 0.7-1 mm, narrowly oblong-spathulate, falcate, 3-veined. Lip 3.4-4 x 1.5-2 mm, simple, broadly oblong and winged atapex; disc ecallose or indented at base.Column 1.4 mm long. (Fig. 5).

Voucher specimen number: Rajendra et al.1131; Habitat: Epiphytic on tree trunk andbranches; Altitudinal ranges: 1000 – 2000m;Date of collection: 14 April 2010; Flowering:April – May; Status: Threatened in naturalhabitat; Local distribution within Darjeeling:Mungpoo and Mamring – Kurseong sub-division; Geographical distribution: N. India,Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

2. Luisia filiformis Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 6(1):23 (1890). Plant pendent. Stem branched,covered by leaf sheaths, 2-3 mm thick; sheaths1.7-3.2 cm long, tubular, striate. Leaves 15-19 x 0.4-0.7 cm, from one side of stem only,linear, terete, rugose, jointed. Inflorescencepiercing through leaf-sheath 2-4 mm aboveits base, thick, 4 to 8-flowered; peduncleattenuate, sheathed; rachis 5-9 mm long; floralbracts 1.4-1.8 x 1.4-2 mm, broadly ovate,boat-shaped, subacute. Flowers 3-5 cmacross; sepals white, petals white with yellowtips, lip deep purple with white edges;pedicellate-ovary 2-4mm long. Dorsal sepal5-7 x 1.2-1.4 mm, ovate-elliptic, weaklyhooded, subacute, keeled; Lateral sepals 6-7 x 2-3 mm, spreading, obtuse, ovate-elliptic,keeled. Petals 8-15 x 0.2-0.3 mm, widelyspreading, filiform, obtuse. Lip 3-lobed, 4-6x 1.3-2 mm, ecallose; hypochile broadlytriangular to wedge-shaped, margins recurved,lateral lobes short, rounded; epichile arisingfrom narrowed hypochile, broadly obovate,surface ridged, apex truncate to notched,margins weakly undulate, 3 x 2 mm. Column1.2-1.4 x 1.2-1.5 mm; anther cap subquadrate;pollinia 0.7-0.9 mm long, elliptic-oblong. (Fig.2).

Voucher specimen number: Rajendra et al.0369; Habitat: Epiphytic on tree trunk andbranches; Altitudinal ranges: 300 – 1100m;Date of collection: 12 May 2008; Flowering:March – May; Status: Rare in natural habitat;Local distribution within Darjeeling: Relli

river sides – Kalimpong sub-division;Kalijhora – Kurseong sub-division;Geographical distribution: India, (N.E. India,Sikkim and West Bengal), Bhutan, Laos,Thailand and Vietnam.

3. Luisia trichorrhiza (Hook.) Bl. Rumphia 4:50 (1849). Plant 17-27 cm tall. Stem 4-7mmwide, stout, unbranched (occasionallybranched), covered by leaf sheaths; sheaths1.2-1.6 cm long, tubular. Leaves 7-16 x 0.4-0.5 cm, distichous, fleshy, terete, rugose,jointed. Inflorescence leaf-opposed, stout,short, 4 or 6-flowered; peduncle attenuate;rachis 6-8 x 3-4 mm; floral bracts 1.5-1.8 x 1-1.5 mm, persistent, broadly ovate-triangular,boat-shaped, acuminate. Flowers 0.8-1.1 cmacross; sepals pale green with faint purplelines, lip dark purple, the base outlined withgreen lines, the apical ridges green, columnpurple; pedicellate-ovary 5-7 mm long.Dorsal sepal 3.5-5 x 1.5-1.8 mm, oblong,obtuse, 3-veined; Lateral sepals 5-7 x 2-2.6mm, spreading, obliquely ovate to spathulate,acute, keeled, 3-veined. Petals 6-7 x 1.3-1.5mm, oblong, obtuse, spreading, 3-veined. Lip3-lobed, 6-8 x 4-5.7 mm; hypochile deeplyconcave with erect, rounded to triangular,subacute lateral lobes; epichile cordate, ridged,tapering to subtruncate, minutely emarginatedapex. Column 1.8-2.3 mm long, stout. Pollinia2, 0.8 x 0.4 mm, ovoid, yellow. (Fig. 4).

Voucher specimen number: Rajendra et al.0791; Habitat: Epiphytic on tree trunk andbranches; Altitudinal ranges: 800 – 1300m;Date of collection: 22 March 2009;Flowering: March – May; Status: Sparse innatural habitat; Local distribution withinDarjeeling: Kumsi, Samalbong, Nimbong –Kalimpong sub-division; Mungpoo –Kurseong sub-division; Geographicaldistribution: India (N.E. India, Sikkim, WestBengal), Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand.

4. Luisia zeylanica Lindl. Fol. Orchid. Luisia 4:3, no.7 (1853). Plant 20-34 cm tall. Stemstout, covered by leaf sheaths; internodes 1-1.5 x 0.4-0.6 cm; sheaths overlapping, surfacerugose. Leaves 6-15 x 0.2-0.5 cm, sessile,distichous, terete, subacute. Inflorescenceextra-axillary, arising in centre of internode,on same side as the leaf, 2 to 4-flowered;


peduncle 2-3 mm long, attenuate; floral bracts0.5-1 x 1-1.8 mm, broadly ovate-lunate.Flowers 3-6 mm across, pendent; sepals andpetals green, mottled with purple, lip deeppurple; pedicellate-ovary 4-5 mm long,slender. Dorsal sepal 3.8-5 x 1.7-2.8 mm,ovate, concave; Lateral sepals 3.7-5 x 2-2.7mm, lanceolate-ovate, keeled, marginsintrolled. Petals 4-4.5x1.2-1.6 mm, obtuse,oblong-lanceolate. Lip 4-5 x 2.7-3.6 mm,fleshy, obscurely 3-lobed; hypochilesubquadrate, concave; epichile deflexed,cordate-triangular, apex obscurely 3-lobed tosubtruncate. Column 1mm long, stout.Pollinia 2, yellow. (Fig. 3).

Voucher specimen number: Rajendra et al.0398; Habitat: Epiphytic on tree trunk andbranches; Altitudinal ranges: 300 – 1000m;Date of collection: 20 May 2008;Flowering: February – May; Status: Sparsein natural habitat; Local distribution withinDarjeeling: Kalijhora, Tindharey – Kurseongsub-division; Kumsi forest – Kalimpong sub- division Geographical distribution: India

(N.E. India, Sikkim, West Bengal), Sri Lanka.

Fig. 4. Luisia trichorhiza (Hook.) Bl. 1. Habit(whole plant with flowers and flower buds); 2.Floral perigone, a. dorsal sepal, b. lateral sepals,c. petals and d. lip; 3. Front view of flower; 4.Lip; 5. Side view of pedicellate-ovary, column andlip; 6. Front view of tip of ovary, column withanther in situ and stigma; 7. Anther; 8. Pollinia.

Fig. 5. Luisia brachystachys (Lindl.) Bl. 1.Habit (whole plant with flowers); 2. Angled viewof flower; 3. Floral perigone, a. dorsal sepal, b.lateral sepals, c. petals, d. Lip; 4. Front view of tipof ovary, column with anther in situ and stigma;5. Side view of pedicellate-ovary, column and lip.


During recent field studies in the DarjeelingHimalaya of India, four horticulturally less knownLuisia Orchid species were recorded. Of them, twoare sparse, one is rare and another one is threatenedstatus at present in study regions. Flowering andfruiting varies from species to species. L.brachystachys flower during April to May and

Fig. 2. Luisia filiformis Hook. f.

Fig. 3. Luisia zeylanica Lindl.

Fig. 4. Luisia trichorrhiza (Hook.) Bl.

Fig. 5. Luisia brachystachys (Lindl.) Bl.,


available in an altitudinal ranges of 1000 to2000m, L. filiforme and L. trichorrhiza flowerduring March to May and available at 300 to1100m to 800 to 1300m altitudinal ranges and L.zeylanica flower during February to May andavailable in an altitudinal range of 300 to 1200 mfrom the mean sea level.

CONCLUSION

Orchid species are rare, threatened and in theverge of extinction from natural habitat in theregions. It is because of many reasons like randomfalling of old epiphytic host trees for fuel woodand timber collection and multifariousanthropogenic activities cause greater harm to thenatural population of whole Orchid species in thestudy regions. It was observed that the luxuriantgrowth and diversity of the Orchid species in theundisturbed sites of the study area and the meagerdevelopment in distressed sites clearly indicatesthe change or disturbance in the microclimaticconditions in habitat. The best way of protectingthe remaining Orchid species resources is toconvince people of the importance of their wealth.In India, there is a good law for the protection ofsuch valuable plant species but law enforcementcannot protect these plants available in remoteareas and in remote forests. Regular degradationof natural habitat, makes all the Orchid species

threatened status, and its distribution is verymeager in the regions. Thus, their best route totheir protection is if people living in far-flung areasare convinced about the importance of such plants.Therefore, it is necessary to conserve our preciouswild Orchid species germplasm resources fromextinction in natural habitat.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First author is thankful to the UniversityGrants Commission, New Delhi for awarding theRajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for higher studyleading to Ph.D in Botany.

REFERENCESJain, S. K. and Rao, R. R. 1977. Field and Herbarium Methods.

Today and Tomorrow´s Printers and Publishers. New Delhi,India.

Lucksom, S. Z. 2007. The Orchids of Sikkim and North EastHimalaya: Development Area, Jiwan Thing Marg, Gangtok,East Sikkim, India.

Pearce, N. R. and Cribb, P. J. 2002. Flora of Bhutan. The Orchidsof Bhutan. Vol. 3, part 3. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

Yonzone, Rajendra and Kamran, A. 2008. Ethnobotanical Usesof Orchids. Abstract in an International Seminar of XVIIIth

Annual Conference of IAAT “Multidisciplinary approachesin Angiosperm Systematics” Kalyani University, West Bengal,India, October 11-13.

Yonzone, Rajendra, Lama, D., Bhujel, R. B. and Rai, Samuel.2012. Orchid species Diversity of Darjeeling Himalaya ofIndia. International J. Pharm. & Life Sci. 3(3): 1533-50.


INTRODUCTION

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is an importantvegetable crop in Punjab (India) grown duringboth kharif and rabi seasons. Punjab producedabout 174 thousand tons of onion bulbs fromnearly 8.12 thousand hectares area during 2008-09 (Anonymous, 2010). Onion production isgoverned by several factors viz. variety specifiedfor a season, quality of seed, time of planting,nutrients, growing methods, irrigation schedulingand adoption of appropriate plant protectionmeasures and time of first irrigation to crop aftersowing etc. Effect of moisture on quality and yieldof onion has been documented by many authors(Shock et al., 1998, Abu-Awad, 1996, Abu-Gerab,1987). However the studies on effect of age ofseedlings on yield in onion have generated varied

Effect of Age of Seedlings and Irrigation onMortality, Bolting, Bulb Weight and Yield of Onion

(Allium cepa L.)Gurteg Singh, Sat Pal Saini and Amandeep Singh Sidhu

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ropar 140 001 (Punjab)

ABSTRACT

An on-farm study was carried out at six farmers’ field in Roopnagar (Punjab) district duringrabi 2010-11 to determine the effect of age of seedlings and lag period to first irrigation onyield, seedling mortality rate, bolting and bulb weight of onion (Allium cepa L.) var. Punjab-Naroya. The trial was conducted in randomized block design. The treatments consisted oftransplanting 45 and 60 days old seedlings and application of first irrigation; immediately aftertransplanting, 2 days after transplanting and 4 days after transplanting. The results showed thatseedling mortality rate increased significantly with delay in first irrigation after transplantingand the highest seedling mortality rate was recorded in plots irrigated at 4 days after transplantingirrespective of age of seedlings. Bolting was more in the treatments having 60 days old seedlingsas compared to the 45 days old seedlings. However, the effect of different time lags of firstirrigation on onion bolting was non-significant. No significant effect of age of seedlings anddifferent lags of first irrigation on bulb weight was observed among all the treatments. Thehighest yield (326 .0 q/ ha.) was recorded in fields with 45 days old seedlings irrigatedimmediately after transplanting while it was the lowest (227.3 q/ ha ) in the plots having 60days old seedling irrigated after four days of transplanting. Thus, it was concluded thattransplanting of 45 days old seedling of onion crop and applying irrigation immediately aftertransplanting helps in reducing bolting, seedling mortality and results in significantly highereconomic yield.

Key Words: Bolting, Bulb-weight, Bulb yield, Irrigation, Mortality.

results. Singh and Singh (1974) reported that thebulb yield in onion did not differ significantly dueto different ages of seedlings at transplanting.However, bulb weight was significantly higher inseven weeks old seedlings than four weeks oldseedlings. Kanton et al. (2002) found thatmaximum yield was produced from transplantsthat were 20 to 40 days old and 40 days oldtransplant produced heaviest bulbs. The query oneffect of transplant age and application of firstirrigation on yield and quality of onion is an oftenraised by farmers in an effort to maximizeproduction. It is a common belief among farmingcommunity that delaying the first irrigation cancheck bolting in onions. Plant age and severalenvironmental factors have been reported toinfluence the flowering process in onion plants

Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


Table1. Important physico-chemical characteristics of surface soils of different experimental sites at Roopnagar district

Site pH (1:2) EC(dS m-1) SOC (%) Av-P(kg ha-1) Av-K(kg ha-1) Soil texture

Rasidpur 8.09 0.244 0.425 15.9 152.8 Loamy sandRasidpur 8.05 0.231 0.415 14.6 145.5 Loamy sandSarangpur 7.85 0.214 0.445 18.2 175.0 Loamy sandWajidpur 7.92 0.415 0.325 15.9 165.0 Sandy loamSarangpur 8.23 0.333 0.355 20.8 156.5 Sandy loamRasidpur 8.01 0.889 0.425 16.3 185.5 Loamy sand

Six different treatments were

S1I

1=-transplanting 45 days old seedlings and first irrigation immediately after transplanting,

S1I

2= first irrigation 2 days after transplanting (DAT)

S1I

3= first irrigation 4 DAT

S2I

1= transplanting 60 days old seedlings and first irrigation, immediately after transplanting,

S2I

2= first irrigation 2 DAT and

S2I

3 = first irrigation 4 DAT

(Roberts et al, 1997).Therefore, experiment waslaid out at the six farmers’ fields to assess the effectof age of seedlings and different lags of firstirrigation on yield, seedling mortality, bolting, bulbweight etc.


The study was conducted through on-farmtrials at fields of six farmers during rabi 2010-11in Roopnagar district of Punjab. The climate ofthe area is sub-tropical with mean maximumtemperature of 42±2o C during summer and coldwinter with mean minimum temperature of 5±2oCduring winter. The average annual rainfall in thestudy area varied from 800-1100 mm, of whichnearly 80 per cent is received in monsoon monthsfrom July to September and rest during the winterseason. The description of surface (0-15 cm) soilphysico-chemical characteristics of selected sixlocations has been given in Table 1. The physicalproperties of the soil were however, favorable forcrop production.

The onion var. Punjab-Naroya wastransplanted during January on a plot size of 5.0X 5.0 m (25 sq.m ). The healthy onion seedlingsof 45 and 60 days old were transplanted at 15.0X 7.5 cm. The general recommended dose offertilizer viz. 100 kg N ha 1, 50 kg P

2O

5 ha-1 and

50 kg K2O ha-1 was applied to all treatment plots.

The recommended P and K and one-half of N wereapplied during seedling transplanting andremaining half N, one month after transplanting.

The total plants population at the time of seedlingtransplanting was counted at all locations. After30 days interval number of plants per sq. m fromeach treatment plot were also counted for workingout the seedling mortality rate. Numbers of boltedplants were counted for calculating percentage ofbolting in each plot. Bulb weight was measuredon randomly selected 100 bulbs per treatment atthe time of harvesting. The crop yield was takenon whole plots basis. Statistical analysis of cropyield was carried out by analysis of variance inrandomized block design. Mean separation fordifferent treatments was performed using leastsignificant difference (LSD) test at 0.05 level ofprobability.


Seedlings Mortality

The effect of age of seedlings at transplantingand different time lags of first irrigation on seedlingmortality has been shown in Table 2. The datarevealed that average seedling mortality rate inplots irrigated immediately after transplanting was2.13 and 2.48 per cent in 45 days old and 60days old seedling, respectively. The mortality ratewas 6.26 and 6.79 per cent in plots irrigated afterfour days of transplanting. Thus seedlingmortality rate was significantly (pd”0.05) higherin plots which received irrigation after 4 days ofseedling transplanting irrespective of the age ofseedlings at transplanting. The desiccation of roots


in dry soil can be the reason for higher seedlingmortality rate in S

1I

3 and S

2I

3 as compared to other

treatments where crop received irrigation waterimmediately after transplanting or two days aftertransplanting. The surface evaporation of soilmoisture over a period of time leads to desiccationof tender roots and results in seedling mortality.

Plant Bolting

The data on plant bolting observed at the timeof crop harvesting revealed significant (pd”0.05)difference among different age of seedlings duringtransplanting. The average bolting percentagevaried non- significantly from 1.87 to 2.08 in S

1I

1

and S1I

3 and 5.46 to 5.71 in S

2I

1and S

2I

3,

respectively. Significantly higher average boltingwas recorded in plots having 60 days oldtransplanted seedlings as compared to plotshaving 45 days old transplanted seedlings (Table2). No effect of different lags of first irrigation onbolting was observed in all the treatments.

Bulb Weight

There was a difference in bulb weight atdifferent sites which was due to inherent fertilelystatus of the soil. Average bulb weight was 56.0

Table 2 Effect of age of seedlings and different time lags of first irrigation on yield and other yield attributes in onion var.Punjab Naroya.

Treatments* Quality & Yield parametersMortality (%) Bolting (%) Bulb Weight (g) Yield (q/ha)

S1 I

12.13 1.87 56.00 326.00

S1 I

22.28 1.98 57.30 320.00

S1 I

36.79 2.08 58.50 294.60

S2 I

12.48 5.46 57.83 318.00

S2 I

22.70 5.56 58.00 308.00

S2 I

36.26 5.71 59.50 277.30

LSD (0.05) 0.39 0.49 NS 18.93

*-S1-45 days old seedlings, S

2-60 days old seedlings, I

1-First irrigation immediately after transplanting, I

2 -First irrigation

2 days after transplanting, I3-First irrigation 4 days after transplanting

Table 3 Effect of age of seedlings and different time lags of 1st irrigation on economic parameters in onion cv. Punjab Naroya.

Treatment Average gross returns Average net returns BC Ratio(Rs. ha-1) (Rs. ha-1)

S1 I

11,30,400/- 89,400/- 2.18

S1 I

21,28,000/- 87,000/- 2.12

S1 I

31,17,840/- 76,840/- 1.87

S2 I

11,26,400/- 85,400/- 2.08

S2 I

21,23,200/- 82,200/- 2.00

S2 I

31,10,929/- 69,920/- 1.70

g/bulb and 57.8 g /bulb in plots under 45 daysand 60 days old nursery irrigated immediately aftertransplanting, respectively. Bulb weight increasedwith delay in irrigation. However, overall effectwas non-significant. Though the bulbs wereheavier when older seedling (60 days) were usedfor transplanting but again the effect wasstatistically non significant.

Bulb Yield

Higher bulb yields of 326 q/ha and 318 q/hawere recorded from plots irrigated immediatelyafter transplanting in S

1I

1 and S

2I

2followed by 320

q/ha and 308 q/ha in plots irrigated two days aftertransplanting in S

1I

2 and S

2I

2 and 294 q/ha and

277.30 q/ha in plots irrigated four days aftertransplanting in S

1I

3 and S

2I

3 respectively (Table

2). Though there was no significant effect of delayin irrigation up to two days after transplanting,however, further delay in applying first irrigationled to significant reduction in bulb yield. This wasprobably due to higher mortality rate in theseplots. However, bulb yield was higher in 45 daysold seedlings but over all affect was non-significant.


Significant reduction in foliage growth andbulb yield as a result of prolongation of irrigationinterval in onion reported by Abu-Gerab (1987)and Koriem et al. (1994) supports our results. Theresults were also in line to the observations ofSingh and Singh (1974) and Wajtaszek et al.(1993) who reported that bulb yield did not differdue to different age of seedlings. However, theresults were different from the observations ofVachhani and Patel (1988) and Lujan–Favela(1992) who reported higher yield in onion withincreasing age of seedlings.

Economic Returns

The economic analysis of different treatmentshas been given in Table 3. It was evident thatbecause of variation in average bulb yield indifferent treatments, average gross returns andaverage net returns to the growers were higherfrom S

1I

1 and S

1I

2 as compared to other treatment.

Furthermore, higher benefit: cost (B:C) ratiodemarcates the superiority of transplanting 45 daysold seedlings and applying first irrigationimmediately after transplanting .

CONCLUSION

In conclusion irrigation immediately aftertransplanting improved survival and establishmentof onion seeding and results in more number ofbulbs and thus higher yield. Though use of olderseedling results in bigger bulbs whereas the yieldloss with use of 60 days seedling, mainly due tohigh seedling mortality rate and bolting,discourages use of aged seedlings. Infact, contraryto popular belief among farmers, delay in firstirrigation does nothing to check bolting butincrease mortality. Hence, use of 45 days old

seedling and application of irrigation immediatelyafter transplanting is advisable for getting goodyield in rabi onions.

REFERENCESAbu-Awad, A.M. 1996. Irrigation water management for onion

trickle irrigated with saline drainage water. Dirasat series-B.Pure and Applied Science 23. 46-54.

Abu-Gerab, O.S. 1987. “Effect of same cultural treatments ononion (Allim cepa L.) Ph.D Thesis, Fac. Agri MinufiyaUniversity, Egypt”.

Anonymous. 2010. Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops.Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab.

Kanton, R.A.L., Abbey, L., Hilla, R. G., M.A. and Tabil, N. D.2002. Influence of transplanting age on bulb yield and yieldcomponents of onion (Allium cepa L.) J. Veg. CropProduction 8: 27–37.

Koriem, S.O., EL-Koliey, M.M.A. and M.F. Wahba, 1994. Onionbulb production from “Shandweel” sets as affected by soilmoisture stress. Assiut J. of Agricultural Science 25:185-93.

Lujan-Favela, M., 1992. Growth and productivity of onion sownand transplanted at different dates, ages and sizes. Revista-Fitotecia-Maxicana 15(1):51-60 (Spanish)

Roberts, E.H., Summerfield, R.J., Ellis, R. H., Craufwd , P. Q.and Wheeler, T.R.,1997. The induction of flowering. P-69-99 In:HC Wein (ed.) The physiology of vegetable crops CABIntl:Ithaca,N.Y.

Shock, C.C., Fiebert, E.B.G. and Sanders, L.D., 1998. Onionyield and quality affected by soil water potential as irrigationthreshold. Hort. Science 33:1188-.91.

Singh, D. P., Singh, R.P., 1974. Studies on effect of time ofsowing and age of seedlings on growth and yield of onion(Allium cepa L.). Indian J. of Hort. 31(1): 69-73.

Vachhani, M.U. and Patel, Z.G., 1988. Studies on growth andyield of onion as affected by seedlings age at transplanting.Progressive Hort. 20 (3-4): 297-98.

Wajtaszek,T., Kunicki, E., Bednarz, F. and Ponicdzialik, M., 1993.Multiseeded onions: Effect of block spacing and transplantage on yield of onion. Folia-Hort.5 (1): 11-18.


Effect of Intercropping of Vegetables and Width ofPolythene Sheet on Yield and Economic Returns

Under Low Tunnel Technology.Monika Gupta

Farm Advisory Service Scheme Ferozepur-152001 (Punjab)

ABSTRACT

The present investigation was carried out in rabi 2010-11 at farmers’ fields of DistrictFerozepur. The intercropping system involved cultivation of summer squash, chilly, capsicumand squash melon as main crop along with cucumber as intercrop under low tunnel technology.These vegetables were also grown as sole crop under transparent polythene sheet by forminglow tunnels. Intercropping of chilly and cucumber was the most beneficial treatment to enhancethe yield and economic returns of the farmers under low tunnel technology. The next besttreatment was cultivation of chilly alone followed by intercropping of capsicum and cucumber.Transparent polythene sheet having 72 inch of width advanced first picking of squash melonby 10.3 days and increased the yield by 41.8 q/ha as compared to 53 inch wide polythenesheet.

Key words: Off-season cultivation of vegetables, Protective cultivation, Low tunnel technology,Cucumber, Chilly, Squash melon

INTRODUCTION

India is the second largest producer ofvegetables in the world next only to China.Presently, in Punjab, the total area under vegetablecrops is 1,88,430 ha and production of 36,45,030twith total productivity of 19,344 kg/ha (Anon.,2012). The vegetable growers sell their produceat very lower price due to glut of vegetables inthe market during the main season of a particularvegetable. Off-season production of vegetablesby the adoption of protected cultivation is the bestalternative for vegetable growers to fetch higherprices in the market through earlier cropproduction by 30-35 days as compared to the mainseason crop. Jensen and Malter (1995) reportedthat protected cultivation is any technique usedto modify a plant’s natural environment in orderto optimize plant growth. Many cucurbits (squash,cucumbers, melons) respond well under rowcovers with increased yields of as much as 25 percent (Helbacka, 2002). Row covers are used toenclose one or more rows of plants in order toenhance crop growth and production byincreasing both air and soil temperatures and

reducing wind damage (Hochmuth et al 2000).Dickerson (2009) also reported that row coverssupported with wire hoops will protect the cropfrom wind. The farmers generally enquire aboutthe enhancement of the economic returns by theadoption of low tunnel technology. Intercroppingi.e. growing of more than one crop in the samearea for better space utilization, can be practicedto enhance the income of the farmers. Therefore,the objectives of the study were to find out thebest intercropping system of vegetables and widthof polythene sheet to enhance the economicreturns under low tunnel technology.


There were two experiments and the detail isgiven as below:

Experiment I: Effect of intercropping ofvegetables on yield and economic returns underLow Tunnel Technology

The experiment consisted of cultivation ofsummer squash, chilly, capsicum and squashmelon along with cucumber. These vegetables



were also grown as sole crop under low tunneltechnology. The area under each plot was 250sqm. There were nine treatments with threereplications. The data was analyzed throughrandomized block design. The detail of thetreatments and cultivation practices is as givenbelow:

* Cucumber seed (@ 500g/ha) was sown asintercrop in between the two plants during the firstfortnight of December in all the treatments exceptin squash melon and cucumber where alternativerows of squash melon and cucumber were planted.For nursery raising of chilly and capsicum, seedswere sown on three feet wide beds by the use ofmarker during the first week of October. The

transparent polythene sheet used to form lowtunnels was of 100 gauge thickness. Galvanizediron rod (No. 8) was used to form low tunnels asit is easier to give curve and got fixed firmly inthe soil. The plants were covered with thetransparent polythene sheet from the month ofDecember to mid-February to protect these fromfrost incidence. Cultural and plant protectionmeasures were taken up as and when required.The crop yield was calculated on whole plot basis.The harvesting time was given starting from firstpicking to the last picking of the crop. Span ofharvest was calculated by counting the days fromfirst picking to the last picking of crop. Net incomewas calculated by subtracting the expenditure from

Sr. No Treatments Planting time Planting distance Seed Rate (g/ha)(Row to row X Plantto plant spacing)

T1-

Summer squash Mid December 3.5’ X 2.0’ 2,500+ Cucumber*

T2

Chilly+ Cucumber Seedlings were transplanted during 3.5’ X 1.25’ 250first fortnight of November

T3

Capsicum+ Cucumber Seedlings were transplanted during 3.5’ X 1.20’ 250first fortnight of November

T4

Squash melon First fortnight of December 3.5’ X 2.5’3.5’ X 6’’ 2,500+ Cucumber

T5

Chilly Seedlings were transplanted during 3.5’ X 1.25’ 250first fortnight of November

T6

Summer squash Mid December 3.5’ X 2.0’ 2,500T

7Cucumber First fortnight of December 3.5’ X 6’’ 750

T8

Squash melon First fortnight of December 3.5’ X 2.5’ 3,750T

9Capsicum Seedlings were transplanted during 3.5’ X 1.20’ 250

first fortnight of November

Table 1. Effect of intercropping of vegetables on yield, harvesting time, span of harvest and net income under Low TunnelTechnology

Treatments Yield (q/ha) Harvesting time Span of Net Incomeharvest (days) (Rs/ ha)

T1-

- Summer squash + Cucumber 750 March to first week of April + 39.7 2,50,000/-End February to 20th April

T2 -Chilly+ Cucumber 750 April to 10th June + End February 102.7 8,75,000/-

to 20th AprilT

3 - Capsicum+ Cucumber 687.5 End March to May + End February 93.0 5,00,000/-

to 20th AprilT

4 - Squash melon+ Cucumber 675 First week of April to end May + 89.3 3,75,000/-

End February to 20th AprilT

5 - Chilly 625 April to 10th June 67.7 6,25,000/-

T6 -Summer squash 500 March to first week of April 35.0 1,87,500/-

T7 - Cucumber 750 End February to 20th April 52.7 2,50,000/-

T8 - Squash melon 487.5 First week of April to end May 55.7 2,75,000/-

T9 - Capsicum 500 End March to May 65.7 3,75,000/-

CD at 5% level 16.94 - 1.3 -


the total income which may be influenced by theweather conditions and market prices.

The initial cost of transparent polythene sheetand galvanized iron rod is approximately Rs62,500/- ha and the expenditure on other inputsincluding seed, fertilizer, pesticides, labourcharges etc. is Rs 50,000/-ha/ year. Thetransparent polythene sheet (100 gauge) can beused for 2-3 successive years and the galvanizediron rod can be used for 5 consecutive yearsdepending upon the care of these protectivestructures.

Experiment II: The cultivation practices ofthe squash melon were as given in Experiment I.There were two treatments with four replicationsin the experiment as under.

T1: 53 inch wide polythene sheet with 4 feet

height and

T2: 72 inch wide polythene sheet with 6.5 feet

height.

This experiement was laid out at farmers’ fieldto assess the effect of worth of transparent sheeton yield and economic returns under low tunneltechnology.


In Experiment I, the yield of summer squashand cucumber, chilly and cucumber and solecucumber crop was significantly higher (750q/ha)as compared to the other cropping systems (Table1) followed by capsicum and cucumber with anaverage yield of 687.5 q/ha. It was recorded thatthe yield of squash melon as sole crop wassignificantly less (487.5q/ ha) which wassignificantly at par with yield of summer squashand capsicum grown as sole crop. The datarevealed that the harvesting time (Table 1) wasthe longest in case of chilly and cucumber (T

2) as

compared to the other treatments. In this systemof intercropping, the cucumber was ready forharvest in end February and lasts up to third weekof April, whereas, the harvesting of chilly started

in April and ends up to second week of June. Theharvesting of summer squash started in the firstweek of March and it got completed up to thefirst week of April. The data indicated that theharvesting time of summer squash was found tobe the shortest as compared to the othertreatments.

The span of harvest (Table 1) was found to besignificantly long (102.7 days) in intercroppingof chilly and cucumber (T

2) which was followed

by the intercropping of capsicum and cucumber(T

3). From the data, it was recorded that the span

of harvest was significantly short (35 days) insummer squash cultivated as sole crop.

The net income (Table 1) was the highest (8.75lakh/ha) where chilly was cultivated as main cropand cucumber was grown as an intercrop. Thismight be due to the fact that this intercroppingsystem has the highest yield (750q/ha) along withthe longest span of harvest (102.7 days). Thecultivation of summer squash as sole crop underlow tunnel technology was the least beneficial cropas it has the shortest span of harvest (35 days only)along with the yield of 500q/ha which was alsosignificantly lower as compared to the othertreatments. Hence, the farmers were advised tofollow the cultivation of chilly and cucumber asintercrops under low tunnel technology to get themaximum economic returns.

In, Experiment II, the maturity of the squashmelon crop (Table 2) was significantly advanced(102.7 days) by 72 inch wide transparentpolythene sheet with 6.5 feet height (T

2) used to

form low tunnels while the crop took 113 days tomature where 53 inch wide transparent polythenesheet with 4.0 feet height (T

1) was used. It might

be due to the fact that the crop did not touch thepolythene sheet in T

2 and there was no desiccation

of early growth by the harmful effect of the frost.It was found that the yield of squash melon wassignificantly higher (500q/ha) in T

2 as compared

to the other. The Net Income was also found to be

Table 2. Effect of width of transparent polythene sheet on maturity, yield and net income of squash melon under LowTunnel Technology

Treatments Maturity (Days) Yield (q/ha) Net Income (Rs/ ha)

T1- 53 inch width 113 458.3 2,13,156/-

T2- 72 inch width 102.67 500.0 2,42,375/-

CD at 5% level 1.44 14.3 -


more in T2 (Rs 2,42,375/-ha) as compared to T

1

(Rs 2,13,156/-ha). This might be due to the reasonthat more width and height of the transparentpolythene sheet in T

2 helped the vines to give

better frost protection and thus resulted in healthyplant growth, advanced the crop maturity andincreased the yield and fetches higher market price.

CONCLUSION

The present studies suggest that the off-seasoncultivation of chilly as main crop along withcucumber as intercrop under low tunnels is themost beneficial cropping pattern to enhance theeconomic returns of the farmers. The farmers arealso advised to use 72 inch wide transparentpolythene sheet when squash melon is grown assole crop under protective conditions. Theexpenses on this technology are comparatively

less but still there is need to study the fertilizerrequirement of intercrops under low tunneltechnology to further reduce the cost of inputsintended for more benefit of the farmingcommunity.

REFERENCESAnonymous. 2012. Package of practices for vegetable crops,

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab. PP

Dickerson, G.W. 2009. Production Techniques. Guide H (10/09)-251.

Jensen, M.H. and Malter, A.J. 1995. Protected Agriculture: AGlobal Review, World Bank

Helbacka, J. 2002. Row covers for vegetable gardens, WashingtonState University, King County Cooperative Extension Service,Fact Sheet No. 19.

Hochmuth, G.J.,Kostewicz, S. and Stall, W. 2000. Row coversfor commercial vegetable culture in Florida, Florida CooperativeExtension Service, University of Florida, Circular 728.


Effect of Polypropylene Covers on Frost Protectionand Yield of Potato Crop

Kuldeep Singh Bhullar

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Hoshiarpur -146 105 (Punjab)

ABSTRACT

Acyclic frost occurs in potato growing belt of Punjab i.e. Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthalaand adjoining districts which causes huge losses to potato. It severely affects the formation anddevelopment of potato tubers. The present study was conducted during the year 2011-12 tofind solution of this region specific problem. Three practices evaluated in this study were i)irrigation irrespective of the frost, ii) light irrigations on occurrence of the frost and iii) coveringthe crop with non-woven polypropylene film after 50 days of sowing and the film was removedafter 40 days. The parameters studied were crop damage due to frost, grade of tubers and totalyield. The yield was significantly higher (301 q/ ha) in covered potatoes as compared to plotswithout covering (255 q/ ha and 225 q/ ha). The covering also affected the size of tubers ashigher quantity of medium and large sized tubers (83%) were obtained with covering while outof total tubers only 64 to 69 per cent tubers fell in these two categories where potatoes were leftuncovered.

Keywords: Frost, Non-Woven, Polypropylene, Potato, Yield.

INTRODUCTION

Potato occupies 13,217 ha. area which isabout 50 per cent of the total area under vegetablesin the district Hoshiarpur. There are three sowingtimes for potato crop in the district, early crop(planted in September), main crop (end October-November planting) and one in spring season. Thepotato tubers produced in Punjab especially Northwestern districts are marketed as seed in otherStates as the temperature remains low in Punjabwhich results higher yield and quality. Howeverthe severe cold and acyclic frost occurs in Punjabwhich causes huge damage especially to fruits andvegetables. Early crop (September-November)escapes frost as farmers plant this crop inSeptember and harvest after 60 days in the monthof November but late sown main crop of autumnand early sown spring crop is damaged due tofrost in the months of Jan-Feb. The potato tuberyield depends to a higher degree on the rate andduration of the tuber growth. Potato productionfor an early crop is dependent on the climaticconditions in the vegetative period, especiallytemperature (Sale 1979, Lachman et al. 2003). Thechange of conditions of the initial growth and

development of potato plants by coveringinfluences not only the yield level, but also tuberquality (Nelson and Jenkins (1990). The use ofcovers directly on the planted field enables toenhance the harvest of early potato tubers andreduce the variability of the yield.


The effect of nonwoven polypropylenecovering on the frost protection and tuber yieldof potato was investigated. The experiment wascarried out in the year 2011-12 on three locationsin different frost prone villages selected on thebasis of previous experience in district Hoshiarpur.The field was well prepared after addition ofrecommended dose of farm yard manure i.e. 50 t/ha. Chemical fertilizers, that is, Diammoniumphosphate @129 kg, Urea @177 kg and Murateof potash @100 kg/ ha. were applied as basal doseat time of planting. The field experiment wasestablished in the randomized complete blocksdesign, in three replications and on three locations.Pre-sprouted seed potatoes treated with Emisan-6of Kufri Pukhraj cultivar were planted on the 29th

October at spacing of 20 cm in row and 60 cmbetween rows, and. First irrigation was given after

Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]


5 days of planting. Remaining dose of Urea @200kg/ha was broadcasted before earthing up thecrop after 40 days of sowing. The treatmentsconsisted of

i) Irrigation irrespective of the frost, (P1)

ii) Light irrigations on occurrence of the frost (P2)and

iii) Covering the crop with non-wovenpolypropylene film after 50 days of sowingand the film was removed after 40 days (P3).

The potato crop was covered withpolypropylene sheet (17gsm) on occurrence oflight frost. There was severe frost in the month ofJanuary. This film was removed on 30 Januaryand the crop was harvested on 10th February 2012.The data regarding the damage percentage(calculated by counting number of plants died dueto frost) and yield were recorded. The tubers werefurther graded into three sizes viz. large (morethan 50g), medium (25-50g) and small (Less than25g) to analyze the effect of frost on tuber size.

Table 1. Effect of frost protection measures on plant damage (%)

Treatment Extent of Damage (%)L 1 L2 L3 Mean

Irrigation irrespective of the frost (P1) 30.5 29.3 24.9 28.2Light irrigations on occurrence of the frost (P2) 22.5 21.6 19.7 21.2Covering the crop with polypropylene film (P3) 13.0 12.2 8.9 11.4Mean 22.0 21.0 17.8CD at 5% for Treatments =1.42 , Locations =1.42, Treatment x Location= NS

Table 2. Effect of frost protection measures on yield.

Treatment Yield (q/ha)L 1 L2 L3 Mean

Irrigation irrespective of the frost, (P1) 215.4 227.8 232.3 225.2Light irrigations on occurrence of the frost (P2) 249.3 251.0 265.3 255.2Covering the crop with polypropylene film (P3) 284.7 304.7 313.8 301.1Mean 249.8 261.2 270.4CD at 5% for Treatments =6.9 , Locations =6.9, Treatment x Location= NS

Table 3. Effect of frost protection measures on marketable yield of tubers (%)

Treatment L 1 L2 L3 Mean

Irrigation irrespective of the frost, (P1) 63.2 64.5 66.6 64.8Light irrigations on occurrence of the frost (P2) 67.4 69.0 70.1 68.9Covering the crop with polypropylene film (P3) 82.8 83.6 85.2 83.9Mean 71.1 72.4 74.0

Benefit cost ratio:

Treatment Marketable Increase in Additional BC Ratioyield (q/ha.) yield over profit over over

P1 (q/ha.) P1 (Rs)* control **

Irrigation irrespective of the frost, (P1) 145.9 0 0 1Light irrigations on occurrence of the frost (P2) 175.8 29.9 11960 2.134Covering the crop with polypropylene film (P3) 252.6 106.7 42680 1.536

* Average price of potato over past three years= Rs 400/- per q.** Cost of non-woven pp film for one hectare= Rs 20,000/-


The results of the experiment were analyzedstatistically by means of analysis of variance usingrandomised block design (Singh et al 1991).


The adverse climatic conditions causedquantifiable damage to the crop, resulting inreduced tuber yield as well as marketable yield inall the three locations. It is evident from Table 1that maximum damage (30.5%) was underpractice 1 where no special protection was givento crop at location 1 whereas minimum damage(8.9%) was observed in practice 3 where the cropwas kept covered during the period of frostoccurrence at location 3. The average plantdamage percentage of three locations wassignificantly higher in practice 1 (28.2%) over thepractice 2 (21.2%) as well as practice 2 (11.4%).Thus use of the covers with non woven propylenefilm in the potato cultivation provided effectiveprotection from frost and resulted in significantreduction in the plant damage. An increase in thetuber yield as a result of covering was obtained inthe potato cultivation under polypropylene filmin comparison with the traditional cultivation. Thetuber yield (Table 2) was maximum (313.8 q/ ha.)in practice 3 at location 3 whereas minimum (215q/ ha.) in practice 1 at location 1. The mean yieldof 301.1 q/ ha. was obtained from the coveredcrop which was significantly higher over thepractice I and practice II, 225.2 q/ ha. and 255.2q/ ha. respectively. The high yield under theprotection was probably due to frost protectionafforded by covering and creation of favourablemicroclimate for plant and tuber growth.

The nonwoven polypropylene covering alsoaffected the share towards the marketable tuberyield (Table 3). The quantity of marketable sizedtubers was 83.9 percent in practice 3 which was1.73 times higher over the practice 1 and 1.43

times more than practice 2. There is significantvariation in tuber size in different locations, whichmay be due to variation of soil type, fertility level,crop rotation and other cultural practices. Theinteraction of the practices and location was non-significant which reveals that the propylene filmcovering has its effect in increasing the tuber sizein all the locations.

The costs of the early potato production undercovers are considerably higher compared with thetraditional method. At relatively high costs relatingto the area unit, the production is profitable onlywhen leading to obtaining sufficiently high yieldswhich was the case in the present study (Table 4).The additional yields obtained in covered plotsnot only covered for additional cost incurred butalso increased the profit over un-protected crop.

CONCLUSION

The non-woven polypropylene film coverswere effective in protection of the crop from frostdamage. The use of nonwoven polypropylenecover in the potato cultivation in frost affectedareas has a favorable effect on the yield level andshare in the yield of marketable tubers and thus itdoes not reduce the tuber quality.

REFERENCESLachman, J., Hamouz, K., Hejtmánková, A., Dudjak, J., Orsák,

M. and Pivec V. 2003. Effect of white fleece on the selectedquality parameters of early potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)tubers. Plant, Soil and Environment 49: 370–77.

Nelson, D.G. and Jenkins, P.D. 1990. Effects of physiologi-calage and floating plastic film on tuber dry-matter percentage ofpotatoes, cv. Record. Potato Research 33: 159–69.

Sale, P.J.M. 1979. Growth of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.)to the small tuber stage as related to soil temperature. AustralianJ. of Agricultural Research 30: 667–75.

Singh, S., Bansal, M.L., Singh, T. P. and Kumar, S .1991. StatisticalMethods for Research Workers. Kalyani Publishers, NewDelhi


Ethnobotanical Inventory on Medicinal Plants ofNorth Western Himalayas

Vishal Mahajan, Amrish Vaid, A.P.Singh and Sanjeev Kumar

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kathua (Jammu and Kashmir)

ABSTRACT

The present study highlights useful ethno-botanical information about the uses of plants by therural population of Jammu province. The study was conducted in eight tehsils of five districtsof Jammu province. This folk wisdom, if subjected to scientific studies, could benefit humankindin many ways. The present paper provides information on the indigenous therapeutic applicationand other traditional uses of 40 plant species belonging to 27 families that are used by thenatives of these areas. Information provided includes scientific name, family name, vernacularnames and ethno-botanical use clubbed with the common uses.Ethno-botanical plant specieswere recorded for their medicinal uses and for other remedial purposes by the local inhabitants.

Keywords: Traditional Uses, Ethnobotanical, Jammu and Kashmir, Medicinal Plants.

INTRODUCTION

The Himalaya harbours a rich diversity ofethno-botanical species, which generateconsiderable benefits from social and economicperspectives. However, the ongoing managementstrategies and traditional values of ethnobotanicalspecies are difficult to reconcile with the acuteconflicts between the local people and foresters(Ananda and Herath, 2005).

Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has a richheritage of species and genetic strains of flora andfauna and considered as a mega hot spot ofbiological diversity (Myer et al 2000). Itcomprises about 18 per cent of India and extendsmore than 2,800 km in length and 220 to 300 kmin width, with an altitudinal range from 200 -8000m above MSL. Its flora includes about 8,000species of angiosperms (40% endemic), 44species of gymnosperms (16% endemic), 600species of pteridophytes (25% endemic), 1,737species of bryophytes (33% endemic), 1,159species of lichens (11% endemic) and 6,900species of fungi (27% endemic) (Singh and Hajra,1996 ; Samant et al, 1998).

Most of the traditional medical practices areempirical in nature, over 200 million people inIndia with limited access to the organized publichealth service institutions; depending on varying

degrees in the traditional systems of medicine tocater their health care needs (Farnsworth, 1998).Plant extracts used in ethnomedical treatments isenjoying great popularity, however, lacks scientificvalidation (Ved and Goraya, 2008). Also,increasing demand of medicinal plants hasresulted into its trade, both legitimate and illegal.Traditional harvesting methods have declined andclandestine extraction prevails throughout theyear.

The Jammu province lies between 32o 17' to36o 58' North latitude and 73o 26' to 80o 30' Eastlongitude. and altitude varying from 1050 m to3400 m above MSL. The Jammu divisioncomprises of ten districts and the climate of thedistrict varies from sub-tropical to sub-temperateand receives good annual rainfall ranging from1280-1420 mm.

Ethno-botanically, it is one of the leastinvestigated region of the state of Jammu andKashmir. There is almost no ethno-botanical andmedicinal data available from this area of Jammuand Kashmir. The area is under heavydeforestation and overgrazing pressure, which hasreduced regeneration of woody plants. The areais characterized by nomadic tribes and pastoralcommunities dwelling in the Himalayan regionand is reputed to have mastered their traditionalpractices and knowledge about plants used to

*Subject Matter Specialist, KVK, PoonchCorresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


combat different diseases of their livestock.Among these ethnic groups, the predominant tribalcommunities are Gujjar and Bakerwal. Gujjar arepartly nomadic and partly permanent settlers andpractice of cattle rearing, rearing of sheep andgoats. Bakerwal are migratory pastoralists. Thesetribes mostly speak their own dialects such as Gojriand Pahari. These native people are the custodiansof indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK)associated with their surroundingbiological resources. They have been using theseresources for various purposes in their daily lifefor ages. The wealth of information, which ispreserved as an unwritten material medica of thetribal folk is slowly decreasing and old traditionof passing information is fading away. Therefore,an attempt has been made to collect theinformation from the traditional healers or‘hakims’, tribals (Gujjar and Bakerwal), drugdealers of the region.Most of the medicinal plantsare uprooted by the local people for selling or fordomestic needs.Table 1. Area of study.

S. No Name of the district Tehsil/ Area covered

1. Kathua Bani, Billawar, Basholi2. Udhampur Ramnagar, Chenani3. Poonch Haveli, Mandi, Surankot4. Rajouri Thanna Mandi5. Doda Bhaderwah

MATERIALS ANS METHODS

The socio-economic and ethno-botanicalinformation of the people was recorded throughinterview and questionnaire from drug dealers,shopkeepers, timber dealers, fuel wood sellers,local hakims, tribal and farmers.Priority was givento local elderly people hakims and tribal who werethe real users having a lot of information aboutthe plants and their traditional uses. The plantswere classified according to their use in that area.The ethno-botanical studies indicated thatinhabitants of these regions utilize plant speciesfor their domestic needs. The major usage includesmedicinal plants, fuel wood, fodder, and pot herbs,fruit yielding plants, spices and condiments, asmouth wash (timru/meswak). Most of the plantsare used for multiple purposes. The conservationof biological diversity requires all possible efforts

and there is a need for holistic approach involvingwild and cultivated plants, forest trees and theirhabitats. Certain species such as Podophyllumhexandrum has been seen in Saujian area of Manditehsil. However, the exploitation of Podophyllumhexandrum is so ruthless, such that it is enlistedas an endangered plant species (Nayar and Sastry,1990).


The present paper provides information on theindigenous therapeutic application and othertraditional uses of 40 plant species belonging to27 families, 34 genera that are used by the nativesof these areas. Among these 40 species, 28 areherbs, 8 shrubs, 3 trees and 1 fungal species.

It has been observed that species likeSaussuria lappa are subjected to illegal uprootingin this area due to high market value. The rootcontain essential oil, alkaloid (Saussurine), andsmall quantities of tannins, inulin, potassiumnitrate and sugars etc. The oil shows antisepticand disinfectant properties.

Certain species such as Podophyllumhexandrum has been seen in Saujian area of Manditehsils of Poonch district. However, theexploitation of Podophyllum hexandrum is soruthless, such that it is enlisted as an ‘endangeredplant species (En) ( Nayar and Sastry, 1990).Certain species have commercial value across theglobe. Viola odorata is among one of them whichis used as a source for scent in the perfumeindustry.

CONCLUSION

The present observations revealed that the areais rich in medicinal wealth. However, the wealthof information present among the herbal healers,tribal remained untraced and un-documented andis gradually fading away. There are many casesin which the know-how still remains a secret. Thiscould be related to information regardingoccurrence, characteristics, therapeutic effects,processing of the drug and use of the plant materialfor treatment. Therefore, the indigenous traditionalknowledge (ITK) system needs to be studied,documented, preserved and used for the benefitof humankind, before it is lost forever.


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for

fatte

ning

hor

ses.


16.

Ger

aniu

m w

alli

chia

num

Rat

tanj

yot

Ger

ania

ceae

Flow

er a

nd r

oot

Flor

al p

arts

and

leav

es e

xtra

ct i

s u

sed

for

vis

ion

prob

lem

D. D

on e

x Sw

eat

and

bloo

d pu

rifi

catio

n. R

oot p

owde

r is

also

use

d fo

r jau

ndic

e,ki

dney

and

spl

een

prob

lem

s.17

.H

eder

a he

lix

Auc

t.B

anba

tkar

iA

ralia

ceae

Frui

tT

he le

aves

and

ber

ries

are

stim

ulat

ing,

dia

phor

etic

, cat

hart

ic,

used

in in

dole

nt u

lcer

s, a

bsce

sses

etc

. The

ber

ries

are

use

d in

febr

ile d

isor

der,

rheu

mat

ism

.18

.Im

pati

ens

edge

wor

thii

Hoo

kB

unti

lB

alsa

min

acea

eL

eave

sT

he p

lant

is u

sed

for

gono

rrho

ea a

nd e

xter

nally

for

bur

ns.

19.

Impa

tien

s gl

andu

life

ra R

oyle

Bun

til

Bal

sam

inac

eae

Flow

erT

he f

low

er h

as c

oolin

g pr

oper

ties

and

is u

sed

as to

nic.

The

leav

es a

re u

sed

on b

urns

.20

.M

elia

aze

dara

ch L

inn.

Dre

kM

elia

ceae

Lea

ves

Past

e of

fre

sh le

aves

is u

sed

for

heal

ing

as g

erm

icid

al.

21.

Mor

chel

la e

scul

enta

Lin

nG

ushi

Hel

vell

acea

eFr

uitin

g bo

dies

Frui

ting

bodi

es a

re s

erve

d as

del

icac

y as

veg

etab

les.

22.

Nep

etal

a ev

igat

a (D

. Don

) H

and

Mus

kbal

aL

amia

ceae

Seed

The

see

ds o

f th

e pl

ant a

re in

fuse

d in

col

d w

ater

and

are

use

din

dys

ente

ry.

23.

Pis

taci

a in

tege

rrim

a S

mit

h K

akad

sing

hiA

naca

rdia

ceae

Lea

f Gal

lG

alls

are

use

d in

trad

ition

al m

edic

ine

to tr

eat c

ough

s, a

sthm

a,di

arrh

oea,

dys

ente

ry,

feve

r, v

omit

ing,

app

etit

e lo

ss,

nose

blee

ding

, sna

ke b

ites

and

scor

pion

stin

gs. T

he p

lant

ext

ract

sar

e us

ed in

trea

ting

lives

tock

dis

ease

s.24

.P

odop

hyll

um h

exen

drum

Roy

leB

anka

kdi

Ber

beri

dace

aeR

hizo

mes

and

roo

tsV

ery

low

dos

es a

re u

sed

for t

reat

ing

cons

tipat

ion

and

used

as

purg

ativ

e. A

lso

used

in

the

trea

tmen

t of

ski

n di

seas

es a

ndm

enst

rual

dis

orde

rs.

25.

Pol

ygon

um

alpi

num

(D. D

on) G

reen

eM

aslo

onP

olyg

onac

eae

See

dT

he s

eeds

are

use

d as

em

etic

and

pur

gati

ve.

The

infu

sion

has

bee

n fo

und

to b

e ve

ry e

ffec

tive

in d

iarr

hoea

and

child

ren

sum

mer

com

plai

nts.

26.

Pol

ygon

um a

mpl

exic

auli

s (D

.Don

) Gre

ene

Mas

loon

Pol

ygon

acea

eL

eave

sT

he p

lant

is

use

d fo

r m

akin

g te

a w

hich

is v

ery

effe

ctiv

e in

flu

e, f

ever

and

join

ts p

ain.

27.

Pot

enti

llan

epal

ensi

s H

ook

Rat

tenj

otR

osac

eae

Lea

ves

The

roo

t is

con

side

red

depu

rativ

e an

d is

use

d ex

tern

ally

in

the

form

of

ashe

s be

ing

appl

ied

with

oil

to b

urns

.28

.R

hodo

dend

ron

arbo

retu

m S

mith

A

rdul

/ Ard

ulli

Eri

cace

ae

Flow

erT

he ju

ice

of th

e fl

ower

has

coo

ling

prop

ertie

s an

d is

giv

en in

jaun

dice

.29

.R

osa

mac

roph

ylla

Lin

dley

Jang

liG

ulab

Ros

acea

eFl

ower

Flow

ers

used

for

fra

gran

ce. I

t is

also

use

d in

fen

cing

and

as

hedg

es. A

lso

used

for

pre

pari

ng ‘

Gul

kand

’.30

.R

ubus

fru

itic

osus

Hoo

kA

khra

yR

osac

eae

Who

le p

lant

An

infu

sion

of

lea

ves

is

tak

en t

o s

tay

dia

rrho

ea

and

for

som

e b

leed

ings

. Dec

octio

n of

roo

t or

bark

are

rem

edie

s fo

rre

leas

ed b

owls

and

dys

ente

ry. T

he d

ecoc

tion

of r

oot

is a

lso

usef

ul a

gain

st w

hoop

ing

coug

h in

its

spas

mod

ic s

tage

. Bla

ckbe

rrie

s fa

mes

and

win

e ar

e ta

ken

for

sore

thro

at.

31.

Sali

x al

ba L

inn.

Bee

sa, B

hins

aS

alic

acea

eFl

ower

The

flo

wer

s ar

e dr

ied

and

are

give

n as

ner

vine

toni

c.

Sr. N

oB

otan

ical

Nam

eV

ern.

Nam

eF

amil

y P

art u

sed

Use

s


32.

Saus

suri

a la

ppa

(Fal

e) L

ipsc

hK

uth

Ast

erac

eae

Roo

tIt

is

subj

ecte

d to

ille

gal

upro

otin

g in

thi

s ar

ea d

ue t

o hi

ghm

arke

t va

lue.

T

he r

oot

con

tain

ess

enti

al

oil,

alk

aloi

d(s

auss

urin

e),

and

smal

l q

uant

itie

s o

f t

anni

ns,

inu

lin,

pota

ssiu

m n

itra

te a

nd s

ugar

s e

tc.

The

oil

sho

ws

anti

sept

ican

d di

sinf

ecta

nt p

rope

rtie

s.

It i

s ca

rdia

c st

imul

ant,

carm

inat

ive,

exp

ecto

rant

and

diu

reti

c. T

he a

lkal

oid

has

are

mar

kabl

e ef

fect

in c

ontr

olli

ng a

ttac

ks o

f br

onch

ial a

sthm

a.33

.So

lanu

m i

ncan

um L

inn.

Kac

hmac

hS

olan

acea

eL

eave

sD

ecoc

tion

of

fres

h le

aves

is u

sed

as a

ntis

epti

c.34

.Sw

erti

a pe

tiol

ata

D.D

onC

hira

yett

aG

enti

anac

eae

Lea

ves

The

pla

nt i

s b

itter

; co

olin

g, a

nthe

lmin

tic,

antip

yret

ic,

ant

peri

odic

, la

xativ

e, c

ures

leu

code

rma,

inf

lam

mat

ions

, pa

inin

the

bod

y, u

rina

ry d

isch

arge

s, u

lcer

s, a

sthm

a, b

ronc

hitis

,le

ucor

rhoe

a, p

iles,

bad

tast

e in

the

mou

th, g

ood

for

vom

iting

in p

regn

ancy

35.

Thy

mus

ser

phyl

lum

Lin

n.Ja

ngli

ajw

ain

Lam

iace

aeL

eave

sT

he p

lant

has

a s

harp

ple

asan

t ta

ste,

the

lea

ves

are

laxa

tive

used

in

stom

achi

c, a

goo

d to

nic

for

rena

l co

lic

and

eye

dise

ases

, use

ful i

n br

onch

itis

and

puri

fy th

e bl

ood.

The

oil

isre

med

y in

too

thac

he.

The

her

b is

giv

en i

n w

eak

visi

on,

com

plai

nts

of l

iver

and

sto

mac

h36

.U

rtic

a di

oica

Lin

n.K

ayya

riU

rtic

acea

eL

eave

sIt

can

cau

se a

llerg

y. L

eave

s w

hen

com

es in

con

tact

with

any

body

par

t, ca

use

seve

re ir

rita

tion

and

itchi

ng s

wel

ling

of s

kin

wh

ich

ca

n

be

soo

thed

b

y

rub

bin

g

the

leav

es

of

Rum

exne

pale

nsis

.37

.V

ibur

num

gra

ndif

loru

m W

all e

x D

.CG

uch

Cap

rifo

liac

eae

Frui

tFr

uit i

s co

nsid

ered

to b

e la

xativ

e an

d bl

ood

puri

fier

s.38

.V

iola

odo

rata

Lin

n.B

anaf

sha

Vio

lace

aeFl

ower

Plan

t is

bitt

er a

nd p

unge

nt, c

ures

mal

aria

l fe

ver,

bro

nchi

tis,

asth

ma.

The

root

is p

urga

tive,

toni

c, e

xpec

tora

nt a

nd d

iure

tic.

Dri

ed f

low

ers

are

give

n in

fev

er, c

ough

and

hae

mos

tasi

s.39

.W

oodf

ordi

a fr

utic

osa

Lin

n.T

avi

Lyt

hrac

eae

Flow

ers

Pow

der

of d

ried

flo

wer

s is

use

d to

hea

l the

wou

nds.

40.

Xan

thox

ylum

ala

tum

Lin

n.T

imru

Rut

acea

eFr

uit,

bran

ches

‘Dat

un’ i

s pre

pare

d fr

om th

e br

anch

es a

nd is

use

d fo

r too

thac

he.

Frui

ts a

re u

sed

in th

e pr

epar

atio

n of

chu

tney

s.

Sr. N

oB

otan

ical

Nam

eV

ern.

Nam

eF

amil

y P

art u

sed

Use

s


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are grateful to the knowledgeproviders (traditional herbalists, drug dealers,tribal) of Poonch for sharing their valuableinformation and without their support thiscompilation would not has been possible.

REFERENCESAnanda, J. and Herath, G. 2005. Evaluating public risk preferences

in forest land-use choices using multi attribute utility theory,Ecological Economics, 408–419.

Farnsworth, N. R. 1998. Screening plants for new medicines, In:Biodiversity, edited by EO Wilson, National Academy Press,Washington DC, 83-97,

Myer, N. 2000. Muttermeier R. A, Muttermeier CA, FonsecaABG & Kent J, Biodiversity hotspots for conservationpriorities. Nature 403: 853-58,

Nayar M. P. and Sastry, A. P. K. 1990. Red data book of IndianPlants, Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.

Samant, S. S., Dhar, U. and PalniL, M. S. 1998. Medicinal Plantsof Indian Himalaya: Diversity distribution potential values,Gyanodaya Prakashan, Nainital.

Singh, D. K. and Hajra, P.K.1996.Floristic diversity, In: ChangingPerspectives of Biodiversity Status in the Himalaya, editedby G. S. Gujaral & V Sharma, British Council Division, BritishHigh Commission, New Delhi, 23-38,

Ved, D. K. and Goraya, G.S. 2008. Demand and supply ofmedicinal plants in India, Bishen Singh, Mahendra Pal Singh(Ed)., Dehra Dun and FRLHT, Bangalore, India,


IDM- In Combating Blast Disease in Rice Crop inTemperate EnvironmentT. Mubarak, M. A. Zarger and Z. A. Bhat

KrishiVigyan KendraAnantnag-192233 ( Jammu and Kashmir)

ABSTRACT

Integrated Disease Management ( IDM) is important for reducing threat to environment andfor sustaining higher yields. There is need to test and demonstrate IDM technique at farmers’field for their wide adaptability. On-farm trials and frontline demonstrations were conducted byKrishi-Vigyan-Kendra Anantnag to popularize IDM module to boost, rice production in blastprone area of district Anantnag. Yield improved to the tune of 36 per cent by IDM module overfarmers practice plots. Net returns (Rs.47,952/ha) and benefit cost ratio (1.5) were also higherin same practice. An additional income of Rs.16,589/ha was obtained over the farmer’s practice.

Key words: IDM, Rice, Blast.

INTRODUCTION

Indiscriminate use of agricultural chemicalsin general and pesticides in particular has becomea great concern. Emphasis is, therefore, being laidon Integrated Pest Management (IPM) forenvironmental safety, good health and sustainableagriculture.. Technologies developed by SKUAST-Kashmir needs to be popularized among farmingcommunity to boost agricultural productivity andproduction. Since rice is a staple food of thepeople of Kashmir valley and blast disease amajor biologic threat to crop, an Integrated DiseaseManagement (IDM) module was needed to betested at Farmers’ field to combat the menace ofblast disease in district Anantnag. Krishi-Vigyan-Kendra Anantnag (Pombay) conducted On-farmtrials and Frontline Demonstrations to popularizethe IDM module in rice.


Analysis of Factors Responsible For theOutbreak of Disease

A joint survey was conducted by KVKscientist and the officers of agriculturedevelopment department to identify hot spots ofthis disease. During survey it was found that themicroclimate of the area and farming practices,were quite favourable for blast disease incidence.

Factors Which Favoured the Spread of Disease

● Growing varieties which lack resistanceagainst Blast disease

Farmer use varieties (Table 1) which are proneto disease and if proper disease managementpractices are not taken in time there alwaysremains risk of crop being badly hit by blastdisease particularly under fluctuating weatherconditions as prevalent in the study area.

● Imbalanced use of fertilizers

Farmers have tendency towards using heavydoses of nitrogenous fertilizers without and asmall number of them apply Potassiumsupplying fertilizer. This makes plant tissuessucculent and more prone to blast disease.Continuously use organic manures striking abalance in the application of N and Kfertilizer help some to escape severe diseaseattack. This signifies the importance ofbalanced nutrient supply in IDM.

● Lack of plant protection measures againstthe disease

Apple is the major fruit crop of the valley.Farmers pay much attention to their apple cropin comparison to paddy. Though themanagement technology for blast disease iswell established but unfortunately farmers donot follow the same resulting in considerabledecline in crop yield due to the disease. Not asingle farmer even uses a simple technique ofseed treatment against the disease.

Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] [email protected]


● Other causes

Poor water management, dense planting ofseedlings with 5 to 14 seedlings per hill andlack of coordination between farmers and theline department at zonal level are some otherreasons which aggravated the situation.

Action Plan

All Important causes of outbreak of blastdisease in paddy were taken into considerationwhile framing a strategy to combat this diseaseand vis-à-vis to improve rice production. On-farmtrials were conducted (Table 1) which revealedthat the disease incidence and severity wasremarkably higher with farmers practice againstimproved technology. Yield was appreciablyhigher in improved technology compared to thefarmers practices. In view of these results, frontline demonstration programme with followingtechnical inputs were conducted in the area(Table1).

1. Variety: Jehlum and K-39 varieties which lackresistance against the blast disease werereplaced by Shalimar Rice -1(SR-1) whichexhibits resistance to blast disease. Thisvariety was released in 2005 for lower beltsof the valley located up to an altitude of1600m MSL.

2. Seed Treatment: Seed treated with thechemical against paddy diseases(Mancozeb@ 2g + Carbendazim @1g per Kgof seed) was distributed free of cost amongthe farmers associated with the FLDprogamme.

3. Seedbed treatment: Temperature fluctuationduring nursery raising period may causerhizoctonia rot disease. Spray of Captan 50

WP and Hexaconazole 5 EC 0.15% each incocktail was done as it has been foundeffective against disease.

4. Sowing time: Early sowing of the rice varietySR-1 for timely maturation of the variety whichis essential for successful double cropping inthe valley.

5. Balanced dose of fertilizer: Use of balancedFertilizers was demonstrated to the FLDbeneficiaries as per the package of practices.They were advised to strictly follow therecommendations with regard to the doseand time of fertilizer application. In some casesfarmers were advised to reduce urea fertilizerdose owing to inherent nitrogen fertility/consistent use of organic manures in plenty.Emphasis was laid on the application of welldecomposed Farmyard Manure.

6. Plant population: Farmers were given trainingprogrammes on raising of healthy riceseedlings and at the same time wereinstructed to transplant 2-3 healthy riceseedling per hill with 35-45 Plants/sq.m.

7. Water management: Impounding of water(5cm) was advocated for the first 15 daysafter transplanting followed by intermittedirrigation to keep the soil saturated withmoisture.


Integrated disease management in rice againstthe menace of blast disease in demonstration plotsgave excellent results compared to the farmerspractice. Yield ranged from 61 to 73 q/ha indemonstration plots. Average yield was 66.6 q/ha(Table 1) against the farmers’ practice (48.7 q/ha.).Demonstration yield was 36 per cent higher than

Blast affected rice plant and Shalimar rice 1 plot Survey of Blast affected Plot of Jehlum rice


the yield realized in the control plots. Gross returns,net profit and benefit cost ratio per hectare fordemonstration were Rs.79,900, Rs.47,952 and 1.5,respectively against Rs.58,444, Rs.31,363 and0.98 registered in the control. An additionalincome of Rs.16,589/ha was obtained with thedemonstrated technology over the farmers practice(control). Moreover SR-1 enhanced paddy strawproduction which is an important component ofration for cattle in the winter. Most importantaspect of the demonstrated technology was thatnot a single case of blast incidence was observed.Results also show that in few cases the cropmaturity delayed beyond normal which reducedyield of the crop. Analysis of such cases revealedthat the reason for delay were;

● Late sowing and transplanting of the cropcompared to recommended one due to one orthe other reason.

● Some plots were situated near to the irrigationsource(canal) with lower water temperature.Some farmers follow traditional system ofirrigation through running water whichprolongs the vegetative phase and pushes

reproductive phase to unfavourable weatherconditions, resulting in increased sterility andchaffy grain.

● Inherent higher nitrogen status might be oneof the reason.

Early sowing preferably under protectednursery conditions, intermitted irrigation andreduction in nitrogen dose was recommended forsuch cases.

Impact

Successful demonstration of SR-1 paddyvariety and related technology has highlyconvinced the other farmers of the area to adoptthe technology at much greater speed. Higheryield potential , more recovery percentage andresistance against blast disease makes SR-1versatile paddy variety. Interaction with farmersand the officers of Development Departmentconfirm that more than 50 per cent farmers usedthe same technology next year. Adaptation wasdramatic in villages most severely hit by blastdisease. Exchange of seed among farmers pavedthe way for speedy spread of the technology.

Table 1. Performance of different rice cultivars against blast disease in the plains of district Anantnag.

Rice cultivar Disease incidence Disease severity(leaf blast) Grain yield(q/ha)Leaf blast Neck blast

Jhelum 33 % 10.7 13.8 38K-39 27.1% 6.3 8.3 41Shalimar Rice -1 2% 0 0.1 63

Table 2. Summery of farmers’ practice and Technology demonstrated(FLD)

Parameter Farmers’ practice(Control) Technology demonstrated(FLD)

Variety K-39 , K-448 Shalimar Rice-1Seed rate for one hectare >50 kg 60 KgSeed treatment/ Kg seed No seed treatment Seed treated with

Carbendazim (1g) + Mancozeb (2g)Seed sowing 1st May-10th May Last week of AprilFertilizer dose(N,P

2O

5,K

2O) Haphazard 120:60:20

Age of seedling at transplanting 35- 41 days 25-30 daysPlants per hill 5-14 2-3Time of fertilizer application No knowledge ½ basal, ¼ at active tillering stage,

¼ at panicle initiation stageWater management Running water Intermitted irrigationCrop yield/ha 48.7 q 66.6 q/haNet returns /ha Rs.31363 Rs.47952B : C ratio 0.98 1.5


CONCLUSION

Jhelum, no doubt is an excellent rice varietybut under the microclimatic conditions whichfavour blast disease adopting recommendedmanagement practice against the disease becomesessential. Under the situation when farmer failsto execute the disease management practices intime, there always remains a risk of crop beingdamaged by diseases. Moreover, IntegratedDisease Management (IDM) which is a wellestablished technology to reduce the disease

pressure on a crop not only reduced cost ofcultivation by curtailment in expenditure onpesticide purchase and labour but also increasesfarm income through improvement in crop yield.This approach is environmentally safe and farmersfriendly. It promises higher yield and at the sametime minimizes threat to the environment. In IDMapproach, development and adaptation of diseaseresistant/ tolerant high yielding crop variety playsa pivotal role.


Impact of KVK Training Programme on Socio-Economic Status and Knowledge of Trainees in

Kathua DistrictBerjesh Ajrawat and Ajay Kumar

Krishi Vigyan KendraKathua-184101 (Jammu)

ABSTRACT

The investigation was undertaken among 120 on-campus trainees and 120 off-campus traineesamong six purposively selected villages from three blocks The trainees were selected randomlyfrom each selected villages. Two variables namely respondents socio-economic status andtheir levels of knowledge about the training programme were measured by utilizing pre-structuredand pre-tested interview schedule. Findings of the study showed that 42.0 per cent of on-campus trainees had medium socio-economic status followed by low (35.0 %) socio-economicstatus and only 23.0 per cent had high level of socio-economic status. However in case of off-campus trainees, 57.0 per cent had low socio-economic status followed by 40.0 per cent mediumlevel and only 3.0 per cent possessed high level of socio-economic status. The study revealedconsiderable difference on and off-campus trainees regarding their socio-economic status. Itwas also found that 26 per cent respondents had medium and low level of knowledge (1.0 %),wereas in case of on-campus trainees, 74.0 per cent respondents had medium level ofknowledge, 17.0 per cent had high level of knowledge followed by 9.0 per cent who had lowlevel of knowledge about the KVK training programme. This indicates that there has beensignificant difference between the on and off-campus trainees with regard to this knowledgeabout KVK training programmes.

Key words: Impact, Socio-economic status, Knowledge

INTRODUCTION

Indian economy is predominantly rural andagriculture oriented where the declining trend inthe average size of the farm holding poses a seriousproblem. In agriculture 84 per cent of the holdingis less than 0.8 ha. Majority of them are dry landsand even irrigated areas depend on the vagariesof monsoon. In this context, the socio-economicstatus of farmers is low because of inherent socialhierarchy and economic deprivation. Toameliorate the poor socio-economic conditions ofthe farmers by raising the level of farmproductivity, income and employment withapplication of agricultural innovation generatedat research station, an innovative extensioneducation institution i.e. Krishi Vigyan Kendra(KVKs) was introduced by Indian council ofAgricultural Research (Dubey et al 2008).


A total of 240 respondents (120 on-campusand 120 off-campus trainees) were selected forthis study. The data were collected throughpersonal interview method using structuralschedule as give under. The entire data weretransformed into normal score. The level ofknowledge was categorized as low, medium andhigh on the basis of scores obtained.


Socio-Economic Status (SES) of Respondents:

The SES status scores of the respondents werecomputed and their distribution is given in Table1.

As revealed from the Table 1, majority of theon-campus trainees (42.0 %) had medium Socio-economic status followed by low socio-economic



status (35.0%) and only 23.0 per cent had higherlevel of socio-economic status, whereas, in caseof off-campus trainees 57.0 per cent had lowsocio-economic status followed by 40.0 per centmedium level and only 3.0 per cent had high levelof socio-economic status. Thus it can beconcluded that the on-campus trainees had highersocio-economic status than the off-campustrainees. The calculated values of ‘Z’ were foundto be 5.2 which was greater than the table valueof ‘Z’ (1.96) at 5 per cent level of significance.Thus there was significant difference betweentrainees on and off-campus regarding their socio-economic status. The findings were in conformitywith the findings of Dubey et al (2008).

Knowledge of on and off-campus traineesabout KVK Training

Training programme: Knowledge of thetrainees of on and off-campus about KVK trainingprogrammes was determined by a set of twenty-five question.

A perusal of the data in Table 2 revealed thatmajority (73.0 %) of the on-campus trainees hadhigh level of knowledge followed by mediumlevel of knowledge (26.0 %) and low level ofknowledge (1.0 %) where as in case of off-campustrainees 74.0 per cent respondents had mediumlevel of knowledge, 17.0 per cent had high level

of knowledge followed by 9.0 per cent had lowlevel of knowledge. Hence, it may be concludedthat on-campus trainees had high level ofknowledge than the off-campus trainees aboutKVK training programme.

To value of ‘Z’ was found to be 12.93 whichwas greater than the table value ‘Z’ (1.96) at 5percent level of 298 degree freedom. Thisindicates that, there was a significant differencebetween the trainees of on and off-campus withregard to this knowledge about KVK trainingprogramme. Thus it was concluded that the on-campus trainees have more knowledge about theKVK training programme than the off-campustrainees. These finding tally with those of Kumaret.al. (1994), Murthy and Veerabhadraih (1998)and Dubey et al (2008).

CONCLUSION

It is evident from the findings that KVK iscapable to bring about significant changes in theSocio-economic status as well as the level ofknowledge among different categories of trainees.Training and guidance provided to trainees haveplayed prime role in influent technologicalchange, besides management orientation.Therefore, there is a need to give due importancefor the above factors with suitable changes by thestaff to promote successfully function of KVKtraining programmes.

Table 2. Distribution of respondents according to their knowledge

Category (Level of Knowledge) Trainee (On-Campus) Trainee (Off-Campus)Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Low (Up to 8) 01 1.00 11 9.00Medium (Above 8 up to 16) 31 26.00 89 74.00High (> 16) 88 73.00 20 17.00

Z-Value (0.05)=12.93

Table: 1. Distribution of trainees according to their socio-economic status score.

Category(SES Scale) Trainees On-Campus Off-Campus

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Low (Up to 40) 42 35.00 68 57.00Medium(> 40 up to 80) 51 42.00 48 40.00High(Above 80) 27 23.00 04 3.00Total 120 100.00 120 100.00

Z. value (0.05) 5.23


Proforma used for Interview schedule

1.Name of the Respondent 2. Father’s Name 3. Village 4. Block5. District6. Age Score 7.Education ScoreUp to 30 years 1 Illiterate 031 to 45 years 2 Can Read only 146 and above 3 Can read and write 2

8. Caste Primary 3General caste 3 Middle 4Backward caste 2 High school/ High 5SC/ST 1 Secondary 6

Graduate/PG 79. Family Composition9.1 Type Of Family Score 9.2 Size of Family ScoreSingle 1 Upto 5 Members 1Joint 2 Above 5 Members 2

10. Occupation Score 11. Income ScoreLabour 1 Very low 1Caste occupation 2 Low 2Business 3 Medium 3Independent Profession 4 High 4Agriculture 5 Very High 5Service 6

12. Domestic material possession Score 13. Land ScoreCycle/bullock cart/radio /TV 1 Upto 1 Hectares 1TV B/W Colour 2 1 to 2 Hectares 2Refrigerator 3 2 to 3 Hectare 3Scooter/ M Cycle 4 Above 3 hectares 4

14. Social Participation Score 15. Urban Contact ScoreNo Participation 0 Thrice a week 5Member in one organization 1 Weekly 4Member > one organization 2 Fortnightly 3Office bearer 3 Monthly 2Distinctive features 4 Quarterly 1

REFERENCESDubey, A.K., Srivastava, J. P., Singh, R.P. and Sharma, V.K.

2008. Impact of KVK training programme on socio-economicstatus and knowledge of trainees in Allahabad district. IndianRes. J. Ext. Edu. 8 (283): 60-61.

Kumar, A., Ramchandran, M. and Nair, N.K. 1994. Effectiveness

of training programmes for agricultural assistants.Maharashtra J. Ex. Edu.12 (3): 163.

Murthy, B. K. and Veerabhadriah, V. 1999. Impact of IPM farmerfield schools training programme on knowledge level of ricefarmers. Current Research, University of Agricultural Sciences,Bangalore, 28 (9&10): 125-127.


S. No. Parameter Correct/ Incorrect/Yes(1) No(0)

1 Do you know about Crop husbandry

2 Have you any knowledge regarding Horticulture crop production andmanagement

3 Do you know about Integrated Nutrient Management in different crops

4 Have you any knowledge about Integrated Pest Management

5 Do you know about Production and processing tech for major cereals

6 Have you any knowledge regarding Integrated wheat productiontechniques and processing

7 Do you know about Pulse production and processing techniques.

8 What are your views about Oilseed production and processingtechniques.

9 Have you any knowledge about Integrated nutrient management ofcoarse cereals.

10 Do you know about Integrated nutrient management for pulses

11 Have you any knowledge regarding Integrated nutrient managementfor cash crops.

12 Do you know about Integrated nutrient management for fruits andvegetables.

13 Have you any knowledge regarding Mango production and post harvesttechniques

14 Do you know about Litchi production technology.

15 Do you know about Production and post harvest techniques of guava

16 Have you any knowledge about Hi-tech floriculture

17 Protected cultivation for high value horticultural crops

18 Do you know about Protection and management of quality plantingmaterial in nursery.

19 Protection and post harvest technology for exportable vegetable

20 Production technology for leafy vegetables

21 Do you have knowledge to raising Mushroom production packing andmarketing techniques.

22 Have you any knowledge Production technology for Cole crops

23 Do you practice Integrated pest management in major cereals.

24 Do you practice Integrated pest management in pluses.

25 Have you applied Integrated pest management techniques in fruits andvegetables


INTRODUCTION

Communication and development areinterwoven. Development is a relative term androad to development passes through grass rootparticipation. Participatory communication has thepower to transform the society from theunsatisfactory situation to the situation which ishumanly better. No national consensus orindividual change can take place withoutdialogue; within groups of people with public andplanners. This implies horizontal communicationwithin and between groups in which people areorganized.

Participatory development communication isa two-way interaction, which through dialoguetransforms ‘grass-root’ people and enables themto become fully engaged in the process ofdevelopment and become self-reliant (Nair andWhite 1987). It was further pointed out that ‘theenvironment of participatory developmentcommunication is expected to be supportive,

Implication of Participatory Communication inIndian Agricultural Development Context: Few

Selected StrategiesAjay Kumar and Netrapal Malik

Krishi Vigyan KendraPithoragarh 262 530 (Uttarakhand)

ABSTRACT

India has registered substantial progress in agricultural development. Besides, remarkable growthin food production, improvement in socio-economic life of farming community can also beobserved. Population explosion, illiteracy, malnutrition and environmental degradation havebecome the problems requiring much attention. In this scenario, the focus of developmentshould be shifted to the grass root level, where the farmers need to involve themselves in theprocess of defining their problems and selecting alternatives based on their own knowledgeand resources. This can only be achieved by the participatory communication, the essence ofsuccess of which depends on the participation of people starting from needs identification tomedia utilization. Participatory need based trainings lead to skill development and adoption ofnew skills whereas horizontal spread of technology between farmers depends upon its usefulnessand ease of adoption. Therefore, an attempt has been made to analyze the lessons of participatorycommunication for development and their implication.

Key Words: Participatory Communication, Development, Message Designing, Training,Horizontal Spread.

creative, consensual, facilitative, sharing ideasthrough dialogue’. It brings about a transformationin communication competencies and socialbehaviour among those who engage in theprocess. This publication is an attempt to focuson some issues in the vast field of communicationand education for development. It provides anoverview of the tools and methodologies ofparticipatory communication as well as some ofthe most significant experiences of KVK.

GLOBAL EXPERIENCES OFPARTICIPATORY COMMUNICATION

Participatory communication is a well testedtool for development. Experiments conducted indifferent parts of the globe have proven its poweras catalyst to development.

Silva (1975) reported that the concept ofparticipatory wall newspaper i.e. communicationsystem by and for the people, was foundsuccessful in Cebu province of Philippines. Thewall newspaper prepared by the people stimulated



the discussion among the people. They provedthe concept of participatory message developmentas a way to empower the rural people. In 1965,Nigeria started mimeo graphical bulletins for areaswhere literacy programme were underway. Sincethen, the rural processes spring up all over thecontinent. Zambia had established a series ofmonthly community newspapers published invernacular languages by the governmentinformation service. Tanzania had established thebiggest rural press project in East Africa incollaboration with UNESCO, based on anewspaper linked with local functional literacydrives. Kenya had tried two experiments usingmobile vans and they printed and distributed theirown publication and surveyed the responses ofthe public. The results of these experiments haddemonstrated that participatory rural press was notonly a source of reading materials for neo-literates,but also a link with national policies and plans aswell as local activities and production.

National daily newspaper, The HindustanTimes conducted an experiment to transformtraditional village to modern through a packageof development programme. This is famous withthe name ‘Chhatera Experiment’. The villageChhatera near Dehli was the focus of a fortnightlycolumn published in 1968 by The HindustanTimes, which showcased life in an Indian village.The column “Our Village Chhatera” became achannel for grassroots input on how developmentcould take place in the community. The columnfound itself playing the role of a catalyst byplanting new ideas in the minds of the villagersand providing the needed linkage system betweenthe people and the authorities (Varghese 1976).

Nutrition Centre of Philippines aimed toenhance nutritional status of pre-schoolers byincreasing nutrition related knowledge of mothers.It followed a systematic approach to developingcommunication support. This was one of theearliest projects to use video-van (vehiclescontaining video play back equipment that aretaken to communities) as key component toimprove nutrition of pre-school children.

Each van was equipped with TV monitor,video players and public address system, operatedby driver-cum-technician. The well formulatedcommunication approach helped in efficientmanagement of project at planning,

implementation and evaluation stages (Kumar,1999). There is unending series of participatorycommunication, which have proven its power aspanacea for the evil of underdevelopment.

IMPLICATIONS IN INDIAN CONTEXT

During the past three decades, the role ofcommunication has undergone a dramatic changefrom a one-way, top-down transfer of messagesby technicians to farmers, to a social processwhich starts with farmers and brings together bothgroups in a two-way sharing of informationamong communication equals. This approach,known as participatory communication, highlightsthe importance of cultural identity, concertedaction and dialogue, local knowledge andstakeholder participation at all levels: international,local and individual. In recognizing that ruralpeople are at the heart of development,participatory communication has become the keylink between farmers, extension, and research forplanning and implementing consensus-baseddevelopment initiatives. Increased foodproduction implies the need for new technologies,new skills, changed attitudes and practices, andnew ways to collaborate. All of this requires thatfarmers have access to what they consider to berelevant information and knowledge. Along withcommunication, a parallel investment in “humancapital” through education and training of adultsis essential for project success and for effectivedevelopment. The focus is on having farmersbecome active partners and key actors in their owndevelopment projects. The process begins by“listening to rural people” and a shift to farmer-led identification of learning and training needsthrough critical reflection based on practicalexperience.

PARTICIPATORY MESSAGE DESIGNING

All India Radio, Doordarshan, farmpublications, etc. are already engaged indissemination of development messages. But theirefforts are one sided, dominating in the form ofactive media agency and passive informationreceivers. With the same infrastructure, resources,manpower, these agencies can come nearer to theheart of the people. These have to change theirmessage designing strategies. People haveknowledge, needs, feelings, ideas but they do not


write. Message designer writes but they haveimaginary ideas about people’s knowledge, needs,feelings, ideas and attitudes. This gap can be filledup through conducting trainings in the field ofjournalism. By this way, more rural people canbe motivated to write for media. Media agencycan play role of facilitator in this process. Thewords jotted down through the pen of rural peoplewill be words of the people, by the people and forthe people.

While selecting the development messagemedia agencies must go to the people and shouldidentify their development needs. In this processparticipatory tools like Participatory RuralAppraisal (PRA), Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA)etc. can be used.

PARTICIPATORY TRAINING

Training people for rural development is aprocess that involves transformation of values andattitudes of systems and institutions, of knowledgeand skills among the stakeholders of communitydevelopment efforts (Say, 2002). State AgriculturalUniversities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), anddifferent departments of state government andsome institutes of central government seldomorganize trainings for rural people. In the processof organizing trainings, these agencies must starttheir entry into the village with participatoryapproach like transact walk and should follow theparticipatory approaches in their all steps oftraining with human touch. Trainings for ruraldevelopment should follow three learningphilosophy and principles:

✍ Trainees or participants learn best what theyfeel they need to learn;

✍ Trainees or participants learn better what theyhave experienced themselves; and

✍ Trainees or participants learn better based onwhat they see, hear and do.

Currently there are 630 KVK’s in the countryand they organize need based training to farmersand train nearly 1.2 million farmers per year.Outcome of these trainings can be improved forskill development if training organized is basedon participatory methodology. KVK, Pithoragarhorganized need based trainings for farmers andthe adoption level was studied (Table 1).

Table-1: Adoption level of different training activities.

Sr. Title of the training Number of AdoptionNo. farmers trained level ( %)

1. Seed Treatment 300 652. Balance fertilizer 150 45

application*3. Backyard poultry 160 404. Chemical weed 200 25

management

*Average consumption of NPK/ha/yr in Pithoragarhdistrict is approximately 5.0kg/ha/yr and fungicide andpesticide use is negligible.

PARTICIPATORY TECHNOLOGYDEVELOPMENT (PTD)

India has big infrastructure with huge amountof human and non human resources in agriculturaltechnology development. National AgriculturalResearch System includes 45 Research Institutes,25 Project Directorates, 17 National ResearchCenters and 61 All India Coordinated ResearchProjects, 17 Net Work Project, 53 SAUs and 630Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

These technology development agencies areworking hard to match with the world trend inagricultural research but we should not forget ourmain clients, the Indian farmers. Theirtechnological needs might be addressed effectivelythrough participatory technology development.There are two main benefits of participatorytechnology development over traditionalapproach to technology development:

1. Experimenting by Farmers- Participatorytechnology development takes advantage ofthe ability of farmers to experiment and solveproblems on their own farms. Unlike therelatively modern field of scientific research,farmers have been conducting experimentsfor thousands of years. Often all they lack tosolve their problems is access to informationand new technologies to test.

2. Improved Technology Adoption-PTDimproves the chances of wider adoption ofagricultural technologies. Any newtechnology developed and expanded byfarmers themselves has a better chance ofwider adoption than technology developedsolely on research stations for extension tofarmers.


3. Horizontal Spread of technology-Usefulnessand ease of adoption of technology leads toits horizontal spread among farmers. Anytechnology which has its usefulness would beadopted by farmers quickly, also its spreadamong farmers is faster. Followingtechnologies in district Pithoragarh havehorizontal spread in the following selectedvillages (Table -2).

The practices of organic farming started invillage Bagrihat of Pithoragarh district in 2.0 haarea has increased to 35 ha area till date. Similarly,Pithoragarh district is an example for promotionof Power tiller in the country. During 2005, KVKPithoragarh had the first power tiller in the districtand presently there are more than 200 power tillersbeing used by the farmers. This has happened dueto the effective demonstration of power tiller bythe KVK scientists followed by subsidy @ Rs.45000/power tiller given by the State Government.Likewise, better farmer to farmer leddemonstration of technology resulted in thehorizontal spread and thus, farmers are earningRs.40,000/year whereas the cost of power tiller isRs. 1.5 lakh.

PARTICIPATORY USE OF NEWINFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

New Information Technologies (NITs) likeinternet, telephone, fax, etc. have immensepotential in collection of accurate and relevantinformation and its timely distribution to thepotential users. Potential of these technologies canbe harnessed through establishing ‘VillageInformation Centre (VIC)’ for a cluster of villages.The VIC can be developed by coordinated effortsof State Agricultural Universities, target groupsthat include farmers, farmwomen and other

extension organizations. It should be managed byvillage people with the help of communicationexperts. It should possess all NITs and othercommunication media.

NITs like internet, fax, e-mail can be used toconnect the VIC with other institutions like SAUs,KVKs, Research Centres, Hospitals, etc. and othermedia like video cassette recorder/player, audiocassette recorder/player, charts, posters, bulletinboards, etc. can be used for dissemination of theinformation to the villagers. In this way relevantinformation can reach to the farmers timely andin desired format and dialect.

CONCLUSION

There are various ways in which participatorydevelopment communication can boost-up thedevelopment process. Central idea ofparticipatory communication moves around thepivot of people’s feeling of own self that not onlygives the benefit of technical information loadedon media but also empower the people, createsconfidence and tighten the social networking dueto mass participation with personal touch. InIndian context latest technology interventions areto be used in participatory communication foreffective technology transfer, mobile advisoryservices by experts and by farmers, use of video/film vans can play useful role in technologytransfer.

REFERENCESKumar, B.(1999). Global Experiences in Development Support

Communication, Summer School on Media Production Skillsfor Development Support Communication, UnpublishedReference Mannual, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture andTechnology, Pantnagar

Mody, B.(1991). Designing Message for DevelopmentCommunication, New Delhi: Sage Publication, pp.19-21.

Table-2: Horizontal spread of few selected technologies in district Pithoragarh.

Sn Technology Village Area of Horizontal Advantage Total Menetarydemonstr- Spread (ha) to farmers/ advantage ination (ha) ha (Rs) spread area (Rs)

1 HYV- Rice Variety Pant Dhan-11 Egyardevi 4.0 45 7000 3.15Lakh

2 HYV-Soybean Variety PS-1092 Kiri 3.0 30 9000 2.7 Lakh

3 HYV- Wheat Variety VL-738 Dungri 4.0 20 6500 1.3 Lakh

4 Weed Management* Dungri 2.0 6 2000 12000

*Farmers of the village used chemical weed management for first time


Nair, K.S. and White, S.A. (1987). Participation is the Key toDevelopment Communication, Media Development 34(3):36-40.

Quebral Nora, C. (1975). Development Communication; WhereDoes it Stand Today, Media Asia 2(4):198

Say, Y. (1998). Participatory Training for Sustainable Rural/ LocalCommunity Development: Principles and their Applicationsin CIRDAP Pilot Projects, Paper presented at the APO Seminaron Training Method for Integrated Local Community

Development held in Seoul, Korea from 26 August to 4September 1998.

Silva, F. (1975). The Wall Newspaper of Moalboal. Atlas WorldPress Review. 1975, p. 34.

Swanson, B.E. Bentz, R.P and Sofranko, A. J. (1998). Improvingagriculture extension. A reference manual. FAO 1998.

Verghese, B. G. 1976. Project Chhatera: An experiment indevelopment journalism, Occasional Paper no.5, AMIC,Singapore.


Job Performance of Agricultural Scientists ofSelected State Agricultural Universities and its

Relationship with Socio-Personal CharateristicsKiran Yadav, D S Dhillon and R K Dhaliwal

Department of Extension EducationPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 001 (Punjab)

ABSTRACT

The present study was based on 300 agricultural scientists selected from the three agriculturaluniversities viz. PAU, GBPUAT and HAU. A structured questionnaire was prepared for collectingthe relevant data. The data were tabulated and analyzed with the help of appropriate statisticaltools by using SPSS. The components of job performance like administration, knowledge ofwork, communication, team work, employee responsiveness and grand total of the entirecomponent in case of HAU were significantly different from GBPUAT and PAU whereas indecision making, expense management, human resource management and managing changeHAU was significantly different from GBPUAT and PAU. GBPUAT and HAU showed significantdifference in respect to personal appearance and dependability (p<0.05) and safety (p<0.01)and in between PAU and GBPUAT, teamwork and expense management (p<0.05) and safetyp<0.01) showed significant difference with respect to their job performance. In GBPUAT, itwas noticed that there was positive and significant correlation between the age of the respondentsand job performance and also significant difference was found between males and females jobperformance where males (131.38) reported higher job performance than females (117.3).InPAU, there was significant difference in job performance of Assistant Professors, AssociateProfessors and Professors and it was positively correlated with their service experience. InHAU, it was observed that there was negative and significant correlation between respondent’sjob performance and family income which revealed that as the income increases, job performancedeclines. In GBPUAT and HAU, the agricultural scientists residing with their families showedsignificantly (p<0.01) more job performance in comparison to those who were not residingwith their families. Greater insights on the relationship between agricultural scientists and theirjob performance will assist university professionals as they strive to enhance the essentials ofagricultural universities in a highly competitive, global arena.

Keywords: Job Performance, Agricultural Scientists, Socio-Personal Characteristics, ServiceExperience, Statistical Package for Social Sciences

INTRODUCTION

Agricultural Universities are the premisewhere agricultural scientists perform three foldfunctions viz. teaching, research and extensionand are responsible for managing theUndergraduate and Postgraduate programmers,conducting research and arranging variousextension activities and programmes for thedissemination of the latest scientific technologyto the farmers. It is obvious that the productivityof the agricultural scientists is not the same as it is

not dependent only on one factor rather variousfactors are responsible for their performance. Thework atmosphere, the psychological environmentin the organization where agricultural scientistslive and work is one of the important factorsinfluencing their performance and satisfaction.

The scientific productivity is the resultantoutcome of performance being influenced bypersonal antecedent variables such as educationalbackground , length of service , higher trainings ,socio psychological factors such as job autonomy,



task identity , achievement motivation , jobsatisfaction , job involvement and personalimportance enjoyed by the employee;organizational factors such as organizationalcommitment. All these have direct or indirectinfluence on the job perspective of the individualscientist, which ultimately influences his/herscientific productivity directly or indirectlythrough interaction with each other (Sharma andShivamohan 1975).

The present investigation was conducted withthe objectives to determine the job performanceof the agricultural scientists, factors affecting theirjob performance and their relationship of socio-personal characteristics with job performance.


The present study was conducted in threepurposively selected State AgriculturalUniversities of Northern region in India viz.Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (PAU) ;Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agricultureand Technology , Pantnagar (GBPUAT) andChoudhary Charan Singh Haryana AgriculturalUniversity , Hisar (HAU); due to their easyaccessibility to the investigator. One hundredagricultural scientists who had minimum fiveyears experience were randomly selected fromeach university by allocating the number ofagricultural scientists in teaching, research and

extension proportionally. Further for selecting thescientists from Professors, Associate Professorsand Assistant Professors, proportional allocationmethod was used in each cadre. The total samplecomprised of 300 agricultural scientists selectedfrom the three agricultural universities. Astructured questionnaire was prepared forcollecting the relevant data. It contained closeended as well as open ended items/questionsregarding job performance of agriculturalscientists, factors affecting job satisfaction,relationship of socio-personal characteristics withtheir job performance. The data were tabulatedand analysed with the help of appropriatestatistical tools by using Statistical Package forSocial Sciences (SPSS).


It was revealed from job performanceevaluation (Table 1) that mean scores of therespondents with respect to administration(15.09

PAU , 14.74

GBPUAT, 16.73

HAU), knowledge of

work (11.80PAU

, 11.48GBPUAT

, 12.95HAU

),communication (12.01

PAU , 11.77

GBPUAT, 13.31

HAU),

team work(4.00PAU

, 3.80GBPUAT

, 4.24HAU

),employee responsiveness(12.17

PAU , 11.90

GBPUAT,

12.80HAU

), and safety (4.31PAU

, 4.06GBPUAT

, 4.42HAU

)factors showed significant difference at 1 per centlevel of significance in PAU, GBPUAT and HAU.On the other hand, decision making (8.20

PAU,

Table 1. Analysis of variance of factors of job performance across the three agricultural universities

PAU GBPUAT HAU F-ratioMean SD Mean SD Mean SD

1. Administration (4) 15.09 3.19 14.74 2.45 16.73 2.31 9.51**2. Knowledge of Work (3) 11.80 1.82 11.48 1.97 12.95 1.49 16.09**3. Communication (3) 12.01 1.98 11.77 1.75 13.31 1.82 10.23**4. Team Work (1) 4.00 0.75 3.80 0.78 4.24 0.70 8.78**5. Decision Making (2) 8.20 1.52 8.03 1.34 8.54 1.26 3.52*6. Expense Management (2) 8.01 1.24 7.78 1.11 8.32 1.42 3.26*7. Human Resource Management (4) 16.02 2.68 15.83 2.43 16.90 2.74 3.52*8. Independent Action (2) 8.30 1.41 8.20 1.09 8.51 1.21 1.469. Job Knowledge (2) 8.43 1.37 8.15 1.06 8.41 1.12 1.6910. Leadership (2) 8.20 1.37 8.11 1.24 8.23 1.18 1.0911. Managing Change (2) 8.12 1.31 7.97 1.27 8.44 1.01 3.38*12. Employee Responsiveness(3) 12.17 1.76 11.90 2.03 12.80 1.74 4.89**13. Personal Appearance (1) 4.38 0.63 4.26 0.60 4.51 0.61 4.15*14. Dependability (1) 4.18 0.66 4.04 0.68 4.28 0.51 3.76*15. Safety (1) 4.31 0.71 4.06 0.62 4.42 0.59 8.33**Overall (15) 133.22 18.54 130.12 19.02 140.59 16.61 7.65**

*Significant at 5 per cent level of significance** Significant at 1 per cent level of significance


Table 2. Mean differences of significant factors of job performance across the universities

S.No. Factors of Job UniversitiesMean SD F-ratio CD Mean differences in jobPerformance performance

1. Administration (4) PAU 15.09 3.19 9.51** 0.62 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.35GBPUAT 14.74 2.45 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =1.99**

HAU 16.73 2.31 MDHAU-PAU

=1.64**

2. Knowledge of Work (3) PAU 11.80 1.82 16.09** 0.32 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.32GBPUAT 11.48 1.97 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =1.47**


=1.15**

3. Communication (3) PAU 12.01 1.98 10.23** 0.56 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.24GBPUAT 11.77 1.75 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =1.54**


=1.3**

4. Team Work (1) PAU 4.00 0.75 8.78** 0.19 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.23**GBPUAT 3.80 0.78 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.54**


=0.31**

5. Decision Making (2) PAU 8.20 1.52 3.52* 0.62 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.19GBPUAT 8.03 1.34 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =1.07*


=0.88*

6. Expense Management (2) PAU 8.01 1.24 3.26* 0.19 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.23*GBPUAT 7.78 1.11 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.54*


=0.31*

7. Human Resource Management (4) PAU 16.02 2.68 3.52* 0.62 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.19GBPUAT 15.83 2.43 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =1.07*


=0.88*

8. Managing Change (2) PAU 8.12 1.31 3.38* 0.21 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.15GBPUAT 7.97 1.27 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.47*


=0.32*

9. Employee Responsiveness (3) PAU 12.17 1.76 4.89** 0.62 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.27GBPUAT 11.90 2.03 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.90*


=0.63**

10. Personal Appearance (1) PAU 4.38 0.63 4.15* 0.18 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.12GBPUAT 4.26 0.60 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.25*


=0.13

11. Dependability (1) PAU 4.18 0.66 3.76* 0.16 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.14GBPUAT 4.04 0.68 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.24*


=0.10

12. Safety (1) PAU 4.31 0.71 8.33** 0.21 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.25**GBPUAT 4.06 0.62 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.36**


=0.11

Overall (15) PAU 133.22 18.54 7.65** 2.89 MDPAU-GBPUAT

=0.31GBPUAT 130.12 19.02 MD

GBPUAT-HAU =0.36**


=0.11

*Significant at 5 per cent level of significance ** Significant at 1 per cent level of significance


8.03GBPUAT

, 8.54HAU

), expense management(8.01PAU

, 7.78GBPUAT

, 8.32HAU

), human resourcemanagement(16.02

PAU , 15.83

GBPUAT, 16.90

HAU),

managing change(8.12PAU

, 7.97GBPUAT

, 8.44HAU

),personal appearance(4.38

PAU , 4.26

GBPUAT, 4.51

HAU)

and dependability (4.18PAU

, 4.04GBPUAT

, 4.28HAU

)factors were significantly different (p<0.05) withrespect to the respondents mean scores among thethree selected universities. Independent action, jobknowledge and leadership were found to be nonsignificant.

Further, it was concluded that in thecomponents of job performance likeadministration (15.09

PAU , 14.74

GBPUAT, 16.73

HAU),

knowledge of work(11.80PAU

, 11.48GBPUAT

,12.95

HAU), communication(12.01

PAU , 11.77

GBPUAT,

13.31HAU

), team work(4.00PAU

, 3.80GBPUAT

,4.24

HAU), employee responsiveness(12.17

PAU ,

11.90GBPUAT

, 12.80HAU

) and overall (133.22PAU

,130.12

GBPUAT, 140.59

HAU) the entire component; in

case of HAU were significantly different withrespect to job performance evaluation meanscores from GBPUAT and PAU whereas indecision making (8.20

PAU , 8.03

GBPUAT, 8.54

HAU),

expense management (8.01PAU

, 7.78GBPUAT

,8.32

HAU), human resource management (16.02

PAU

, 15.83GBPUAT

, 16.90HAU

) and managingchange(8.12

PAU , 7.97

GBPUAT, 8.44

HAU), the

respondents of HAU were significantly differentfrom respondents of GBPUAT and PAU in respect

of mean scores of factors of job performanceevaluation at 5 per cent level of significance.GBPUAT and HAU showed significant differencein respect to personal appearance anddependability (p<0.05) and safety (p<0.01). It wasalso noticed that all the significant componentsof Table 2 showed non significant difference inbetween the respondents of PAU and GBPUATwith respect to the mean scores of factors of jobperformance evaluation except teamwork (4.00

PAU

, 3.80GBPUAT

) (p<0.05) , expense management(8.01

PAU , 7.78

GBPUAT) (p<0.05) and safety (4.31

PAU

, 4.06GBPUAT

) (p<0.01) ( Table 2).

The relationship of age of respondents withjob performance revealed (Table 3) positive andsignificant correlation in PAU and in GBPUAT andHAU. In parallel to this result, the study conductedby Quinones et al., 1995 revealed the direct effectof age on performance, age tends to reflectaccumulated work experiences and it could beexpected to positively affect the job performance.The relationship between job performance anddistance (km) of respondent’s permanent homewas found non-significant in all the threeagricultural universities i.e. PAU, GBPUAT andHAU as shown in Table 3.

The job performance of PAU respondents waspositively correlated with their service experienceat 5 per cent level of significance. Job performancewith experience of the respondents of GBPUAT

Table 3 . Relationship of personal and job related factors of the respondent with respect to job performance

Sr.No. Personal andJob Job Performancer-valueRelatedFactors PAU GBPUAT HAU

1. Age (Years) 25 to 35 4.16* 0.94 1.2135 to 45

> 452. Distance(kms) Upto 50 0.041 0.011 0.070

50 to 150150 to 250Above 250

3. ServiceExperience(Years) Upto 5 0.200* -0.049 0.1125 to 10

10 to 15Above 15

4. FamilyIncome(Rs) Low (25,000-75,000) 0.031 0.153 -0.325**Medium (75,000-1,25,000)High (1,25,000-1,75,000)



showed negative and non-significant correlationwhereas respondents of HAU reported positiveand non-significant correlation in the same respect.A perusal of the data given in Table 3 furtherenvisaged that the job performance of respondentsof PAU and GBPUAT showed non-significantcorrelation with their family income while inHAU, a negative and significant correlationbetween respondent’s job performance and familyincome was observed which revealed that as theincome increases, job performance declines.

Job and family involvement measures thedegree to which an individual’s psychologicalidentity is tied to either family or work roles andit assesses the importance of those roles to anindividual’s self image and the individuals’commitment to that role. Individuals who arestrongly invested in a particular role are muchmore likely to be aware of and sensitive to thedemands and problems of that role (Pleck andJoseph 1985) and to suffer conflict and overloadif they find they cannot meet their own or others’expectations regarding performance in that role.Heavy involvement in either the work or familydomain is likely to produce conflict acrossdomains (Family and Work Institute 1998). Acritical look at the data (Table 4) shows that nodifference was found in job performance ofagricultural scientists with respect to theirbackground (rural/urban) and family type i.e.nuclear and joint among the three agricultural

universities i.e. PAU, GBPUAT and HAU. In PAU,no significant differences in job performance wereobserved between the respondents residing withtheir family and not residing with families but inGBPUAT and HAU, the respondents residing withfamily showed significantly (p<0.01) more jobperformance in comparison to their respectivecounterparts.

A close examination of data given in Table 4further revealed that in PAU, there was significantdifference in job performance of AssistantProfessors, Associate Professors and Professorswhereas in GBPUAT as well as in HAU, non-significant differences were found with respect tojob performance.

Implications of the Study

Administration, knowledge of work,communication, team work, employeeresponsiveness, and safety factors weresignificantly different (P < 0.01) while decisionmaking, expense management, human resourcemanagement, managing change, personalappearance and dependability were significantlydifferent (p<0.05) in the three agriculturaluniversities viz. PAU, GBPUAT and HAU.

The components of job performance likeadministration, knowledge of work,communication, team work, employeeresponsiveness and grand total of the entirecomponent in case of HAU were significantly

Table 4. Differences in personal and job related factors of respondents with respect to job performance

Sr.No. Personal andJob Related Factors Job Performancet-valuePAU GBPUAT HAU

1. Gender Male 0.70 2.72** 1.01Female

2. Background Rural 0.44 0.48 0.91Urban

3. Type of Family Nuclear 0.32 0.95 1.82Joint

4. Respondentsresiding withfamily Yes 1.06 4.58**3.13**

NoF-ratioPAU GBPUAT HAU

5. Designation Assistant Prof. 4.16* 0.94 1.21Associate Prof.Professor



different from GBPUAT and PAU whereas indecision making, expense management, humanresource management and managing change HAUwas significantly different from GBPUAT and PAU(P < 0.05).

GBPUAT and HAU showed significantdifference in respect to personal appearance anddependability (p<0.05) and safety (p<0.01) andin between PAU and GBPUAT, teamwork andexpense management (p<0.05) and safety p<0.01)showed significant difference as far as the jobperformance of agricultural scientists wasconcerned.

In GBPUAT, it was noticed that there waspositive and significant correlation between theage of the respondents and job performance andalso significant difference was found between jobperformance of males and females (P<0.01) wheremale (131.38) reported higher job performancethan females (117.3).

In PAU, there was significant difference in thejob performance of Assistant Professors, AssociateProfessors and Professors and it was positivelycorrelated with their service experience at 5 percent level of significance. In HAU, it was observedthat there was negative and significant correlationbetween respondent’s job performance and familyincome which revealed that as the incomeincreases, job performance declines. In GBPUATand HAU, the respondents residing with theirfamilies showed significantly (p<0.01) more jobperformance in comparison to their respectivecounterparts i.e. those who were not residing withtheir families.

CONCLUSION

One likely future direction of scientist attituderesearch will be to better understand the interplaybetween the person and the situation and thevarious internal and external factors that influencetheir job satisfaction which affect their jobperformance. In particular, a better understandingof the role of emotion, as well as broaderenvironmental impact, is needed and has beenlargely overlooked in past research. In addition,ongoing research will provide more in-depthunderstanding of the effects of attitude ofagricultural scientists and job satisfaction onorganizational measures. Greater insights on therelationship between agricultural scientists andtheir job performance will assist the universityprofessionals as they strive to enhance theessentials of agricultural universities in a highlycompetitive, global arena.

REFERENCESFamily and Work Institute (1998). National Study of the Changing

Workforce, executive summary . New York . Families andWork Institute.

Pleck and Joseph, H. (1985) Working Wives/Working Husbands.Thousand Oaks CA: SagePublications

Quinones, M. A., Ford, J. K. and Teachout, M. S. (1995) Therelationship between work experience and job performance:Aconceptual and meta-analytic review. PersonnelPsychology, 48(4):887-910.

Sharma, K. D. and Shivamohan, M. V. K. (1975) Management ofResearch in IARI. In: Management of Scientific Research(Proceedings of the national seminar on Management ofScientific Research Laboratories, held at Hyderabad onOctober, 10-12,1983. Singh J. (Ed.)) pp.228,Administrativestaff college Hyderabad ,India.


Knowledge Level of Farmers Regarding Package ofPractices for Gram Crop

Nikulsinh.M. Chauhan

Krishi Vigyan KendraVyara Distt. Tapi 394 650 (Gujarat)

ABSTRACT

The study was undertaken in Tapi district of South Gujarat. It was observed that initially 78 percent farmers were possessing low, 16 per cent medium and 6 per cent high level of knowledgewhereas after acquiring training the values were 8 per cent for low, 10 per cent for medium and82 per cent for high level of knowledge regarding gram cultivation. It was noticed that 87.0 percent of the farmers adopted new high yielding variety followed by land configuration (81.0 %),integrated nutrient management (83.0 %) and used recommended seed rate (82.0 %) afteracquiring trainings from the KVK. It was also noticed that due to enhanced knowledge andadoption of scientific practices, the yield of gram increased by 36.7 per cent, 45.8 per cent and46.2 per cent over the yield obtained under farmer’s practices during the year 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11, respectively. Thus, study suggests the need of conducting intensive trainings,FLDs and effective use of all means of extension education to educate the gram growers forachieving higher production of gram in the district.

Key words: Impact, Training ,Knowledge, Gram, Package of Practices.

INTRODUCTION

A number of agricultural improvementprogrammes have been introduced in India toincrease the agricultural production and incomeof the farming community, but the outcome ofthese programmes is not satisfactory in terms ofachieving higher agricultural production. Themost important factor identified for this pooroutcome was lack of understanding by the farmersabout various technological recommendationsmade by the research institutes. As a result, moreemphasis on farmers training activities is beinggiven by the ICAR, SAUs along with the respectiveState Department of Agriculture. It is a known factthat training to farmers increases the technicalefficiency of an individual. In Tribal area of Tapidistrict, farmers grow gram crop on conservedmoisture or after giving a light irrigation, however,get very low yields due to use of low yieldingvariety and poor knowledge about scientificcultivation of gram crop. KVK, Tapi made aneffort and conducted 7 each on-campus as wellas off-campus training programmes for the benefit


of farmers and farm women. Additionally, a totalnumber of farmers covered under front linedemonstrations were 112 in 20 different villages.In order to evaluate the impact of trainingprogrammes as well as other extension activitiesof KVK, the present study was undertaken withthe objectives to assess the knowledge andadoption level of package of practices and to findout the yield gap analysis in gram production.


This study was undertaken in 5 villages andfrom each village 20 farmers were selected thus,making a total sample size of 100 tribal farmers.The data were collected through personal interviewby designing a questionnaire. The data werecollected, tabulated and analyzed by usingstatistical tools like frequency and percentage. Theextension gap, technology gap and the technologyindex were worked out as per formulae given bythe Samui et al. (2000). The practices followedunder the front line demonstration (FLD) andfarmers’ practices are given in table 1.



In order to assess the impact of trainingprogrammes on the knowledge level of farmersregarding gram cultivation practices, the data wereclassified in to before and after trainingprogramme (Table 1).It was observed that initially78 per cent farmers were possessing low, 16 percent medium and 6 per cent high level ofknowledge whereas after acquiring training thevalues were 8 per cent for low, 10 per cent formedium and 82 per cent for high level ofknowledge. Thus, indicating that there was aconsiderable increase in the knowledge level offarmers who attended the KVK programmesorganized both on campus as well as off campus.Table 1. Change in knowledge level of farmers before and

after training.

Knowledge Before AfterLevel Training (%) Training (%)

Low 78 08Medium 16 10

High 06 82

Similarly, all the ex trainees were interviewedabout individual production technology and the

data were presented in Table 2. It was evident thatfarmers take keen interest about the performanceof different varieties or hybrids as well as all wereknowledgeable about seed rate, bio-fertilizers andINM.

On perusal of the data (Table 3), it was inferredthat demonstration of various productiontechnologies resulted in the increased level ofadoption, thus confirming the notion that “Seeingis believing”. Though in the adoption of anenterprise number of factors is responsible buteconomic factor is the most important. In case offront line demonstrations, it was observed thatfarmers generally make use of all the requiredinputs at their plots but the method of application,dose or time of application is not as perrecommendations. Most of the time farmers takeadvice from the fallow farmers. Hence,conductance of FLD programmes proved animportant activity of the KVK and resulted in theincreased adoption of the technologydemonstrated.

The data showed that 76.0 per cent of thefarmers had low level of adoption which wasincreased to 84.0 per cent. Thus, it can be said

Table 2. Knowledge level of farmers about package of practices of gram crop.

Sr. No Particular Knowledge levelLow Medium High

1. High Yielding varieties 08 05 872. Land configuration 06 13 813. Seed rate 14 08 784. Bio fertilizers 19 06 755. Weeding 17 12 716. Integrated Nutrient management 07 10 83

Table 3. Change in adoption level of scientific cultivation of gram .

Category Before Training (%) After Training (%)

Low level of adoption 76 04Medium level of adoption 18 12High level of adoption 06 84

Particulars Demonstration practice Farmer’s practice

Variety GG-2 LocalFertilizer Bio-compost – 6 ton/ha Basal – None

Chemical Fertilizer – 20 + 40 + 00 Chemical Fertilizer-not usedSeed treatment PSB and Rhizobium – 2l / 2 kg/ha —Nil—

In FLDs, the practices followed are shown in table below


that overall knowledge level and adoption levelof the tribal farmers about package of practicesof gram had increased up to 82.0 per cent and84.0 per cent, respectively after acquiring trainingat KVK, Tapi.

Yield Gap Analysis of Gram Cultivation

The results indicated that the highest yield inFLD plots and farmer’s plots was 22.3 q and 13.8q/ha respectively. The average yield of gram underdemonstration ranged between 17.5 q to 20.1 q/ha during different years. The results clearlyshowed that due to enhanced knowledge andadoption of scientific practices, the yield of gramincreased by 36.7 per cent, 45.8 per cent and 46.2per cent over the yield obtained under farmerspractices during the year 2008-09, 2009-10 and2010-11, respectively. The above findings werein agreement with Dubey et al. (2010). Averageextension gap was 5.7 q/ha which emphasized theneed to educate the farmers through variousextension means like FLD whereas the technologygap was 11.7 q/ha. However, it was observed thatthe average technology gap was narrowing downduring last three years. The technology gapobserved may be attributed to difference in thesoil fertility status, agricultural practices, localclimate conditions, rainfed agriculture andtimeliness of availability of inputs. Lower the valueof technology index, more is the feasibility of thetechnology demonstrated (Sagar and Chandra,2004). Therefore, reduction of technology indexfrom 48.9 per cent observed during 2008-09 to45.0 per cent in 2010- 11 exhibited the feasibilityof technology demonstrated. Thus FLD obtaineda significant positive result and also provided the

researchers an opportunity to demonstrate theproductivity potential and profitability of theintegrated nutrient management under fieldconditions.

CONCLUSION

It was noticed that knowledge level andadoption level of the tribal farmers were enhancedafter imparting training and conducting FLDs byKVK scientists. KVK is working as a knowledgehub for latest agricultural technology in Tapidistrict. The frontline demonstration conducted onIntegrated Nutrient Management in gram atfarmer’s fields in Tapi district of Gujarat revealedthat the farmers can get increased gram yield byfollowing the recommended package of practices.It improved the productivity by 42.9 per cent. Theproductivity gain under FLD over farmer’spractice created awareness and aggravated theother farmers to adopt integrated nutrientmanagement and high yielding variety of gramin the district. This study suggests for conductingintensive trainings, FLDs and effective use of allmeans of extension education to educate the gramgrowers for higher production of gram and to gethigher net return on sustainable basis.

REFERENCESDubey, S., Tripathy, S., Singh, P. and Sharma, R. K. 2010. Yield

gap analysis of black gram production through frontlinedemonstration. J. Prog. Agri. 1 (1): 42-44

Sagar, R. L. and Chandra, G. 2004. Front line demonstration onsesame in West Bengal. Agricultural Extension Review. 16(2): 7-10

Samui, S. K. Maitra, S., Roy, D. K., Mandal, A. K.and Saha, D.2000. Evaluation of front line demonstration on groundnut. J.Indian Soc. Costal Agri. Res.. 18 (2): 180-183.

Table 4. Performance of Front line demonstrations on Gram.

Year Area No. of Demo. Yield (q/h) FP % increase EG TG TIHighest Lowest Average

2008-09 5 39 18.8 16.1 17.5 12.7 36.7 4.69 12.2 48.92009-10 5 39 20.4 18.4 19.7 13.5 45.8 6.18 11.5 46.02010-11 5 34 22.3 19.5 20.1 13.8 46.2 6.35 11.2 45.0Mean 20.5 18. 19.1 13.3 42.9 5.7 11.7 46.6

(EG) Extension gap= Demonstration yield- Farmers yield(TG) Technology gap = Potential yield – Demonstration yield(TI) Technology index= (Potential yield – Demonstration yield) X 100

Potential yield


Knowledge of Dairy Farmers about ImprovedAnimal Husbandry Practices in Kheda District of

GujaratP. K. Sharma, B. S. Shekhawat and M. K. Chaudhary

Krishi Vigyan Kendra,Dethali, Distt. Kheda-378210 (Gujarat)

ABSTRACT

The present study was undertaken in Kheda district in Gujarat with the objectives to study theknowledge and socio – economic status of the dairy farmers in adoption of some improvedanimal husbandry practices. It was observed that 52 per cent dairy farmers belonged to middleage group, 60 per cent obtained secondary education, 80 per cent had membership of socialorganisation, 32 per cent possessing marginal land holding and 70 per cent were dependentupon canal irrigation. Fifty four per cent of farmers had big size family ( more than fivemembers) whereas 60 per cent had one earning member in a family and 78 per cent wereengaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Seventy to ninety per cent of dairy farmers hadhigh level of knowledge regarding breed improvement, nutritional management, watermanagement, improved animal husbandry practices of milking management and disease controlpractices. Thus, it was concluded that dairy farmers of Kheda tehsil possessed medium to highlevel of knowledge regarding improved animal husbandry practices.

Key words: Knowledge, Improved Animal Husbandry Practices, Socio-Economic Status, DairyFarmers

INTRODUCTION

In Gujarat, dairy farming is providingsubsistence to millions of small, marginal land lessfarmers. The milch animals are being rearedmainly through the utilisation of crop residues andthus, the milk production is essentially a subsidiaryactivity in agriculture. There are 13,141 dairycooperative societies with 27,16,000 members. Itis a known fact that the bulk of milk production ishandled by small milk producers who are illiterateand unaware of economic aspects of milkproduction. Therefore, there is a need for povertyalleviation through adoption of dairying ascommercial enterprise. However, most of the ruralfarmers who keep dairy animals don’t follow therecommended package of practices of dairymanagement. Hence, it was felt that there is anurgent need to sensitise the dairy farmers aboutthe scientific technologies and variousinterventions required in dairy production, in orderto enhance milk quality and quality from dairyanimals.

Keeping in view the above situation, thepresent study was undertaken with the objectivesto study the knowledge and socio-economic statusof the dairy farmers in adoption of some improvedanimal husbandry practices.


The study was carried out in 5 villages ofKheda tehsil of Kheda district . The dairy farmershaving dairying as their major or subsidiaryoccupation were randomly selected from theselected villages. For this purpose, acomprehensive list of dairy farmers was preparedwith the help of secretaries of milk co-operativesocieties, artificial insemination worker and villageextension worker. Thus, a total sample size of 50respondents was taken for this study.

The knowledge of an innovation is prerequisitefor adoption. For measuring the knowledgeregarding improved practices of animal husbandryknowledge scale was developed. On the basis ofinformation collected for this purpose,



respondents were classified in three groupsnamely high, medium and low. The data werecollected through the personal interview to get firsthand information and classified with the help ofaverage, frequency and percentage.


Age

The data revealed that majority of the dairyfarmers belonged to middle age group (52%)followed by old age group (28%) where as only20 per cent belonged to the young age group. Thiswas probably due to the fact that the youngergeneration is less interested in taking up dairyfarming as their occupation. Moreover, middle ageis considered as the most productive time periodin the life of an individual. These finding aresimilar to those reported by Toppo (2005), Bhatt(2006) and Sen (2007).

Education

It was found 60 per cent of the dairy farmershad obtained secondary education, where as 20per cent and 12 per cent had primary and graduatelevel education respectively. Only 4 per centpeople have higher education and 6 per cent ofthe respondents were illiterate. It was therefore,concluded that 80 per cent of the dairy farmerswere having primary or secondary level ofeducation. The probable reason might be thefacility for primary to higher secondary educationavailable at the village and the nearby cities whichhave encouraged the dairy farmers to study up tothat level. Similar findings have been reported byGour (2002), Bhatt (2006) and Sen (2007).

Social Participation

Social participation denotes that extent towhich an individual is actively involved in theaffairs of the community. It was observed that 80per cent of the dairy farmers were the membersof various social organisations like milk co-operatives society, gram panchayat and village co-operatives society. These findings were inagreement with those of Khokhar (2008) and incontradictions to those of Bhatt (2006).

Use of information and land holding

Majority of respondents using television,

newspaper, and poster/charts displayed in villagelevel dairy co-operatives as a source ofinformation of improved animal husbandrypractices. Furthermore, it was noted that 36 percent of the dairy farmers were small, 32 per centmarginal, 16 per cent medium, 6 per cent largeand 10 per cent landless. Therefore, it can be saidthat majority (80%) of the farmers had only 1 to 4hectares of land. This might be due to high densityof population in Kheda district as well asindustrialisation and urbanisation might haveplayed an important role in reduction of per capitaavailability of land. These results were inagreement with Bhatt (2006) and Sen (2007).

Family Size

The size of family plays an important rolewhile taking a decision regarding adoption of aninnovation. It was noticed that 54 per cent ofrespondents had big size family with more thanfive members and 46 per cent of respondents hadsmall family size (up to 5 members). It was noticedthat 60 per cent families were with one earningmember,28 per cent with 2 earning members andonly 12 per cent families were there with morethan 2 earning members. In Kheda tehsil,70 percent farmers were dependant on canal irrigationand 3 per cent possessed own bore well whereas6 per cent farmers were totally dependent uponannual rainfall.

Occupation

Occupation refers to an engagement of dairyfarmers in different activities as a source of incomefor their livelihood. Seventy eight per cent of thedairy farmers were engaged in agriculture andanimal husbandry only. The persons havingagriculture, animal husbandry and governmentservice or private employees were 4 per cent and12 per cent were engaged in business along withagriculture and animal husbandry. Hence, it canbe said that 80 per cent respondents were foundto be dependent on agriculture, dairy farming andrelated occupations under two or three tierproduction system. This finding was in agreementwith Gour (2002) and Sen, (2007).

Herd size

Herd size is the total number of animalsowned by a farmers at his dairy unit. It was


observed that 76 per cent farmers were keepingbuffalo, 20 per cent rearing both a cow andbuffalo and 4 per cent only cow and were notaware of the importance of crossbred cow rearingand dairy business. These findings were in contrastto those reported by Gour (2002).

Linkages with Extension Agencies

It was noticed that majority of farmers werefound to have contact with the officer of dairyco-operatives, subject matter specialist of K.V.Kfollowed by government veterinary doctor andvillage extension workers for getting information

Table 1. Distribution of the dairy farmers according to their personal and socio- economic characteristics (n=50)

Sr. No. Characteristics Frequency Percentage

1 AgeYoung age(18 to 35 years) 10 20Middle age(36 to 50 years) 26 52Old age(above 50 years) 14 28

2 EducationIlliterate 2 4Primary Education 10 20Secondary Education 30 60Higher Education 2 4Graduate 6 12

3 Membership in Social ParticipationMembership 40 80

4 Use of source of informationNews Paper 30 60Poster/Charts 28 56Radio 20 40Television 38 76Godarshan/Krishigovidya 5 10

5 Land HoldingLandless 5 10Marginal Farmers 16 32Small Farmers 18 36Medium Holding 8 16Big Farmers 3 6

6 Family SizeSmall Family (up to 5 persons) 23 46Big Family (Above5 persons) 27 54

7 Earning members in family1 earning member 30 602 earning members 14 28More than 2 members 6 12

8 Irrigation FacilityNo Irrigation facility 6 12Canal and Borewell 6 12Canal 35 70Borwell 3 6

9 OccupationAnimal Husbandry 3 6Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 39 78Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Service 2 4Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Business 6 12

10 No. of animals possessedOnly Cow 2 4Only Buffalo 38 76Both Buffalo and Cow 10 20


of improved animal husbandry practices. This wasprobably due to the fact that the farmers mighthave taken interest in various effective transfersof technology services provided by extensionagencies of state agriculture department, Amuldairy, state animal husbandry department,veterinary college and K.V.K. Similar findingswere reported by Gour (2002), and Bhatt (2006).

Average performance of milch animals

Six per cent farmers had local cows with 6 to10 l/d, 4 per cent had animals up to 5 l/d. whereas12 per cent had cross bred cows producing milk

Table 2. Linkages with extension agencies

Sr. No. Extension Worker Visited Never VisitedFrequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

1 Veterinary Officer 14 28 36 722 Livestock Inspector 2 4 48 963 Deputy DirectorA.H. 3 6 47 944 Extension Worker 14 28 36 725 SMS of KVK 41 82 9 186 Officer of Dairy Co-operatives 41 82 9 18

more than 10 l/d. On the other hand 54 per centfarmers were keeping buffalo with 5 l/d followedby 30 per cent with 6 to 10 l/d and 8 per cent withmore than 10 l/d.

It was evident from the data ( Table4) that theknowledge level of all the farmers was quite highin terms of recommended package of practices.Only disease control and calf management werethe areas where special attention was required.

CONCLUSION

Fifty two per cent of dairy farmers belongedto middle age group, acquired secondary

Table 3. Performance of dairy animals

Sr. No. Particulars Local Cow Crossbred Cow BuffaloFrequency % Frequency % Frequency %

1 Age at first 0 to 3 0 0 0 0 1 2calving 3 to 5 0 0 0 0 1 2(in years) Above 5 4 8 6 12 36 72

2 No. of 1 to 2 2 4 2 4 13 26lactation 2.1 to 4 1 2 3 6 18 36(in years) Above 4 1 2 1 2 8 16

3 Average milk Up to 5 lit. 2 4 0 0 27 54production 6 to 10 lit. 3 6 0 0 15 30(litres/day/ Above 10 lit. 0 0 6 12 4 8animal)

Table 4. Distribution of the dairy farmers on the basis of knowledge about improved animal husbandry practices

Sr.No. Improved A.H. practices Knowledge High Medium LowFrequency % Frequency % Frequency %

1 Breed Improvement 36 72 8 16 6 122 Calf management 32 64 5 10 13 263 Nutritional management 37 74 5 10 8 164 Water management 46 92 3 6 2 45 Animal shed management 43 86 5 10 3 66 Milking management 35 70 5 10 10 207 Disease control 35 70 3 6 12 248 Improved reproductive practices 41 82 4 8 5 10


education, were active members of rural socialorganisations, using television, newspaper andposters/charts as a source of information ofimproved animal husbandry practices. Most of thedairy farmers were marginal and dependent oncanal irrigation, big size family and have membersmore than five and have one earning member infamily but were found to have high level ofknowledge regarding breed improvement,nutritional management and improved diseasecontrol practices.

REFERENCESBhatt, P.M. 2006. Effect of mass media exposure on dairy farmers

regarding animal husbandry practices. Ph.D. Thesis. AAU,Anand.

Sen, P.N. 2007. Management practices adopted in dairy farmingby the farmers of Vadodara district of Gujarat. Ph.D. Thesis,AAU, Anand.

Gour, A.K. 2002. Factors influencing adoption of some improvedanimal husbandry practices of dairying in Anand and Vadodaradistricts of Gujarat state. GAU, Sardar Krushinagar.

Toppo, 2005. A study of participation and decision making offarm women in dairy occupation. M.Sc. Thesis, AAU, Anand.


On Farm Testing and Popularization of IntegratedManagement Module of Apple Root Rot Under High

Altitude Temperate ConditionsZ.A.Bhat, F.A. Sheikh, T. Mubarak, J. A. Bhat, M.A. Zargar, Akhlaq A. Wani,

G.H. Rather and H.U. Itoo

Krishi Vigyan KendraAnantnag -192 233 (Jammu and Kashmir)

ABSTRACT

White root rot caused by Dematophora necatrix is the major threat to apple in Kashmir valleyespecially in south Kashmir. The moist conditions of the orchards, faulty irrigation system andconversion of paddy fields into orchards were the factors found giving fillip to the disease inthe area. To test and popularize the university recommended integrated disease management(IDM) module for apple root rot management, On farm research trials (OFT’s) were conductedduring the kharif season of 2007-2008 in farmers participatory mode at three locations in thehigh altitude area of south Kashmir of Jammu and Kashmir. The experiment consisted of twotreatments viz., recommended practice (Pruning of rotted roots and pasting of cut ends with adisinfectant paste + proper drainage + adding more organic matter + Basin irrigation system +drenching with carbendazim 50 WP @0.1 %) and farmers practice (which varied from locationto location however, exposing the roots of affected plants to sunlight was common). Therecommended practice (RP) recorded 56.6 per cent recovery percentage as against 1.66 percent in farmers practice (FP). Survey conducted during 2010 in 40 villages of district Anantnagand Kulgam on the impact of awareness/training programmes on IDM of apple root rot revealedthat out of 81 affected orchards, 60 were treated with RP which showed recovery of 51.6 percent.

Key words: Apple, Integrated management, OFT, Root rot

INTRODUCTION

In Kashmir, apple is grown over an area ofabout 132.5 thousand hectares with an annualproduction of 1332.8 thousand MT, constitutingabout 87 per cent of the total fresh fruit productionof the state (Anonymous, 2010). In spite of quiteconducive environmental conditions for thecultivation of apple in the valley, the yields havenot been so encouraging as a result of multitudeof diseases affecting the crop. Although, all thefoliar disease which affect apple crop underKashmir conditions can be managed successfullyby following the spray schedule developed by theSKUAST-K, Shalimar.However, successfulmanagement of soil borne diseases is difficult taskand involves integration of all available practicesas the pathogen can survive and multiply in thepermanent soil medium.

Apple root rot caused by Rosellinia necatrixBerl. Ex Pril. (Anamorph: Dematophora necatrixHartig), a major fungal soil borne disease underKashmir conditions is highly destructive both innurseries and orchards. The affected plants arekilled within a short period depending upon thestage of the host and prevalent environmentalconditions. The seedlings are sometimes wipedout within three weeks, whereas, the adult plantssurvive for 2-3 years (Sztejnberg et al., 1987).The disease symptoms are observed on theunderground plant parts which give a reflectionon the foliage. Initially, the rotting of the fine rootsis observed which extends to secondary andtertiary roots. In advance stage, the roots arecompletely devoured and diseased seedlings ortrees are easily uprooted from the soil. Thesymptoms on foliage are premature chlorosis of



leaves, small size of leaves and fruits.

The disease has been noticed for the last fewyears severely affecting the apple plantation indistrict Kulgam and realized as a major threat toapple cultivation. The disease in some villages ofthe district came up in severe form during2007.The farmers used to follow traditionalmethods like exposing the roots for longer periodto sunlight which could not help in recoveringthe affected plants. Further this practice sometimesaggravated the problem due to accumulation ofrain water in the dugout portion. Keeping in viewthe importance of apple crop and the threat causeddue to the disease in its profitable production, onfarm trial on the management of this disease wasconducted during 2008 and 2009 in order to testthe IDM module for the management of the diseaseunder microclimatic conditions of the area.


On-farm research trials (OFT’s) on themanagement of root rot disease of apple weredesigned and conducted in farmer’s participatorymode during year 2008 and 2009 at three differentlocations viz., Sehpora, Nilow and Pombay,selected from the badly hit areas. Twenty root rotaffected plants were selected at each location. Tenplants which served as check were treated withfarmers practice and ten plants with recommendedIDM practice for apple root rot developed bySKUAST-Kashmir. The details of treatments wereas under:

Farmers’ practice (FP): Exposing the rootsof affected plants to sunlight

University Recommended IDM Practice(RP): Pruning of rotted roots and pasting of cutends with a disinfectant paste + proper drainage +changing of texture of clayed soil by adding moreorganic matter + basin irrigation system +drenching with carbendazim 50 WP @0.1 %

The treated plants were kept under observationand plants which did not show any symptoms ofroot rot during next year cropping season, weretreated as recovered plants and those which gotkilled or showed root rot symptoms again, asunrecovered.

To popularise the IDM technology in thedistrict, awareness/training camps and TV talkswere organized in the area. The farmers weredemonstrated the proper methods of fungicidedrenching, drainage and basin irrigation system.Diagnostic visits in the affected areas were carriedout for timely diagnosis and management of thedisease. To assess the impact of these awareness/training programs, 100 orchards belonging to 40villages of district Anantnag and Kulgam wererandomly selected. The number of affectedorchards treated with RP, number of plantsaffected and recovery percentage of treated plantswas recorded.


The interaction with the orchardists and onthe spot examination of affected orchards,revealed following factors responsible for theoutbreak of the disease.

Factors Responsible For Disease Development

Establishment of apple orchards on paddyfields: Majority of the orchards established in thedistrict were having the previous history of paddycultivation. In case of paddy fields hard pan ofsoil is developed by puddling to retain the waterfor longer duration. Water retention for longer

Fig. 1. Adoptation of IDM module of apple root rot

Table 1. Results of OFT’s on integrated management of root rot of apple

Treatments Recovery Percentage of root rot affected plants at village Sehpora Nilow Pombay Mean Pooled Mean

2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009

Farmers’ practice (FP) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10 0.0 3.3 1.65Recommended practice (RP) 60 50 60 40 70 60 63.3 50 56.6


duration in the root zone of apple predisposes theapple roots to the invasion by the root rot pathogen.

Poor drainage of the orchards: Most of theaffected orchards were having poor drainage andretained the irrigation and rain water for longerduration. Recommendations for improvement ofdrainage system by making drainage channels asper the field conditions were given.

Intercropping with Vegetables: Many affectedorchards were intercropped with vegetables.Frequent irrigation of vegetables in these orchardscreated moist conditions in the vicinity of appletrees and thus helped in pathogen invasion.Intercropping with pulse crops was recommendedas they require less water. All the above factorswere found to prolong moist conditions in theorchards which favours invasion of roots by thepathogen. Sztejnberg (1998) reported that the highambient moisture conditions favours rapid growthand development of root rot pathogen.

Faulty irrigation system: Farmers followedflood irrigation system to irrigate orchards which

not only helps in maintaining the moist conditionsfor prolonged time but also helps in spread of thedisease. Anselmi and Giorceli (1990)demonstrated that R. necatrix can be dispersedby irrigation water. Farmers were advised to followimproved irrigation methods like basin/ ringirrigation.

Procurement of saplings from theunregistered and unreliable sources: Saplings forthe establishment of new orchards and for fillingthe gaps were procured from unregisterednurseries located in low lying areas where chancesof root rot infection of the saplings are higher.There is every possibility that introduction of thesesaplings in the orchards might have brought theinnoculum in the orchards which then spreadthrough irrigation water and caused the invasionof healthy plants.

Non availability of standardizedrootstocks: Most of the nursery growers in thedistrict use seeds of red delicious variety for raisingroot stocks which is susceptible to root rot disease.

Table 2. Success rate of the IDM technology in managing the root rot disease of apple

Name of the village Number of affected No. of No. of Plants Recoveryorchards plants affected Recovered (%)

Arreh 3 7 4 57.1Beigam Kulgam 3 9 3 33.3Bumrath 1 2 1 50.0Chaugalpora Manzgam Kulgam 1 4 2 50.0Chawagam Kulgam 2 23 13 56.5Gadihama Kulgam 1 3 2 66.6Galwanpora Manzgam Kulgam 1 5 3 60.0Gopalpora 1 5 3 60.0Gudar 1 3 1 33.3Harveth Kulgam 1 3 2 66.6Manzgam Kulgam 3 11 5 45.4Mirhama Kulgam 5 13 7 53.8Modergam Kulgam 9 35 11 31.4Mohanpora Kulgam 1 3 1 33.3Mohipora Kulgam 1 3 2 66.6Nilow Kulgam 3 27 15 55.5Odura Kulgam 7 12 7 58.3Parivan Kulgam 1 5 3 60.0Pombay Kulgam 6 25 13 52.0Sallar Anantnag 2 33 19 57.5Samnoo Nihama Kulgam 1 5 2 40.0Sehpora Kulgam 3 42 25 59.5Shus Kulgam 1 2 1 50.0Waky Kulgam 2 5 2 40.0

Total 60 285 147 51.6


On Farm Trials (OFT’s)

The results of OFT’s (Table 1) revealed thatthe plants treated with the RP showed averagerecovery percentage of 56.6 as against 1.7 percent in case of FP. The recovery percentage withthe RP was highest at Pombay during 2008 andlowest at Nilow during 2009. There was 0 per centrecovery at all the locations with farmers practiceexcept 10 per cent recovery at Pombay during2009. The difference in the recovery percentagein RP may be attributed to the variable stages oftree damage. The higher recovery of affectedplants due to RP as compared to FP was assignedto better drainage and irrigation system andcurative action of carbendazim drenching. Herreraand Bonilla (2007) reported that under in vitroconditions, carbedazim 50 WP (@0.1 %) inhibitedmycelia growth of R. necatrix by 97.0 per cent.Carbendazim 50 WP (@0.1%) in combinationwith Enterobacter aerogenes, showed 92.0 percent apple root rot control in pot experiment(Gupta and Sharma, 2004). Sousa (1985) observedboth preventive as well as curative effects ofcarbendazim against apple root rot disease.

Popularization/ Adaptation of IDM of AppleRoot Rot

Results of the survey conducted in 40 villagesof district Anantnag and Kulgam revealed that81.0 orchards were affected with root rot out ofwhich 60.0 (285.0 plants) were treated with RP(Fig 1) which showed overall recovery of 51.6per cent (table 2). The recovery percentage washighest (66.6) at Gadihama, Harveth andMohipora followed by Galwanpora, Gopalporaand Pariwan (60.0) and lowest at Modergam (31.4)(Table 2). The difference in recovery at differentlocations with RP was again attributed to varieddegree of root damage.

CONCLUSION

Root rot is the most destructive disease ofapple and major threat to apple cultivation inKashmir valley. Like other soil borne diseasesmanagement of this disease is difficult once theplants get infected. Further, the disease ismanifested as above ground symptoms after fewyears of infection when damage is already doneto roots. Although the integrated managementdeveloped by the SKUAST-Kashmir has beensuccessful in recovering some affected plants,however, the management of the disease is difficulttask and expensive. Therefore, preventivemeasures especially avoiding the establishmentof apple orchards on paddy land, need to be takento avoid the conditions favourable fordevelopment of the disease. Keeping in view theeconomic importance of the disease and highercost involved in management of the disease thereis urgent need to evaluate and find resistant tomoderately resistant rootstocks against the diseaseunder Kashmir conditions.

REFERENCESAnonymous 2010. Digest of Statistics, Directorate of Economics

& Statistics, Government of Jammu & Kashmir pp-117-19.

Anselmi, N. and Giorcelli, A. 1990. I maciumi radicali del pioppoRosellinia necatrix Prill. Informatore Fitopatologico 40:45-52.

Gupta, V.K. and Sharma, K. 2004. Integration of chemicals andbiocontrol agents for managing white root rot of apple. ActaHorticulturae 635:141-50.

Herrera, C.J.Z. and Bonilla, T.Z. 2007. Effects of benomyl,carbendazim, fluazinam and thiophanate methyl on white rootrot of avocado. Crop Protection 26:1186-1192.

Sousa, A.J.T.D. 1985. Control of Rosellinia necatrix causal agentof white root rot, susceptibility of several plant species andchemical control. European Journal of Plant Pathology 15:323-32

Sztejnberg, A. 1998. Rosellinia (Dematophora) Root Rot In:“Compendium of tropical fruit diseases” (eds. Ploetz, R.C.,Zentmyer, G.A., Nishijima, W.T., Rohrbach, K.G. and Ohr,H.D), APS Press, St. Paul, MN., USA, PP 80-81.

Sztejnberg ,A., Freeman, S., Chet, I. and Katan, J. 1987. Controlof Rosellinia necatrix in soil and in apple orchard bysolarization and Trichoderma harzianum. Plant Disease 71:365-69.


INTRODUCTION

Kiwi fruit (Actinidia deliciosa chev.) is aunique and delicious fruit among temperate fruitshaving high vitamin ‘C’ (80-100 Mg/100g) andVitamin ‘A’ (175 I.U/100g) content. Kiwi fruitthough being introduced very lately in the year2000, is gaining popularity in the mid- hill partsof Arunachal Pradesh. The crop though being anew entrant in the area is luring the attention offarmers owing to its high returns per unit area,easy management and its resistance to number ofpests and diseases. It was however grown sincelong on commercial basis in other parts of thecountry like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu andKashmir, Uttrakhand, Meghalaya, Nagaland, andNilgiri hills of south India etc. A warm sub-temperate climate with an annual precipitation of100-150 cm is the prerequisite for ideal Kiwicultivation. The West Kameng District of the stateArunachal Pradesh located at 910 30" to 920 40"E longitudes and 260 54" to 28 01" N latitudeswith its unique and diverse topography and

Performance of Fruit set, Yield and differentAttributes of Kiwi Fruit Varieties under West

Kameng District of Arunachal PradeshN. D. Singh, T. S. Mishra and A. K. Singh

Krishi Vigyan KendraWest Kameng, Dirang 792 104 (Arunachal Pradesh)

ABSTRACT

An experiment was conducted to evaluate five varieties of Kiwi viz. Allison, Bruno, Hayward,Monty and Abbott at Dirang, Bomdila and Salari areas under the district in the year 2011-12.50 per cent leafing was observed after 87, 72, 78, 82,83 days in Abbott, Bruno, Monty,Hayward and Allison varieties respectively after pruning in the first day of February. The 50per cent flowering was observed in Bruno in 42 days and the Hayward taking the longest timeof 46 days. Bruno and Abbott varieties took 14 days to fruit set after flowering while minimumdays for fruit set (13 days ) was recorded in Allison. The maximum number of fruits per variety,average weight of fruits, fruit yield per plant, number of fruits per plant and fruit yield per ha,highest T.S.S. were recorded in Allison variety. Higher fruit diameter and maturity days wereobserved in Bruno. Highest fruit length was recorded in Hayward variety. The higher score forappearance, taste, flavour and over all acceptability was accorded to Allison followed byHayward. Thus, on the basis of yield, taste, flavour and overall acceptability, Allison is the bestunder West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Key words: Fruit set, Yield, Kiwi, Variety, Arunachal Pradesh.

climatic condition harbors different varieties oftemperate fruits.

The kiwi fruit is a healthy choice among fruitsas it prevents asthma, wheezing and coughing,especially in children, protects our DNA frommutations, provides a healthy amount ofantioxidants and vitamins and helps prevent coloncancer due to its high fiber content. Ripe fruitsare being utilized in the preparation of jam andkiwi juice. A judicious pruning is required everyyear to regulate vegetative growth and fruiting asfruiting occurs only from current growth whicharises from a bud development of the previousseason. An essential management practice is toundertake summer pruning which involvesremoval of current year’s growth as it affects thevegetative growth of the plant and modifies plantto fruit ratio, bud number and microclimate withinthe canopy Taylor and Ferree (1986). Therefore,the present investigation was undertaken with anobjective to find out the suitable variety havinghigher yield and T.S.S as well as with better



chemical properties, qualities and acceptabilityamong consumers.

MATRIALS AND METHODS

The investigation was carried out on 6 (six)years old plant of kiwi fruit cv. Hayward, Allison,Abbott, Bruno and Monty planted at a spacing of4m x6m and trained on T-bar trellis system during2011-2012. The experiment was laid out inRandomized Block Design with three differentreplications. Three plants of each variety fromevery replication were randomly selected forobservation on fruit set, yield and yieldparameters. The total soluble solids weredetermined by hand refractometer. The statisticalanalysis was done as per procedure described byPanse and Sukhatme (1985).


The lowest number of days to 50 per centleafing after pruning was recorded in Bruno 72days and while Abbott took 87 days to reach 50per cent leafing stage. The 50 per cent floweringwas attained in Bruno in 41 days and themaximum number of days (46 days) to 50 percent flowering were recorded in Hayward (Table1). The lowest days of fruit set were recorded inAllison 13 days and highest days of fruit set were

recorded in Bruno 14 days. Significantly, highestlength of fruit was recorded in Hayward 6.05cmand lowest length of fruit in Bruno 5.28cm. Thehighest width of fruit was recorded in Bruno4.57cm and lowest width of fruit was recorded inAllison 3.73cm. The fruit weight was maximumin Hayward 73.18 gm and it was minimum inMonty 48.96 gm. Non significantly, the lowestdays (172 days ) of maturity were recorded inAbbott and highest days to maturity (176 days)in Allison. The highest days of ripening wererecorded in Allison 197 days and lowest days ofripening were recorded in Hayward 189 days. Thevariation in fruit diameter, fruit length and pulpthickness might be based on the fact that everygenotypes has its own nature in development offruits which may be varied due to variousphysiological phenomenon, viz. photosyntheticefficiency, rate of translocation of photosynthesisfrom source to sink and photo-respiration thattakes place in the plant body Dinesh et al (2000).The total soluble solids were found in Allisonfollowed by Hayward, whereas minimum T.S.Swas found in Abbott. The variation in TSS invarieties might be due to their genetic makeupand the nature of the variety which govern thechemical composition of the fruits. These resultsare in accordance with the finding of Chandel et

Table 1: Days taken to 50 per cent leafing and 50 per cent flowering different varieties

Treatment 50% leafing (in days) 50% flowering ( in days) Total flower (in days)

V-1: Allison 83 43 50

V2: Bruno 72 41 500V3: Hayward 82 46 52V4: Monty 78 42 47V5: Abbott 87 44 52CD

0.05NS NS NS

Table 2: Physico-chemical properties, yield attributes and yields of different Kiwi varieties

Treatment Fruit set Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit T.S.S Yield per Yield(days) maturity ripening length diameter weight plant (q/ha).

(days) (days) (cm) (cm) (gm) (kg)

V-1: Allison 13.60 176.80 197.00 5.52 3.73 51.12 8.60 54.40 226.84

V2: Bruno 14.20 175.80 191.80 5.28 4.57 64.27 7.62 27.87 116.21V3: Hayward 13.40 172.20 189.40 6.05 3.42 73.18 8.52 35.18 146.70V4: Monty 13.80 176.00 190.40 5.32 3.95 48.96 8.00 44.33 184.86V5: Abbott 14.20 172.00 191.80 5.52 3.98 52.86 6.51 42.37 176.68CD

0.05NS NS NS 0.5 0.24 12.15 NS NS NS

* **Significant at 5% and 1% levels. NS = Non significant, TSS = Total soluble solids


al (2004). The highest number of fruits per plant,yield per plant and fruit yield per hectare weregiven by Allison. The lowest values of theseparameters were observed in Bruno amongevaluated varieties. The variations in yieldattributes of Kiwi might be due to variousphysiological phenomenon, viz. photosyntheticfrom source to sink and photo-respiration that tookplace in the plant body and different geneticconstitution of varieties, which are responsible forexpression of genetic characters under a particularset of environment. Moreover, yield performanceof any variety is considered as a cumulative effectof yield attributes Marini et al (1982). Themaximum average yield per plant, yield per haand over all acceptability was recorded to Allisonfollowed by Hayward, Bruno, Monty and Abbott(Table 2).

CONCLUSION

Based on the parameters of the experimentcarried out in five different varieties of the fruit ina fruiting season in the trail area, the highest score

for appearance, taste, flavour, fruits per variety,yield per plant, and maximum yield per hectarewas recorded in Allison followed by Hayward.Thus, based on the overall performance amongthe five varieties Allison is recommended as tobe the ideal variety suitable in the district of WestKameng in Arunachal Pradesh.

REFERENCESChandel, J.S., Bharti, O.A. and Rana, R.K.2004. Effect of pruning

severity on growth, yield and fruit quality of kiwifruit(Actinidiadeliciosachev.) Indian J Hort 61: 114-17.

Dinesh, M.R.,Reddy, B.M.C. and Reena, N.A. 2000. Varietalimprovement of Papaya. J Appl Hort 2: 121-23.

Marini, R.P. and Barden, J.A. 1982. Yield, fruit size and quality ofthree apple cultivars as influenced by summer or dormantpruning. J American Soc Hort Sci 107: 474-79.

Panse, V.G. and Sukhatme, P.V. 1985. Statistical method forAgricultural Workers, Indian council of Agricultural Research,New Delhi, pp.145-48.

Taylor, R.H. and Ferree, 1986. The influence of summer pruningand fruit cropping on the carbohydrate, nitrogen, and nutrientcomposition of apple trees. J American Soc Hort Sci 111:342-46.


Reaction of Farm Women about the Self Help groupin Navasari District of Gujarat

R. M. Naik, G.G. Chauhan, M. R. Prajapati and C.S. Desai

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Navsari - 396 450 (Gujarat)

ABSTRACT

A total of 120 farm women belonging to 40 self help groups located in 8 different villages wereselected randomly for the collection of required information for the study. It was observed thatrural women were able to increase their savings and income with the help of SHGs. The studyemphasizes the importance of the self help promoting institutions like banks and the NGOs.The NGO intervention was the major motivating factor for the women to join the SGHs. Thewomen opined that these institutions were initiators for starting income generating activitiesand their guidance is needed for the smooth functioning of SHGs. Therefore, there is a need toencourage and establish SHGs in all the villages for the betterment of poor particularly thewomen.

Keywords: Farm Women, SHG, Empowerment, Banks,

INTRODUCTION

A self-help group (SHG) is a village-basedfinancial intermediary usually composed of 10–20 local women from a similar class and region,who come together to form savings and creditorganization. Many self-help groups, especiallyin India, under NABARD’s SHG-bank-linkageprogram, borrow from banks once they haveaccumulated a base of their own capital and haveestablished a track record of regular repayments.This model has attracted attention as a possibleway of delivering services to poor populations thathave been difficult to reach directly through banksor other institutions. It is worth to mention that byaggregating their individual savings into a singledeposit, SHG minimize the bank’s transactioncosts and generate an attractive volume ofdeposits. Through, SHGs, the bank can serve smallrural depositors while paying them a market rateof interest. The major benefit of becoming amember of SHG is that an economically poorindividual gains strength as part of a group.Similarly, borrowers as part of an SHG cut downexpenses on travel (to and from the branch andother places) for completing paper work and onthe loss of workdays in canvassing for loans.

Members make small regular savingscontributions over a few months until there is

enough capital in the group to begin lending.Funds may then be lent back to the members orto others in the village for any purpose. Theapproach combines access to low-cost financialservices with a process of self management anddevelopment for the women who are SHGmembers. The SHGs’ are implemented withsupport of Non-governmental Organizations(NGOs) and banks. The present study wasundertaken with a view to assess the reaction offarm women who were the members of variousself help groups working in the district in order toknow their socio economic status as well asfacilities available to them. Other objectives wereto study the general characteristic features of themembers, the loan availed by the members andtheir savings position, factors motivating themembers to join the SHGs and to elucidate theopinion of the members regarding the microfinancial institutions.


Primary data were collected through personalinterview method from the SHG members withthe help of a well structured and pre-tested scheduledeveloped by KVK. Vansda Taluka waspurposefully selected. Based on the highestnumber of self help groups operating, eight



villages were selected purposively from the Talukafor the study. Five SHGs from each village whichcarried out income generating activities werepurposively selected. Thus a total 120 farm womenfrom 40 SHGs with three members from eachSHG were selected randomly for the collection ofrequired information for the study. To know aboutthe functioning of SHGs and Bank / NGO, therespondents were asked to give their reaction ona 3 point continuum scale i.e., Yes (3), Partly (2)and No (1). The data were classified based onfrequencies and percentage.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Characteristics of the Members of Self-HelpGroups

The information on socio-economic

characteristics of rural women of self help grouplike age, marital status, educational qualification,family type, caste were presented in Table 1. Itwas found that majority of the members (54.1%)belonged to middle aged group and 39.1 per centof the members belonged to the young age group.The women of middle age were more efficientand responsible than their younger counter parts.The results were in agreement with the findingsof Joseph and Easwaran (2006). Marital status ofthe women indicated that 72.5 per cent of themembers were married as most of womenbelonged to the middle age (36-50 years). Womentend to leave their village (home town) once theygot married and as SHGs are a long-term activityand leaving the group in between could affect itsprogress. About 8.3 per cent of members werewidows and the SHG movement could thereby

Table 1. General characteristics of the respondents (n = 120)

Sr. No. Category RespondentsNumber Percentage

1 Agea. Young (18-35 years) 47 39.1b. Middle (36-50 years) 65 54.2c. Old (Above 50) 08 6.7

2 Marital Statusa. Married 87 72.5b. Unmarried 23 19.2c. Widow 10 8.3

3 Educational qualificationa. Illiterate 14 11.7b. Primary education (1-4) 25 20.8c. Secondary education (5-12) 38 31.7d. College 43 35.8

4 Family typea. Joint Family 18 15.0b. Nuclear family 102 85.0

5 Castea. SC 30 25.0b. ST 32 26.7c. SEBC 58 48.3

Table 2 Factors motivating the members to join SHG (n = 120)

Sr. No. Factor Frequency(no. of members) Percentage

1 NGO intervention 98 81.62 Emulation of others SHG 48 40.03 Initiation by other agencies 14 11.64 SHG is a good means to save money 68 56.65 The intention to start income generating activity 72 60.06 To gain social status by being a part of the group 54 45.0


make them self reliant and self sufficient. Majorityof the members were educated due to theeducation facilities available in the district.Educated women proved as an asset to the groupsas they take care of the maintenance of all recordsand documents of the group. It was noticed that85 per cent of the members belonged to nuclearfamily and only 15 per cent belonged to jointfamily. Majority of the members belonged to theSCBC caste category (48.3 %) followed byscheduled tribe category (26.6 %) who are theeconomically suppressed class. SHGs encourageand aim at improvement of their living status andencourage persons living below poverty line tojoin SHG.

Table 2 showed that the majority of themembers (81.6 %) opined NGO intervention asthe major motivating factor. This was followedby the members’ intention to start incomegenerating activities which needs investment.About 56.6 per cent of the members opined thatthey joined SHG as it is a good means to savemoney and it might be because their money canbe saved in smaller amount/thrifts on weeklybasis. Emulation of other SHG and to gain socialstatus was also opined as factors, which motivated40 per cent and 45 per cent of the members,

respectively.

Loan Availed and Savings of the Members

The amount of loan availed and the savingsof members in SHGs is presented in Table 3. Thetotal loan availed by SHG members since inceptionwas Rs. 2, 83,240/- and average amount to eachmember was Rs. 2,360/-. The loan availed frombank was Rs. 21, 82,057/- and average amountfor each member was Rs. 18,184/-. The memberscollected their savings in each week and most ofthe members contributed on the fixed day. Averageamount of savings per member was Rs. 1,404/-.

Opinion of Beneficiaries About Bank / NGO

Majority of the members opined as yes withrespect to ease in getting loan collectively. Nearly61.6 per cent of the members opined partly withrespect to the repayment were easy due tocollective responsibility (Table 4). Regarding theadequacy of amount of loan sanctioned by thebank to perform the activities, 74.1 per cent ofthe members opined as partly. About fifty twoper cent of the members opined as ‘partly’ withrespect to better supervision by bank / NGO whichwill avoid mis-utilization of loan. About 57.5 percent of the members opined that Bank / NGO staff

Table 3. Details of loan availed and savings of the sample members (n=120) (in Rs.)

Sr. No. Particular Total Amount(Rs) Average amount permember(Rs)

1 Loani. SHG (since inception) 2,83240/- 2360ii. Bank 21,82,056/- 18,184

2 Savings / yearI. SHG 1,68,432/- 1404

Table 4. Opinion of beneficiaries about bank / NGO (n=120)

Sr. No. Opinion Yes Partly NoF % F % F %

1 It is easy to get loan collectively 98 81.6 20 16.6 2 1.62 Easy for repayment due to collective responsibility 44 36.6 74 61.6 2 1.63 Rate of interest if lower than SHG loan 30 25.0 52 43.3 38 31.64 Amount sanctioned by the bank is adequate to 28 23.3 89 74.1 3 2.5

perform the activities5 Available of technical guidance 42 35.0 54 45.0 24 20.06 Better supervision by the Bank / NGO staff avoids misutilization of loan 54 45.0 62 51.64 3.37 Bank / NGO staff gives clear guidance about the scheme 43 35.8 69 57.5 8 6.6

F = Frequency (number of members)


partly gave clear guidance about the scheme. TheNGO and bank were initiators for starting incomegenerating activities and formation of SHGs andthe clear guidance is very much needed.

Reaction of Beneficiaries about SHG

Seventy three per cent of the members opinedthat SHG provided timely and convenient creditto the members ( Table 5). About 61.6 per cent ofthe members opined that the repayment terms wereeasy and 66.5 per cent of the members opinedthat there was no exploitation in money lending,as the members themselves were involved inlending activities. The scheme proved beneficialto members in a number of ways as it increasedsocial as well as economic empowerment of farmwomen. About 87.5 per cent of the membersinformed that the interest rate was less as comparedto interest rates of money lenders and otherinformal sources. Seventy six per cent membersopined that the procedure to get advance moneywas easy in the SHGs. Hence, the existence ofSHGs had increased their social participation,attended meetings and programmes conducted forthe social welfare of the people. Similarly, 63.3per cent members were of the view that SHGs hadhelped in the overall development of the family.Majority of the members (80.0 %) informed that

Table 5. Opinion of beneficiaries about SHG.

Sr. No. Opinion Yes Partly NoF % F % F %

1 Timely and convenient to get credit 87 72.5 30 25.0 3 2.52 Repayment terms are easy 42 38.3 74 61.6 4 3.33 The Scheme is beneficial 68 56.6 46 38.3 6 5.04 No exploitation in money lending 3 2.5 37 30.8 80 66.65 Lower interest rate 105 87.5 10 8.3 5 4.16 Easy procedure in advancing 20 16.6 91 75.3 9 7.57 Increased social participation 88 73.3 12 10.0 20 16.68 Helps in overall development of family 76 63.3 18 15.0 26 21.69 Willingness to continue as members of SHG? 96 80.0 24 20.0 0 0.0

they were willing to continue as members of SHGwhich indicates that the members were highlybenefited by the activities of SHGs working inthe study area.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded from the present studythat majority of the members join SHGs becauseof NGO intervention. Most of them opined yes interms of getting loan collectively and repaymentwas easy because of collective responsibility.SHGs provided timely and convenient credit tothe members and repayment terms were also easy.The interest rate in SHGs compared to interestrates of money lenders and other informal sourceswas also low. Linked not only to banks but alsoto wider development programmes, SHGs areseen to confer many benefits, both economic andsocial. SHGs enable women to grow their savingsand to access the credit which banks areincreasingly willing to lend. Purpose of SHGs isto make women economically independent andto increase their funds so that they should startany enterprise. So, majority of the members werewilling to continue as members of SHGs as theynot only to increase their family income but alsofor overall development of family.

REFERENCESJoseph, L. and Easwaran, K. 2006. SHGs and tribal development

in Mozoeam, Kurukshetra 54(3): 37-48.


Recycling of Hair (Saloon Waste) byVermicomposting Technology

Kamla Kanwar and S.S. Paliyal

CSKHPKV, Hill Agricultural Research and Extension Centre, Dhaulakuan,District Sirmour 173001 (Himachal Pradesh)

ABSTRACT

An experiment on recycling of saloon wastes (hair) by vermicomposting has been completedsuccessfully at CSKHPKV, HAREC, Dhaulakuan, District Sirmour (HP) during summer monthsof May to August, 2010. A good quality compost was obtained in about hundred days using 1kg culture of African Red Worms (Eudrilus eugeniae), a widely adapted species of earthwormsin 10x3x2 ft surface vermibeds of cow dung and human hair mixed in 2:1 (v/v) ratio. Thesewere sprinkled with water twice a week at alternate days. pH and temperature were recorded atweekly interval. The physico-chemical properties and nutritional status of human hairvermicompost, the final product was found equivalent to that of general vermicompost.

Key words: Saloon Waste, Hair, Vermicompost, Earthworm.

INTRODUCTION

Earthworms, the lowly and timid worms arephysically an aerator, crusher and mixer;chemically a degrader and biologically astimulator in the decomposing system.Earthworms are natural bioreactor and theiractivity stimulates the rate of decomposition oforganic residues by means of increasing both thesurface area and aeration of the substrate (Sharmaet al.2004; Lodha, 2007). Due to that,vermicomposting technology has emerged as anefficient, eco-friendly waste managementtechnique wherein earthworms are used as naturalbio-reactors for the production of manure as wellas cleaning up the environment.

In barber shops / beauty saloons, hugequantity of wastes especially hair, are produceddaily that is usually put in garbage and ultimatelyends up in landfills. The disposal of these hair is abig problem as they do not decompose easilybecause it takes hundreds of years to decomposewhen buried in the soil and when happen todecompose in landfills, it increases the probabilityof nitrate leaching into the ground water(Zheljazkov, 2005). Burning of hair results in toxicelements which cause allergies and pollute theenvironment (Kohli (2008). Hair contains keratin,a fibrous structural protein that is hard and

insoluble in most substances. Keratin makes itdifficult for hair to decompose easily. Accordingto Kohli (2008), an enzyme present in the gut ofthe earthworm breaks down keratin. In thiscontext, an experiment on recycling of saloonwastes i.e. hair by vermin-composting has beencompleted successfully at CSKHPKV, HAREC,Dhaulakuan during summer months of May toAugust, 2010 where a good quality compost wasobtained within a period of about hundred days.Besides producing useful organic fertilizer,vermicomposting helps in improving environmentquality, reducing health hazards and providingemployment and income to many.


Cow dung and saloon wastes i.e. human hairin the ratio of 2:1 (v/v) were used to preparevermibeds. A simple bed of 3 feet wide and 10feet long on the plain surface of earth wasprepared. On the surface 4-5 inch layer of dryleaves and straw was spread. Above this, cow dunglayer of 4-5 inches was spread. This layer wasfollowed by spreading of vermiculture (Eudriluseugeniae). Then layers of saloon waste i.e. hairsand cow dung were spread alternately till the heapbecomes 2.5 feet high. About 1 kg of vermiculturewas used in a 10x3x2.5 feet sized vermibed. Then



the whole bed was covered with dry leaves andstraw etc. A thatched roof was made above theheaps. The beds were sprinkled with water atalternate days. The whole material was convertedinto vermicompost in about hundred days. Theworms and the vermicompost were separated bydisturbing and reshaping the beds into narrowvertical heaps. The pH, OC and total nutrients weredetermined by following standard methods ofanalysis.


During the initial stages of vermi composting,the pH (8.5) as well as temperature (48oC) of thebeds were high which decreased with the passageof time under normal weather conditions (Fig. 1).At the harvesting stage, temperature of the heapwas stabilized to the atmospheric temperature(31oC) and pH near neutrality (7.1). When pH andtemperature stabilization occur, it shows the

harvesting stage of vermicompost. The initialincrease in temperature may be due to the heat ofcombustion of organic materials, while theproduction of organic acids during the initial stagesof vermicomposting causes further acidification(pH 4.5-5.0) (Brady, 1990). Similar findings havealso been reported by Sharma et al. (2004) whilestudying the changes during vermicomposting ofLantana and Parthenium weeds in combinationwith cow dung. Vermi compost produced is richin nutrients (Table 1) and nutrient compositionvaries with the substrate used for vermicomposting. In general, the vermicompostproduced from human hair was almost equivalentto that of cow dung alone except some secondaryand micronutrients. The Ca contents of human hairvermicompost were found to be double than theconcentration in the cow dung vermicompost,whereas the cow dung vermicompost was almostthree times richer in Fe and Zn and twice in Cu

Saloon waste (Hair)

Earthworms feeding on Saloon waste

Vermiculture (Eudrilus eugeniae)

Vermibeds of Saloon waste


than human hair vermicompost. These findingscorroborate with those of Zheljazkov (2005).

The waste material ingested by the earthwormsundergoes bio-chemical changes leading to thecast containing plant nutrients and growthpromoting substances in an assimilated form. Thishigher level of nutrients also contributed by theenzymatic and microbial activity of the

Table 1. Chemical properties of vermicompost prepared from saloon waste

Particulars Vermicompost from Vermicompost from salooncow dung alone waste + cow dung (1:2 v/v)

pH 7.3 7.1Organic Carbon (%) 19 15Nitrogen (%) 0.60 0.5Phosphorus (%) 0.5 0.52Potassium (%) 0.5 0.6C:N 31.5:1 30:1Calcium (%) 0.22 0.42Magnesium (%) 0.34 0.37Iron (%) 0.096 0.029Zinc (%) 0.092 0.028Copper (%) 0.37 0.20Manganese (%) 0.06 0.045

earthworms. Addition of cow dung as a palatablesubstrate accelerated the breakdown of organicwastes resulting in the reduction of C: N ratio byincreasing certain nutrients. The C:N ratio is oneof the most widely utilized parameters to followthe development of material undergoing acomposting or vermicomposting process, and itvaries remarkably depending on the feedstock and

Fig. 1. Weekly temperature and pH of the vermicompost beds of human hair


by itself can hardly give reliable indications ofcompost maturity. Though the stability andmaturity degrees of a given vermicompost areusually inferred from the quantity and quality ofthe humic substances in the resulting compost.The composting process typically reduces the pHof the end product and the compost acts like abuffer in soil. Muthukumarasamy et al. (1997)and Parthasarathi and Ranganathan (2000) alsoobserved increased nutrient contents ofvermicompost obtained from pressmud, bigasseand coir waste and Lodha (2007) in municipalsolid waste. Total organic carbon decreased withtime and lost as carbon- dioxide while totalnitrogen increased as a result of carbon loss(Crawford, 1983).

However, ordinary composting for suchwastes takes a long time (years together) wherevermicomposting is very effective for such wastesand is completed in about three and half months.

The maturity of vermicompost can be judgedby physical appearance as well chemicalparameters. One maturity the vermi compostbecomes soft, spongy and dark brown in colourwith no smell. It should also be free frompathogonic microbes.

CONCLUSION

Vermi composting technology was found tobe cost effective and eco-friendly in convertingthe saloon waste i.e. human hair into a usefulmanure which otherwise is a pollution hazard.

The final product was neutral in reaction and itsnutrient concentration was almost equivalent togeneral vermi compost.

REFERENCESBrady, N.C. 1990. Nature and Properties of Soils (10th edition).

MacMillan Publishing Company, New York pp 510-512.

Crawford, J.H. 1983. Review of composting. Process ofBiochemistry. 8: 14-15.

Kohli, R. K. 2008. No hair- raising experiences this; courtesyearthworms, hair, weed easily converted to manure. Down ToEarth, August 16-31, 2008. pp 40.

Lodha, B. (2007). Effect of maturity and nutritional parametersduring vermicomposting of municipal solid waste. InternationalJ. of Environmental Technology and Management 7 (3-4):454-463.

Sharma, V., Kanwar, K and Dev, S.P. 2004. Efficient recycling ofobnoxious weed plants (Lantana camara L.) and congressgrass (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) as organic manurethrough vermicomposting. J. of Indian Society of Soil Science52 (1) : 112-14

Parthasarathi, K. and Ranganathan, L. S. 2000. Aging effect onenzyme activities in pressmud vermicasts of Lampito mauritii(Kinberg) and Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg). Biology andFertility of Soils 30: 347-50.

Muthukumarasamy, R., Revathi, G., Murthy, V., Mala, S. R.,Vedivelu, M. and Solayappan, R. 1997. An alternative carriermaterial for bio-fertilizers. Co-operative Sugar 28: 677- 80

Sharma, V., Kanwar, K and Dev, S.P. (2004). Efficient recyclingof obnoxious weed plants (Lantana camara L.) and congressgrass (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) as organic manurethrough vermicomposting. J. of Indian Society of Soil Science52 (1) : 112-114.

Zheljazkov, V.D. (2005). Assessment of wool and hair waste assoil amendment and nutrient source. J. of Environment Quality34: 2310-2317.


Review of Factors affecting the Adoption of DripIrrigation TechnologyMahendra Kumar and R. C. Jitarwal

Krishi Vigyan KendraMaulasar, Nagaur 341 001 (Rajsthan)

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted on 240 respondents of four panchayat samities of Jaipur and two ofSikar districts of Rajasthan. Two gram panchayat samities from each panchayat samities wereselected to know the factors which hinders the adoption of drip irrigation technology. It wasconcluded that economic motivation, size of land holding, mass media exposure and socio-economic status were found positively and significantly associated with the extent of adoptionof drip irrigation by the farmers while irrigation potentiality found negatively associated withthe adoption of drip irrigation technology. Experience in farming was non-significantlyassociated with the adoption of drip irrigation technology.

Key words: Drip irrigation, Adoption, Factors

INTRODUCTION

Rajasthan is such a state where water is alimiting resource, rains are uneven, drought is arecurring factor and topography is undulating.Under such situation the need of the hour is toconserve water and its efficient utilization but thefarmers are clanged to old methods of irrigationwhose irrigation efficiency is less. Drip irrigationhappens to be the technology capable of providingmore efficient use of water. Drip irrigation isbasically precise and slow application of water inthe form of discrete continuous drops, sprayedthrough mechanical devices called emitters in tothe root zone of the plants (Singh, 1995). This isa more efficient method of irrigation but still thefarmers have not adopted this system at a largescale. Keeping all this in view, the present studywas undertaken with the objective to study thefactors responsible for non adoption of dripirrigation technology in a big way.


The present study was conducted in Jaipur andSikar districts of Rajasthan. Those districts wereselected where maximum drip irrigationtechnology was in operation. Out of thirteen,fourpanchayat samities were selected from Jaipurdistrict and two panchayat samities out of six wereselected from Sikar district and two gram

panchayats from each of the selected panchayatsamities were selected. From the selected 12 grampanchayat, 240 respondents were selected on thebasis of proportionate random sampling techniqueand data were recorded in specific format.


The association between adoption of dripirrigation technology and the selected sixindependent variables viz., economic motivation,experience in farming, irrigation potentiality, sizeof land holding, mass media exposure and socioeconomic status of farmers was tested with thehelp of correlation coefficient.Table1. Association between selected independent variables

and extent of adoption of drip irrigation technologyby the farmers ( N=240)

Sr. No. Independent variable Correlationcoefficient

1 Economic motivation 0.885**2 Experience in farming 0.105 NS3 Irrigation potentiality -0.817**4 Size of land holding 0.739**5 Mass media exposure 0.752**6 Socio economic status 0.838**

** Significant at 1% level of significanceNS = Non significant



Economic Motivation and Extent of Adoption

It is evident from the data that economicmotivation was positively and significantly(P< 0.01) associated with the extent of adoptionof drip irrigation technology (Table 1). This is dueto the fact that every farmer wants to maximizehis profit. It is worth to mention that the economicmotivation is a factor responsible for the adoptionof an innovation. Therefore, this single variablemight be responsible for the adoption of dripirrigation technology in order to get highereconomic returns. The present finding weresupported with the findings of Raigar (1998) andMotamed and Singh (2003), who reported thateconomic motivation was positively andsignificantly associated with the level of adoption.

Experience in Farming and Extent of Adoption

The experience in farming was found to benon-significantly (P< 0.01) associated withadoption of drip irrigation technology (Table 1).It means experience in farming did not makesignificant difference in adoption of drip irrigationtechnology by the farmers. The results seemed tobe quite logical due to the fact that the dripirrigation is of recent origin so both experiencedand un-experienced farmers adopt this technology.Hence, non-significant influence of experience infarming was observed over the adoption of dripirrigation technology. Similar finding was alsoreported by Subashini and Thyagarajan (2002).

Irrigation Potentiality and Extent of Adoption

The data reported in Table 1 revealed that theirrigation potential was negatively andsignificantly associated with adoption of dripirrigation technology (P< 0.01). It could beinferred that irrigation potentiality exerts itsnegative and significant impact on extent ofadoption of drip irrigation technology. It meansthat more the irrigation potentiality less will bethe adoption of drip irrigation technology. Hence,these systems are more useful in water scarcityconditions.

Size of Land Holding and Extent of Adoption

The size of land holding was positively andsignificantly(P< 0.01) associated with the extentof adoption of drip irrigation (Table 1). Thus, it isstated that size of land holding of farmers exerted

highly significant influence on the adoption of dripirrigation technology. Farmers having large sizeof land holding were capable of taking risk ofusing latest technology. Subashini andThyagarajan (2002) also reported that size of landholding showed positive and significant relationwith adoption level of wheat productiontechnology.

Mass Media Exposure and Extent of Adoption

The data showed that the positive andsignificant (P< 0.01) association was foundbetween mass media exposure and the extent ofadoption of drip irrigation technology (Table 1).It was concluded that the extent of adoption ofdrip irrigation technology by the farmers increasedwith the increase in mass media exposure. Themass media provide the relevant and timelyinformation about drip irrigation technology andenhancing their level of awareness and knowledgeabout the technology. The mass media exposurehad a significant and positive relationship withadoption of cultivation practices of kharif maizeand tapioca technologies (Subashini andThyagarajan, 2002).

Socio –Economic Status and Extent of Adoption

It was observed that there was positive andsignificant (P< 0.01) association between socio-economic status and extent of adoption of dripirrigation technology. It was inferred that adoptionof drip irrigation technology increased with theincrease in socio-economic status. The farmerswho had higher socio-economic status i.e. literateand having surplus monetary resources werecapable of purchasing drip irrigation technologyeasily. This was in conformity with the findingsof Subashini and Thyagarajan (2002) whoreported that socio economic status was positivelyand significantly associated with adoption oftapioca and wheat production technology.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that positive and highlysignificant association was found betweeneconomic motivation, size of land holding, massmedia exposure and socio-economic status of thefarmers with the extent of adoption of dripirrigation technology by the farmers. Irrigationpotentiality was found negatively and


significantly associated and experience in farmingwas found non-significantly associated with theadoption of drip irrigation technology by thefarmers.

REFERENCES

Singh, R. 1995. Best way of saving water through drip system.Special edition on farmers fair, 1995. Apna Patra. Directorateof Extension Education, Udaipur (Rajasthan) 65-67.

Raigar, M. L. 1998. Knowledge and attitude of farmers towardssprinkler system of irrigation in Danta Ramgarh panchayatsamiti of Sikar district (Raj.). M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis (Unpub.),S.K.N. College of Agriculture, Jobner.

Motamed, M. K. and Singh, Baldeo 2003. Correlates of adoptionof improved sericulture practices. Indian J of Ext Edu. 39:51-57.

Subashini, S. and Thyagarajan, S. 2002. Characteristics of tapiocafarmers and their adoption behaviour. Indian J Ext Edu. 38:85-87.


Social Metabolism: The Kinetics of Entropy andOsmosis in Transforming Farming System

S. K. Acharya, N. K. Sharma and S. Bera

Department of Agricultural ExtensionFaculty of Agriculture

Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya,Mohanpur, Nadia 741 252 (West Bengal)

ABSTRACT

The creation, growth and decay of any social system, retaining myriads of life forms, havebasically been the concerns and exposition of energy. Social Metabolism envisages a naturalconnectivity amongst physical, biological and social systems ad their under lying cybernetics.It is the flow of energy that drives the social systems generating information, applying informationand transforming the present social process in to a desired social out come. Energy remainsretained, shelved and configured within a cell and within a social capsule and also is subject toa ruptured release for unlashing motivations and psychological capabilities. The present paperexamines the collision and collusion between imposed technologies vis-a-vis extraneousknowledge vs. intrinsic vis-a-vis in situ knowledge. The rejection of innovation, prescribed byexperts, has got a reverse osmosis impact in the entire technology socialization process.

Key words: Social Metabolism, Entropy and Osmosis, Farming System

INTRODUCTION

The history of ten thousand years of agrariancivilization is basically the history of humaneinnovation to tame the nature and shape the life,the way we desire. From hunting economy topresent day technology driven society, the role ofhuman knowledge keeps getting exponential.

The conflict between indigenous and exoticknowledge is classical as well as ephemeral. Thishas become worst with the process of urbanizationas well as modernisation in the very system ofagricultural production and management. Ourextreme hegemony in favour of making farmersadopting energy intensive technology and contra-ecological approaches has made a near disastroussituation, can be branded as an entropy ofknowledge and technology.

Knowledge Conflict in Farming System andthe Contra Adoption Process

The traditional and in situ knowledge arebeing contradicted by imported knowledge inagro-ecosystem, which again is undergoingconstant reforms, adjustments and evolution. In

certain cases, where indigenous knowledge keepsoffering a space for social osmosis, prescribedknowledge are assimilated and acculturate. Inother cases, withdrawal and non-compliances arehappening simply because the initial knowledgebalance, characterizing a unique social echelonhas failed to assimilate exotic knowledge. Theseall lead to a knowledge dissonance attributing toa negative social metabolism over a slice oftemporal distribution.

The different aspects of knowledge dissonanceand the crux of social entropy in farming systemresource bases, enterprise pattern, householdlivelihood and constraints and for which similardevelopment strategies and intervention can beapplied. Farming system in India has beencharacterised with high level of adoption, rejectionand discontinuance. Agriculture in India demandstransfer of technology, external supply of inputsas well as knowledge, where rural people havebecome mere recipient of input and technology.In India in general and West Bengal in particularthrough the continuous imposing of knowledgeand motivating the rural people a gap has beenfound between motivation unleashed and



accomplished made and there is a gradualdissolving of the most advance societies due tointrinsic disorder that may be referred to as socialentropy. This is responsible for institutionalconflict, organizational disorder or social entropy.Social entropy is a macro-sociological systemtheory. It is a measure of the natural decay withina social system. It can be defined as thedecomposition of social structure or of thedisappearance of social distinctions. Socialentropy is the amount of motivation unavailablefor performing in system. Mitchel (2009) studiedon a village (Jacobs) in 1998 through creativedestruction developed and predicted the fate ofcommunities that became the base of theirdevelopment on the co-modification of ruralheritage. You, L et al. (2006) while reportingagricultural production statistics on geopoliticaland on national basis concludes that there is a needto know the status of production or productivitywithin specific sub regions, watersheds or agro-ecological zones. His study depicts entropy basedapproach to make spatially disaggregatedassessments of distribution of crop production.Jen et al. (1999) in his multi-method field studyof 92 work groups explored the three types ofworkgroups diversity (Social category diversity,Value diversity and informational diversity) andtwo moderators (task type and taskinterdependence) where these workgroups notonly became central to organization but alsopresented their own intrinsic problem ofcoordination, motivation and conflictmanagement.

Social Equilibrium, Rural Poverty and Flowof Energy

Therefore, keeping core peripherycontradiction in the development process that hascaused structured chaos and dissonance in view,the present research has been conducted for theprediction of the social entropy amongst thefarmers from a score of socio-personal, socio-psychological and communication variation.Farming systems deals with production systemand production function, it is load based, cropbased, and natural resource base and thus cropproductivity is a function of physical, biologicaland social subsistence. The stage of equilibrium,physical, biological and social is the prime concern

of any system, it is more important for extensionsystem because it aims at adding disequilibriumto a depletive function e.g. (Poverty) in order toinvite neo-equilibrium (sustainable livelihood).

Social Metabolism and Social Entropy

Every day an immense mass of the materialsand the energy of nature are, through workactivity, appropriated by the social body, only tobe adapted to its needs, through productionactivity and distributed to the various parts throughcirculation, transformed into the social fabric bymeans of absorption (as for food) by bothinstitutions and individuals, and returned into thelap of nature through the consumption of goodsand bodily forces. Schaffle clearly outlined themechanism of that social metabolism by meansof which the energy and the matter existing innature enables the social body to maintain itself.The economic and physiological exchange ofmaterial does not entail the destruction of thematerial and energy but, rather, it entails their re-organization into sources of energy and intoinstitutions which make their social use possible.Basically, Schaffle applied thermodynamicprinciples to social exchange. According to thisprinciple energy and matter are not destroyed butare only transformed, disorganised and thenreorganised for other uses. An efficientmechanism of social metabolism can neither allowany energy to be lost nor permitting increasingentropy, would the result be crisis within the socialorganism itself. (Schaffle, A. 1874).

At certain stage of development, chemicalprocess lead to formation of Protein body and onthe basis of emergence of life i.e. to the biologicalform of motion of matter. It follows that someforms of motion of matter can turn into the otherforms of motion of matter, which is reflected inthe law of conservation and transformation ofenergy and matter. Each stage in the developmentof matter corresponds to a form of motion, differqualitatively, and the highest forms of motion ofmatter cannot be reduced to the lowest.

Social Osmosis: The Science of KnowledgeExchange

Social osmosis is the indirect infusion ofsocial, cultural knowledge. Effectively socialcontrol is diffused and by happenstance authentic


experience is displaced by degrees of mediatedseparation before a subject acquires knowledgeof a social phenomenon (Raaj K. Sah, 1990).

Knowledge always undergoes a social osmosisprocess to exchange, imbibe and assimilate.

Knowledge Entropy in Farming System :Issues of Compliances and Conflicts

An empirical study was conducted to elicit thefactors and reasons for non-compliance andconflict in the process of technology transfer,technology socialization either. In the study 73respondents were selected randomly from 250growers of village Ghoragaccha of BlockHaringhata in Nadia district of West Bengal, India.Socio-personal variables like age (x1), Education(x2), Family education status (x3), Family size(x4), Cropping intensity (x5), Farm size (x6),Annual income in Rs/year/capita (x7), Socio-psychological variables like scientific orientation(x8), Independency (x9), Innovation proneness(x10), Risk orientation (x11), Economicmotivation (x12), Orientation towards competition(x13), Attitude towards discontinuance (x14),Attitude towards rejection (x15), Communicationvariables like Social participation (x16),Utilization of source of information (x17), and

training received (x18) as predictors, whereas,among predicted or dependent variables,Noncompliance (Y1), Disagreement (y2), Conflict(Y3), Alienation (Y4) Social Entropy (Y5) weretaken. Social entropy (y5) was obtained first bymultiplying all the four predicted variables y1, y2,y3, y4 and then dividing the resultant product by4.

Data were collected directly from the farmerswith the help of structured schedule throughpersonal interview methods. Collected data fromthe selected farmers were analysed with the helpof several statistical tools like mean, standarddeviation, coefficient of variation, correlation,regression and path analysis.

A. The farmers having less innovation pronenessare more vulnerable to entropy situation.

B. With the increase of income the rural people,for certain cases, are showing increasingdissonance against proposed technology,might be, there are now more exposed tochoice of alternatives than before. Stepwiseregression and backward eliminationtechniques considering highest regressioncoefficient for social Entropy (Y5) asdependent variable and remaining 18variables as predictors.

Table 1: Coefficient of Correlation: Entropy (Y5) vs. 18 Independent Variables

Sr. No. Variables Coefficient of Correlation

1 Age in years (x1) -0.0672 Education (x2) 0.0333 Family Education status (x3) 0.1154 Family Size (No. Of members) (x4) -0.0275 Cropping Intensity (x5) 0.1846 Farm size in bigha (x6) 0.0747 Annual Income (x7) 0.0258 Scientific orientation (x8) -0.1219 Independency (x9) -0.12910 Innovation Proneness (x10) -0.12411 Risk orientation (x11) -0.239*12 Economic motivation (x12) 0.00713 Orientation towards Competition (x13) 0.08514 Attitude towards discontinuance(x14) 0.14614 Attitude towards Rejection (x15) 0.15215 Social participation (x16) -0.11416 Utilization of Cosmopolite Sources of information (x17) 0.04117 Training received in days in last 3 years (x18) 0.02918 *significance of r at 5%= 0.23019 **significance of r at 1%= 0.300


Economic gain has both consolation andcontradiction. Consolation generates becausepresent problem has been resolved andcontradiction simmers because whether tojustify the glory over the inglorious one. Thecompetition in agrarian society is increasingwhile hegemony starts ignoring the access toincome by others. The sudden surplus incomecreates a stress in the serene and softrelationship, the binding force is family.

[Y5 = 22.17 – 2.21 X11**

R2 =0.06, R2 (adj) = 0.04, Se (estd.) =4.77

Where, Y5 is social entropy

X11 = Annual Income (Rs/year/Capita)

R= Régression Coefficient SE = Standard

Error

Residual effect = 0.6902095]

C. Motivation and Social Entropy : Technical discourses vs. Farmers’ voice

Economic motivation is skewed version ofemotion pinpointed for economic gain, may

be through competition, denial to others rights,or through a clandestine performance whichagain can be clever or a deceiver one. Theelements of consumerism, an unhealthycompetition, the other side of monolithicdevelopment has done more harms than thegoods delivered by it. Innovation pronenesshas got profuse impact on generatingcompetition to supersede the laggards andultimately make them subjugated in a systemhierarchy. If not properly refined every egohas got deleterious impact over the peers orthe defeated ones amongst the peers. Farmsize with high economic motivation has madeone victorious and the others deleted ones.This has got, certainly, a catalyzing role inmaking social entropy a more complexhecatomb to make life confined andclaustrophobic: this is what we call SocialEntropy.

D. Knowledge, Motivation, Sources ofInformation, Family Education..... areadding entropy and chaos, gone inevitable andintrigue as a system function

Table 2: Path analysis for estimating direct, indirect and spurious effectEntropy (Y5) vs. 18 exogenous Variables

Sl. Variables Direct Indirect Total Substantial Indirect effectNo. effect effect effect (r) I II III

1 Age in years (x1) -0.02799 -0.03901 -0.067 0.02751 (x2) -0.02179 (x6) 0.01990 (x10)2 Education (x2) -0.07394 0.10694 0.033 0.09631 (x3) -0.03617(x10) 0.02750 (x6)3 Family Education status (x3) 0.11994 -000494. 0.115 -0.05937 (x2) 0.03206 (x7) -0.02759 (x9)4 Family Size -0.13765 0.11065 -0.027 0.06436 (x6) -0.02452 (x8) -0.1624 (x9)

(No. of members) (x4)5 Cropping Intensity (x5) 0.08339 0.10061 0.184 -.04264(x10) 0.02735(x3) 0.02603(x9)6 Farm size in bigha (x6) 0.14627 -0.07227 0.074 -0.06057 (x4) -0.04341 (x8) 0.02959 (x12)7 Annual Income (x7) 0.11055 -0.08555 0.025 -0.05007 (x10) 0.04502(x12) 0.03478 9x3)8 Scientific orientation (x8) -0.10436 -0.01664 -0.121 0.06085 (x6) 0.05043 (x12) -0.03761 (x11)9 Independency (x9) -0.19570 0.0667 -0.129 0.03583 (x17) 0.01931 (x6) 0.01691 (x3)10 Innovation Proneness (x10) -0.18714 0.03394 -0.124 0.03505 (x7) 0.02804 (x12) 0.02435 (x3)11 Risk orientation (x11) 0.12864 -0.05186 -0.239* 0.03062 (x12) -0.02356 (x15) 0.02311(x6)12 Economic motivation (x12) 0.13456 -0.12164 0.007 -0.04454 (x11) -0.04091 (x8) -0.03869(x7)13 Orientation towards 0.11082 -0.04956 0.085 -0.01445(x4) 0.01404(x11) -0.01295(x10)

Competition (x13)14 Attitude towards 0.10025 0.03518 0.146 0.02776(x8) 0.02200(x16) -0.01957 (x9)

discontinuance (x14)15 Attitude towards -0.10000 0.05175 0.152 0.04398(x11) -0.03975(x12) -0.02565 (x7)

Rejection (x15)16 Social participation (x16) 0.10356 -0.014 -0.114 -0.02717(x10) -0.02438(x14) 0.02300(x7)17 Utilization of Cosmopolite 0.00234 -0.06256 0.041 -0.06771(x9) 0.02384(x6) 0.02100(x16)

Sources of information (x1718 Training received in days in 0.00234 0.02666 0.029 0.02807(x3) 0.02326(x4) -0.02056(x2)

last 3 years (x18)


It is clear from the table that family education,Economic motivation, Orientation towardscompetition and Attitude towards rejection hasbeen precisely chosen for conceptualising SocialEntropy. Farmers in different parts of India andhere in west Bengal, are engaged in or confrontedwith each other to show the power or defined theirrights. The ambition for earning more may denythe rights of others or a sense of flamboyantintrusion may make others feel suppressed ordenied. The attitude towards rejection may not goas a placid social action, but may generate harshsocial reaction, too. These all are becoming morecomplex by the oriented towards competition.

Competition never goes linear or insulated,rather it begets splash of micro-confrontations ofaims and interests, a vision and vistas of goes andgateways. That’s why it is really scintillating tosee that the interaction between right side and leftside variables have assumed the character of a‘chi late’ function wherein, the predicted character‘social conflict has directed and precisely selectedsome of the right side factors or ultimately beingdefined as congenital and interactive dispositionof social conflict.Table 3: Canonical Variate of Root 4 {Social Entropy (Y5)

vs. 10 Independent Variables)

Left Side Right Side VariablesSocial -1.608 Age (X1) -0.169Entropy Family Education Status (X3) -0.205

Cropping Intensity (X5) -0.214Farm Size (X6) -0.249Annual Income (X7) -0.336Economic Motivation (X12) -0.205Orientation TowardsCompetition (X13) -0.304Attitude TowardsRejection (X15) -0.102Utilization of CosmopoliteSources of Information (X17) -0.168

G. Entropy Pyramid- Disagreement toAlienation resulting Social Entropy of system

Continuous dissonance between in situ andex situ knowledge would lead, as the empiricalstudy evidences, to the inevitable consequenceof social entropy. If the entropy sustains to remainfor a protractile period, it would generate adeleterious impact on food as well as socialsecurity. The sub orbital configuration follows thevalue of beta-coefficient in an increasing order.

CONCLUSION :

The entire paper has examined the hugeaspects of dissonance and entropy in the flow ofknowledge and technology socialization processhaving impact on social metabolism as well asfood security. Agricultural production system isbasically a flow and exposition of knowledge,flow-in and flow-out, that can be expressed indifferent forms of compliances or conflicts. Whilefarming system as a whole is passing throughunrest and chaos of knowledge non-compliance,entropy is a must to generate and of course wouldlead to a neo equilibrium state.

The present study was a concept paper onsocial entropy, an analogy of principle of Secondlaw of thermodynamics. According to second lawof thermodynamics transformation from matter toenergy is an irreversible phenomenon therefore itneeds to be kept at a manageable level. Thegradual modernization in agriculture has producedthe jerk, chaos or disorder following the attitudesof the farmers towards discontinuance of the staletechnologies and their increasing attitude towardsrejection. This has an explicit exhibition of non-compliant behaviour, attitude towardsdisagreement, conflict and ultimately getsalienated. This has gradually added to, that canbe refer to, social entropy.

REFERENCESFisher, Kowalsky and Haberly, H. 1994). On the Cultural

Evolution Of Socail Metabolism with Nature, SchriftenreiheSoziale Okologie –Iff Vienna, n. 40. p. 3.

Goldschimdt, W. 1998. Conclusion: The Urbanizaion of RuarlAmerica. In K.M. Thu & E. P. Durrenberger(Eds). Pigs, Profitand Rural communitie. (193-198). Albany, NY: StateUniversity of New York Press.

Jehn, K., A., Gregory,-B. Northcraft, Margaret A. Neale. 1999.Why Differences Make a Differences: A Field Study ofDiversity, Conflict and Performance in Workgroups;Administrative Science. Quarterly, Vol. 44.


Mitchell, CJA; wall, -S-B-de.2009). Revisiting the model ofcreative destruction: St. Jacobs, Ontario, a decade later: J.Rural Studies,25 (1):156-167.

Ponting, Clive. 1991. A green history of the Earth: Theenvironment and collaps of great civilization. New York. NY:Penguin Books. P 17.

Sah, Raaj K. 1990. Social Osmosis and Pattern of Crime: ADynamic Ecomomics Analysis Yale Economic Growth Center,paper 609, 1990

Schaffle, A. Bau and Leben des socialen Korpers ( Structure andLife of Social bodies), 1874 ed. It., Struttura e vita dei corpisociali, Utet, Torino, 1881.

Spencer, H. (1876). The Principal of Sociology, William andNorgate, Lodan 1876 Vol. 1 Now in Spencer, H., Structure,Function an Evolution, Edited by S. Andreski, Charls Scriber’sSons New York, 1971, p.17.

You,-L, Wood,-S. 2006. An entropy approach to spatialdisaggregation of agricultural production; international FoodPolicy Research Institute; Agricultural Systems 90, (1-3), pp.329-347.


Studies on Seeding Depths and EstablishmentMethods of Direct Seeded Rice in North-Western

Indo-Gangetic PlainsSimerjeet Kaur and Surjit Singh

Department of AgronomyPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 001 (Punjab)

ABSTRACT

The experiment was conducted at Students’ Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, PunjabAgricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab) during kharif 2009 to study the effect of cropestablishment methods and weed control methods on growth and yield. The rice seeds shouldnot be drilled beyond 2 cm depth in the soil regardless of soil type for optimum crop stand.Weed dry matter accumulation, effective tillers and grain yield did not vary significantly amongestablishment methods. The maximum grain yield (71.06 q) was recorded in weed free treatmentwhich was at par with integrated use of pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ ha with bispyribac 0.025 kg orazimsulfuron 0.02 kg/ ha.

Key Words: Direct Seeded Rice, Sheath Blight Disease, Crop Establishment Method, WeedControl

INTRODUCTION

Direct seeding is a good alternative oftransplanting and yield potential of direct seededrice is equivalent to the transplanted rice undergood water management and weed controlconditions. The alternative tillage and cropestablishment are site specific and therefore,evaluations under wide agro-ecological conditionsis important to have significant adoption. Uniformcrop emergence with optimum plant density iscrucial for achieving good yields for any system,including direct drill-seeded rice. Good cropestablishment depends on many factors includingland preparation, planting date, seed rate, typesof planting machinery used and depth of seeding.Seeding depth is critical for all rice varieties butmore so for semi-dwarf plant types because oftheir shorter mesocotyl length compared withconventional tall varieties (Kumar and Ladha2011). Some innovative farmers of Punjab statehave started growing direct seeded rice adoptingdifferent drills with different plant densities whichneeds standardization. Identifying herbicides withwide-spectrum weed control ability for efficientand economical weed management is also crucialfor improving the potential of direct seeding of

rice in the state. Keeping this in view, two studieswere carried out; pot study was done to ascertainthe seeding depth of direct seeded (dry) rice indifferent soil types available in this North- WesternIndo-Gangetic Plains and field study was carriedout to study the influence of crop establishmentmethods and weed control methods on growthand yield of direct seeded rice.


Experiment I: Pot study

The pot experiment was laid out inRandomized Block Design with three replications.Treatments consisted of sixteen combinations ofthree different soil types (heavy, medium andlight) and six seeding depths (on surface, 1 cm, 2cm, 3 cm, 4 cm and 5 cm deep in the soil). Theheavy (clay) textured soil was collected fromvillage Koom Kalan, Distt Ludhiana; medium(loam) textured soil from village Jhande, DisttLudhiana and light (loamy sand) textured soil wascollected from Research Farm, Department ofAgronomy, P.A.U. Ludhiana. The texture ofdifferent soil types were determined usingInternational Pipette method (Piper 1966) and are



presented in Table 1. Ten seeds of rice cv. PAU201 were sown at different soil depths in pots.The pots were daily watered to keep the soil moist.The emergence of rice seedlings were recordedevery day starting from fourth day, the day firstseedlings got emerged upto 15 days after sowingand then experiment was terminated.Table 1.Characteristics of soil texture

Soil type Sand (%) Silt (%) Clay (%)

Heavy (Clay) 7.4 33.2 59.4Medium (Loam) 48.7 33.3 18.0Light (Loamy sand) 81.7 7.4 10.8

Experiment II: Field study

The field experiment was conducted atResearch Farm, Department of Agronomy, PAU,Ludhiana, Punjab during kharif 2009. Theexperiment laid out in split plot design with 4replications comprising 5 crop establishmentmethods {direct seeding with zero till drill,modified furrow drill, conventional drill, puddledbroadcasted and puddled transplanted} in mainplots and 4 weed control methods {pendimethalin0.75 kg/ha. pre-emergence alone and integratedwith bispyribac 0.025 kg and azimsulfuron 0.02kg/ ha. at 30 DAS/T and weed free} in sub-plots.The soil of the experimental site was loamy sandin texture with normal soil reaction and electricalconductivity, low in organic carbon and availablenitrogen and medium in available phosphorus andpotassium. The drill sowing of rice cv. PAU 201was done at 20 cm row spacing using primed seedafter seed treatment on seed-bed prepared in threerespective main plots. The sowing was done aftercalibration of drills at the seed rate of 35 kg/ ha.The three different drills were zero till drill,modified furrow drill and conventional drill. zerotill drill has fluted roller mechanism as seedmetering system and seeds fall continuously. Therewas problem of seed breakage (5-6 %) at this seedrate (35 kg/ ha.) which was taken care of whilecalibration of drill. Modified furrow drill, preparedby a progressive farmer of village Kularh, districtLudhiana drilled the seeds on each slope of ridge(two rows per ridge) and was fitted with inclinedplate seed metering system. Conventional drill wasmanufactured by M/s A S Foundry, Jandiala Guruwith inclined plate seed metering system andplaces seeds and fertilizer using an inverted T-type

opener. In the fourth establishment technique,primed seed was broadcasted in puddled field (wetseeding) and suspended mud is allowed to settledown and form a protective cover over the seedssown (same operation was done as in nurserysowing is done). In the fifth establishmenttechnique, after seed bed preparation on the dayof direct sowing, the respective plots were leftunsown and weeds were allowed to germinate.For this puddled transplanting crop establishmentmethod, nursery was raised by sowing on the dateof direct seeding i.e. 6th June 2009 andtransplanted manually with 30 days old seedlingsat 20 cm×15cm spacing in puddled field. Prior tothe transplanting, the respective plots were cleanedoff weeds and puddling operation was done.Phosphorus (30 kg P

2O

5/ ha) as single super

phosphate, potassium (30 kg K2O/ ha.) as muriate

of potash and zinc sulphate heptahydrate (62.5kg/ ha.) were applied at the time of seedbedpreparation by broadcasting. Nitrogen (187.5 kgN/ ha.) as urea was applied as broadcast in fourequal splits at 2, 4, 7 and 10 weeks after sowing.The plots of direct seeded rice were kept moist atleast for 2 weeks with light irrigation after sowingwas completed and during these days irrigationwas applied at two days interval. Thereafter,irrigation was applied at 3-5 days intervals toavoid water stress to the crop. No irrigation wasapplied on rainy days. Irrigation was stopped 15days before harvesting of the crop. Two sprays ofpropiconazole 0.125 kg/ ha. (Tilt 25 EC 500 ml/ha.) were done to control sheath blight. Stem borerand leaf folder insects were controlled with spraysof monocrotophos 0.504 kg/ ha (Monocil 1400ml/ ha) and chloropyriphos 0.50 kg/ ha donealternatively.

The number of seedlings emerged werecounted at 15 days after sowing (DAS) from fiverandomly selected places in each plot. Theobservation was taken from 50 cm × 50 cm areawith the help of quadrat. Finally, counted plantpopulation was expressed as number of seedlingsper sq.m. Plant height from base of plant to thetip of panicle was recorded and expressed asaverage of ten plants in cm. The number ofeffective tillers (panicle bearing tillers) wascounted at harvest from plants of 50 cm × 50 cmarea with the help of quadrat from each plot. Countwas finally expressed as number of effective tillers/


sq. m. Weed dry matter accumulation at maturityof crop was recorded by removing weeds fromquadrat of 30 cm ´ 30 cm from each plot. Thesamples were sun dried and then oven dried at60°C. Dry matter of weeds was expressed asq/ha. The crop was harvested manually onOctober 26th and 27th, 2009 from the net plot area.Harvested produce from the net plot was threshedmanually and grain yield recorded in kg. It wasthen converted to q/ha. at 14 per cent moisturecontent. The data collected on various parametersunder study were statistically analyzed asprescribed by Cochran and Cox (1967) andadapted by Cheema and Singh (1990) in statisticalpackage CPCS-1. The comparisons were made at5 per cent level of significance.


Experiment I: Pot study

The perusal of data of emergence countembodied in Table 2 showed that emergence ofrice seedlings was completed at 12 DAS. Soiltexture type had non-significant effect on periodicemergence count, suggesting that soil texture typewas not so important for proper crop establishment.Periodic emergence count was significantlyaffected by seeding depth of rice seeds in soil,indicating that depth of seeding plays a major rolein maintaining optimum crop stand.

At 4 DAS, no emergence was observed withseeding rice seeds below 1 cm. Emergence count

was the maximum (5.5) at seeds sown on surfaceof soil and it was significantly more as comparedwith all other treatments. At 5 DAS, the maximumnumber of seedlings emerged at surface, being atpar with seeding at 1 cm deep in soil and it wassignificantly better as compared with all othertreatments. There was nil emergence countrecorded in seeding beyond 3 cm soil depth after5 days of sowing. At 6 DAS, emergence of riceseedlings was observed from all seeding depthsalthough the maximum number of seedlings wasobserved from seeding at surface, at par withseeding depth of 1 cm and was significantly moreas compared with seeding depths of 2, 3, 4 and 5cm in the soil. All the ten seedlings emerged afterseven days of sowing at surface regardless of soiltype and it was at par with seeds sown at 1 and 2cm deep in the soil. Similar results were observedat 8, 9, 10 and11 DAS. At 12 DAS, there was a100 per cent seedling emergence with seeds sownon surface or 1-2 cm deep in the soil and it wassignificantly more as compared with seedingdepths of 3, 4 and 5 cm in the soil. Similar resultswere observed at 15 DAS.

Experiment II: Field study

The crop stand in the experimental field wasuniform (Table 3). However, numerically loweremergence count (135.8 m-2) was observed inpuddled broadcasted crop establishment method.This lower emergence count might be due to thebird damage as seed was broadcasted on surface

Table 2. Effect of soil texture and seeding depth on emergence count of rice.

Treatments Emergence count (No.)DAS

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 15

Soil texture typeLight 1.6 4.0 5.4 6.3 7.3 7.8 7.8 7.8 8.1 8.1Medium 1.4 3.8 4.7 5.2 5.8 6.6 6.6 6.6 7.4 7.4Heavy 1.5 3.9 5.8 6.5 7.1 7.8 7.8 7.8 8.3 8.3CD (p=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS

Seeding depth (cm)

Surface (0) 5.5 8.0 9.6 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.01 3.5 7.6 8.7 9.5 9.8 9.8 9.8 9.8 10.0 10.02 0 6.5 7.8 8.0 9.0 9.3 9.3 9.3 10.0 10.03 0 1.2 4.2 5.5 7.0 7.3 7.3 7.3 8.0 8.04 0 0 1.2 2.5 3.8 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.7 6.75 0 0 0.2 0.3 0.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 2.8 2.8

CD (p=0.05) 0.4 1.0 1.8 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.3 1.3


itself. The effect of different weed controltreatments on emergence count was found to benon-significant. The effect of crop establishmentmethods on plant height was non-significant atharvest. Application of pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ ha.applied as pre-emergence recorded significantlylower plant height (84.8 cm) as compared to allother weed control treatments. The weed dry matteraccumulation was recorded statistically similarwith application of pendimethalin 0.75 kg appliedas pre-emergence either alone or integrated withazimsulfuron 0.02 kg/ ha. but was significantlymore as compared with weed free treatment andapplication of pendimethalin 0.75 kg as pre-emergence integrated with post emergenceapplication of bispyribac 0.025 kg/ ha. This mightbe due to more weed pressure in these treatments.

The establishment methods had non-significant effect on number of effective tillersduring both the years of study. Although highernumber of total tillers was observed in directlysown crop, intra-plant competition ultimatelyresulted into more tiller mortality and thus resultedin statistically similar number of effective tillers.The effective tillers were numerically higher in

direct drilled rice establishment methods ascompared with transplanting method. These resultsare in conformity with those reported bySaharawat et al (2010) that number of effectivetillers was numerically higher in direct drilled riceas compared with transplanting method. Amongdifferent weed control treatments, the maximumnumber of effective tillers (303.8 m-2) wasobtained in weed free treatment which was at parwith integrated application of pendimethalin 0.75kg/ ha. applied as pre-emergence followed bybispyribac 0.025 kg or azimsulfuron 0.02 kg/ha.applied at 30 DAS. Alone application ofpendimethalin 0.75 kg/ ha. applied as pre-emergence produced significantly lower numberof effective tillers (226.6 m-2) as compared withall other herbicidal treatments.

The effect of different crop establishmentmethods on the grain yield was statistically non-significant and its numerical value ranged from57.42 q to 64.08 q/ ha. (Fig 1). In case of puddledbroadcasting method, numerically lower grainyield (57.42 q/ ha.) was observed as compared toother direct seeding methods (drills). Themaximum grain yield (71.1q/ ha.) was obtained

Table 3. Effect of crop establishment methods and weed control treatments on emergence count, plant height, weed drymatter accumulation and effective tillers.

Treatments Emergence Plant height Weed dry matter Effectivecount/ m-2 (cm) at accumulation tillers/ m-2 at

harvest at harvest harvest

Crop Establishment Methods

Direct Seeding with Zero Till Drill 139.8 88.8 3.90 (22.76) 283.2

Direct Seeding with Modified Furrow Drill 140.0 89.9 3.91 (22.98) 284.9

Direct Seeding with Conventional Drill 140.6 90.4 3.89 (22.66) 288.3

Puddled Broadcasted 135.8 86.1 4.00 (24.10) 271.5

Puddled Transplanted - 89.1 3.82 (21.73) 269.0

C.D. (p=0.05) NS NS NS NS

Weed Control Treatments 139.2 84.8 6.82 (45.68) 226.6Pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1 pre-em.

Pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1 pre-em. f.b. bispyribac 139.6 91.0 1.00 (0.00) 293.30.025 kg ha-1 at 30 DAS

Pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1 pre-em. f.b. azimsulfuron

0.02 kg ha-1 at 30 DAS 139.1 89.9 6.80 (45.71) 293.8

Weed free 138.2 89.1 1.00 (0.00) 303.8

C.D. (p=0.05) NS 3.9 0.28 24.4


in weedfree treatment (Fig 2) which was at parwith integrated application of pendimethalin 0.75kg/ ha. applied as pre-emergence followed bybispyribac 0.025 kg or azimsulfuron 0.02 kg/ ha.applied at 30 DAS. Alone application ofpendimethalin 0.75 kg/ ha. applied as pre-emergence recorded significantly lower grain yield(39.09 q/ ha.) as compared with all otherherbicidal treatments. These results are inconformity with the findings of Mahajan andTimsina (2011); Mahajan et al (2009) and Waliaet al (2009) that where they used integrated weedmanagement, rice grain yield was significantlymore than that of alone application of a herbicide.

CONCLUSION

The rice seeds should not be drilled beyond 2cm depth in the soil regardless of soil type foroptimum crop stand. Rice can be seeded directlywith zero till drill, modified furrow drill andconventional drill with inclined plate meteringsystem. The follow-up application of pre-emergence pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ ha.with post-emergence bispyribac 0.025 kg or azimsulfuron0.02 kg/ ha. provided effective control of weedsin direct seeded rice.

REFERENCESCheema, H. S. and Singh, B .1990. A user’s manual to CPCS1.

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Pp 46.

Cochran, W. G. and Cox, G. M. 1967. Experimental Designs.John Wiley Publisher’s. New York.

Kumar, V. and Ladha, J. K. 2011. Direct seeding of rice: recentdevelopments and future research needs. Advances Agron 111:297-413.

Mahajan, G., Chauhan, B. S. and Johnson, D. E. 2009.Weedmanagement in aerobic rice in Northwestern Indo-GangeticPlains. J. Crop Improvement 23 (4): 366-82.

Mahajan, G. and Timsina, J. 2011. Effect of nitrogen rates andweed control methods on weeds abundance and yield of directseeded rice. Archives Agron and Soil Sci 57 (3): 239-50.

Piper, C. S. 1966. Soil and plant analysis. Hans Publishers,Mumbai.Pp 368.

Saharawat, Y. S., Singh, S., Malik, R. K., Ladha, J. K., Gathala,M., Jat, M. L. and Kumar, V. 2010. Evaluation of alternativetillage and crop establishment methods in a rice-wheat rotationin North Western IGP. Field Crops Res 116: 260-67.

Walia, U. S., Bhullar, M. S., Nayyar, S. and Sidhu, A. S. 2009.Role of seed rate and herbicides on growth and yield of directdry-seeded rice. Indian J. Weed Sci. 41 (1 &2): 33-36.

Fig 1. Effect of crop establishment methods on grainyield.

Fig 2. Effect of weed control methods on grain yield.


Use of Information and Communication Technologyin Agriculture by Farmers of District Kapurthala

Manoj Sharma, Gagandeep Kaur and M S Gill*

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kapurthala 144 620 (Punjab)

ABSTRACT

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are now seen as an important toolfor development in agriculture. These can play a big role in pushing the agriculture developmentin Punjab beyond the plateau on which it seems to stuck during last few years. In a studyconducted in district Kapurthala, it was emphasised to numerate the availability of such ICTtools with the farmers and their use in agriculture. This study was conducted using samplesurvey method and farmers were interviewed to collect data. It was found that 41 per centfarmers had landline phone but only 47 per cent of them used it for agriculture purposes.Similarly, 98 per cent farmers possessed television set but only 49 per cent of them used forwatching the agriculture related programs. The mobile phone ownership among farmers wasmore than 98 per cent which are mostly used by them as a social communication tool, whereas,78 per cent of farmers said that once in while they use their mobile phone for agricultureadvisory liking calling agriculture departments or relatives or commission agents to enquireabout the rate of produce. Mobile phones were found to be the most powerful means ofcommunication among farmers for exchanging agriculture information. This was probably dueto cost affordability, better network, easy availability and cheap tariff rates. Further, the farmerswere observed to be dependent on their large social network and took advice from the agriculturalscientists, fellow farmers, relatives, commission agents, pesticide dealers and friends.Interestingly, most of the farmers showed their inability to use the agro-advisory received throughshort message service (SMS) as they were not able to read those SMS. Eighty nine per centhouseholds subscribe to newspaper and read it regularly but were of the view that the informationin newspaper related to agriculture and its subsidiary fields is limited. The radio has far lesspopularity among the farming community. The various other factors which affected the use ofsuch tools in agriculture were age of the farmer, size of the land holding, educational qualificationand the cropping system.

Key words: Information, Communication, Agro Advisory, Agriculture, Farmer, Kapurthala.

INTRODUCTION

The Indian agriculture is today face to facewith three challenges: to improve the economiccondition of farmers, to improve agricultureproductivity to feed ever-increasing populationand maintenance of environment. Agriculturalextension, which is essentially a message deliverysystem, has a major role to play in agriculturaldevelopment. It serves as a source of advice andassistance for farmers to help them improving theirproduction and marketing (Adams, 1988). Thetask of extension education is accomplished by

different extension methods/media, which maycome under individual, group and mass contacts.The success of agricultural developmentprogrammes in developing countries largelydepends on the nature and extent of use of massmedia in mobilization of people for development.The planners in developing countries realize thatthe development of agriculture could be hastenedwith the effective use of mass media fortechnology transfer (Md Salleh et al 2010).

Transferring of new findings and technologiesto rural farmers remains a promising strategy for

* Director of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, LudhianaCorresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


increasing agricultural productivity. The new ideamust reach farmers’ fields and homes througheffective extension, so that they can adopt newtechnologies and put them into use at their farms(Ekoja, 2003). To reach beyond this plateau andto give a fresh impetus to agricultural productivity,a push towards higher agricultural productivitywill require an information-based, decision-making agricultural system. This is oftendescribed as the next great evolutionary step inagriculture. The most effective way to deliverknowledge intensive management in agricultureis ICT which is based on information as well as isdynamic in nature.

The Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICT) is an emerging field and canplay a central role in facilitating the exposure offarmers to a variety of information. It involvesapplication of innovative ways to use ICT in therural domain. Radio and television has beenacclaimed to be the most effective media fordiffusing the scientific knowledge to the masses.Similarly the increasing penetration of mobilephones and mobile-enabled information services,computers in rural India can complement the roleof extension services. There is no doubt thatinformation and communication technologieshave influenced educational circumstances morethan any other categories (Asnafi and Hamidi,2008). The advancements in ICT can be utilisedfor providing accurate, timely, relevant informationand services to the farmers, thereby facilitatingan environment for more remunerative agriculture.Also ICT could make the greatest contribution bytelescoping distances and reducing the cost ofinteraction between three prime stakeholders ofagricultural sector i.e. research, extension, and thefarmers, which can uplift this important sectorthrough mutual endeavour. According to Pandey(2003), Information Technology can be used as agreat facilitator in agriculture marketing byproviding connectivity between marketers andexporters, through a wide area network of nationaland international linkages in order to provide day-to-day information with regard to commodityarrivals and prevailing market rates.

Given the development scenario in IndianAgriculture, ICT movement is still evolving.However, all the ICT initiatives are not uniformwith disparities between regions in the level and

quality of telecommunications, information andthe effort of individuals, public and privateorganizations, and differentiated nature of demandof the farmers in different areas. At the same timethe actual availability of such tools with farmersand their optimal use in agriculture need to beunderstood for effective implementation of suchinitiatives.

Hence, the study discusses about theprogressive farmers of Kapurthala district ofPunjab state in India who are employing latesttools related to information technology in theirdaily agricultural practices. The objectives of thestudy were to identify the sources from which thefarmers learned about agriculture technologies, toassess the extent to which the farmers make useof these ICT tools and to understand constraintson realising the potential benefits of these ICTtools on knowledge dissemination.


Study area

The district Kapurthala is situated in the BistDoab and comprises two non-contiguous parts,separated by some 32 kilometres. Kapurthala,Sultanpur Lodhi and Bholath Tehsils form one partand Phagwara Tehsil, the second separatedportion. The former area lies between Northlatitude 31.07’ and 31.39’ and East longitude74.55’ and 75.36’. Phagwara tehsil lies betweennorth latitude 31° 22' and east longitude 75° 40'and 75° 55'.Total geographical area of the districtis 1633 Sq.Km. Ninety five per cent to total areaof district (1633 sq km) is rural area (1554 sq km).For administrative purpose the district is dividedinto five blocks Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi,Nadala, Dhilwan and Phagwara.

In 2011, Kapurthala had population of8,17,668 of which male and female were 4,27,659and 3,90,009 respectively. Sixty seven per centof total population of district is rural. The densityof population is 501 per sq.km. The literacy ratein the district is around 80 per cent. The totalnumber of agriculture workers is 58,430 of which55,406 are cultivators.

In order to assess the status of agriculturalinformation being used by the progressive farmersof the district Kapurthala, a survey was performedin all the 5 blocks of district namely, Kapurthala,


Sultanpur Lodhi, Nadala, Dhilwan and Phagwara.In each block, 2 villages were selected and fromeach village 12 farmers were interviewed. Thus,a total of 120 progressive farmers were taken inthis study. The data regarding possession of radio,television, computer, phone line, mobile phone,newspaper, use of helpline were collected and wasrelated with size of land holding.


i) Source and Type of Information

It was found the most farmers access theinformation through cell phones and they callfellow progressive farmers, relatives input dealers,traders and government agricultural extensionservices and Krishi Vigyan Kendra. The otherimportant sources of information were newspaper,radio and television. The internet and helplinetelephone number was found to be least preferredsources among the farmer. However, the perceivedquality and relevance of the information providedby these sources was highly variable. Also thefarmers expressed un-satisfaction at the type ofinformation being transmitted by one way medialike television or radio or print media and prefertelephone/ mobile as two-way communication ismore satisfying where they can put queries.Further it was concluded from discussions withthat they require information on weather, marketprices, plant protection (disease/pest control), andseed/ varieties, but don’t know where to getreliable information on these aspects and thus usea combination of tools.

ii) Ownership and Use of ICT Tools

Land cultivation:

Based on sample analysis, it was found thatin district Kapurthala 5;20.8,30.8,31.7 and 11.7per cent farmers were cultivating land < 1 ha.,1-2ha., 2-4 ha.,4-10 ha. and > 10 ha., respectively(Table 1.1). Therefore, they were classified into 5categories viz., marginal, small, small-medium,medium and large. The data showed that about26 per cent farmers were cultivating land up to 2ha. and 62.5 per cent between 2 to 4 ha whereasonly 11.7 per cent farmers were cultivating morethan 10 ha.

Use of landline phones:

The data presented in Table 1 .1 showed that64.3 per cent farmers were possessing landlinephone who were cultivating > 10 ha. and wereconsidered under large category whereas 47.4 percent farmers from medium category were keepingland line phones. Thirty three per cent farmersfrom all other three categories were possessingphones but on analysing the utility of this facilityfor agricultural purpose, maximum use was madeby semi-medium followed by medium, large andsmall category. Marginal farmers were not makinguse of this facility for acquiring information aboutagricultural production technology which mightbe due to low degree of confidence amongst them.

Use of computer:

A linear correlation trend was observedbetween the use of computer by the progressivefarmers and the size of land cultivated. Fifty percent of marginal farmers were possessingcomputers but were not using it for gettinginformation and keeping records related toagriculture and related fields. About 60 to 65 percent farmers from medium and large categorypossessed the computers but only 20 to 22 percent of them were using it to get informationthrough internet and record keeping. It wasnoticed that the average age of the farmersengaged in the cultivation of field crops wasbetween 40 to 55 years. Therefore, firstly theywere ignorant about the use and handling ofcomputers and secondly at this stage of age therewas no interest to learn amongst them. In fact,their children studying in different classes inschools or colleges were making use of thesecomputers that’s why they have purchased thesemachines. This was the main reason that even 50per cent of marginal farmers were possessingcomputers especially for their children.

The low use of this machine by farmers canbe thus attributed to high cost of computers, timerequired to learn the use of it, lack of knowledgeabout its potential use, low level of education offarmers, age, size and type of farming operations.

Watching of television:

Television is acknowledged as the mostimportant medium for communicating with therural population of developing countries (FAO,


2001). The television set has becomecommonplace in homes, businesses andinstitutions, particularly as a vehicle foradvertising, a source of entertainment, and news.Since the 1970s the availability of video cassette,laser discs, DVD and now Blue-ray disc, haveresulted in the television set frequently being usedfor viewing recorded as well as broadcast material.In recent years, internet television has seen therise of television available via the Internet, e.g.iPlayer. Although other forms such as closedcircuit television (CCTV) are in use, the mostcommon usage of the medium is for broadcasttelevision, which was modeled on the existingradio broadcasting systems developed in the1920s, and uses high-powered radio frequencytransmitters to broadcast the television signal toindividual TV receivers.

In this survey, it was noticed that every farmfamily was possessing the television set but itsuse was only about 49 per cent (Table 1) forwatching agricultural related programmes. A veryfamous programme Mera Pind Mere Khet istelecasted at 6.00 PM to 7.00 PM daily exceptSunday. Majority of the farmers reported that theycould not watch the programme due to itsscheduled time as at that time they are in theirfields for undertaking various field operations.Hence, timing of the programme needs to bechanged.

Listening of radio programmes:

The data (Table 1) showed that 57.5 per centof farmers were possessing radio but only 37.7per cent amongst them were using this mediumfor getting information related to agriculture.Interestingly, 42.9 per cent large category farmerswere possessing radio but only 16.7 per cent ofthem were using it for listening to agriculturerelated program (Table 1.1). Contrary to this, 100per cent of marginal farmers were possessing radioset and 33.3 per cent of them were listeningagricultural related programmes and rest wereusing it for listening songs on FM stations. In thesedays, FM radio stations are in service throughoutthe day and most of the farmers use this mediumfor entertainment rather than acquiringknowledge. An agricultural related programmeDehati Programme is broadcasted daily through

All India Radio Station, Jalandhar but its utilityseem to be up to only 37.7 per cent.

Reading of newspaper:

Print media were found to be most effectivein dissemination information amongst the ruralfarming community as 90.0 per cent of farmingfamilies were getting newspaper and out of them77.8 per cent were reading about the varioustechniques and programmes undertaken byvarious development departments. Moreover, itscost was most affordable i.e. Rs. 2.5 /d and keepthe readers aware about the day to day eventsgoing on in the society. The highest readershipwas observed in the marginal category and thelowest in the large category. This might be due topaucity of the time for large category or differencein the educational qualification. However the fullpotential of this media for dissemination ofagriculture information is not yet explored as onlyonce a week agriculture supplement is providedin each newspaper which is not enough to caterall information needs.

Use of mobile phones:

Possession of a mobile phone by an individualcan be considered as a status symbol or a necessityas well. In the sample villages 98.3 per cent ofthe farmers possessed this magic tool and out ofit 78.0 per cent were using this device for gettinginformation from dealers, relatives, scientists,extension workers, banks etc. However, only 66.7per cent of marginal farmers were using it foragricultural purpose whereas possession was 100per cent. In the market, various mobile models aswell as different schemes have been launched byvarious service providers but due to incapabilityof handling this device for various purposes, itsuse is mainly limited to listening of voicemessages. It was informed by approximately 70per cent of the farmers that they were unable toread the messages sent through short messageservice being sent by different companies as wellas by this Krishi Vigyan Kendra from time to time.Thus despite having resources, lack of skill hasbeen major hindrance in use of this serviceeffectively. It can thus, be concluded that stillthere is a wide gap between the technologygenerated and its use by the user.


Use of free helpline service:

A centrally sponsored scheme have beenlaunched for the benefit of farming communityin which a farmer has to dial a toll free number1551 from land line phone and call centre willgive the reply of the query posed to it. It wasnoticed that only 16.7 per cent farmers weremaking use of this facility (Table 1). The maindifficulty reported by the farmers was that mostof the time the lines remain busy and could notmake contact with the call centre. The other reasonmay be that since this 1551 number is dialled fromthe land line phone and the number of land linephone sets is decreasing day by day as 40.8 percent of the farmers possessed these connections.

Ownership of ICT tools block-wise:

It has been found (Table 2) that 40.8 per centfarmers possessed the landline phones in thedistrict. On computing the data block-wise, it wasfound that maximum land line phones were presentin Nadala block (69.6%) whereas in all other 4blocks the range varied between 37.5 to 46.7 percent Kapurthala block was leading in term offarmers possessing computers, television, radio,newspaper and mobile phones in comparison toother blocks. This may be due to the linkages ofthese farmers with the various line departments atthe district headquarter which have enhanced theiroverall awareness about the ICT tools. Lowestfigure for computer and radio sets possessed bythe farmers was observed in block SultanpurLodhi. This was mainly due to the fact that in thisblock, farmers belonged to all 5 categories (Table2.1) whereas in Kapurthala block only medium(35%) and large (65%) category was found asfarmer take large chunks of land on lease.Similarly, the cropping scheme followed in boththese blocks was also different. In Sultanpurblock, farmers prefer to grow vegetables as theland holding is small, besides they grow paddy,muskmelon, potato, watermelon and Sunflowerwhereas in Kapurthala farmers are cultivating landafter taking on lease and are growing mainlyPaddy-Potato- muskmelon on a large area.

iii) Constraints in Adoption of ICT Tools inAgriculture

Though the progressive farmers are keen toget relevant and timely information and are in

possession of ICT tools, their use in agriculture islow. It was observed that the major gap inadoption of these tools for fetching is nonavailability of relevant information and lack ofskill on part of farmers. The utility of availableinfrastructure is also an issue e.g. the farmers eitherdon’t have computers or those who have , don’thave internet connection which limits its utility.

· The information-action ratio indicates therelationship between a piece of informationand what action, a consumer is expected totake. It was found that the information-actionratio among the respondent was low. Factorshindering the full exploitation of availableinformation and action on it, is hightransaction costs that deter the entry of smallfarmers into the market For example, even iffarmer is able to access information on marketprice he doesn’t go to far off market due tohigh transport costs involved.

· Language poses barrier to use of mass media,

· Timing of television programme pertainingto agriculture is not suitable for most of thefarmers

· Inconsistent power supply in rural areas limitsthe use of mass media.

· Lack of awareness regarding source ofinformation.

· Other causes are the lack of a policy andregulatory environment and the low progressin research on use ICT and mobileinfrastructure for agriculture purposes.

CONCLUSION

ICT can be a powerful tool to help farmersget the information delivered to them at a timeand place of their choice. The scope of these toolsespecially mobile-enabled information services inagriculture is evident by high ownership of thesetools in the district. The present study, of coursehas been more of preliminary study and morerigorous assessment of benefit of thesetechnologies is necessary to help providing policyinputs. The realization of the potential benefitshowever, is limited by certain set of constraintswhich prevent the farmers from fully leveragingthe information they receive via these tools.Constraints are very limited exploitation of these


Tab

le 1

. C

lass

ific

atio

n on

bas

is o

f lan

d si

ze (f

igur

es in

num

bers

) (N

=120

)

Far

m s

ize

Lan

dN

umbe

r of

L

andl

ine

phon

e C

ompu

ter

TV

Rad

io

N

ewsp

aper

H

elpl

ine

M

obile

hold

ing

farm

ers

seri

vce

phon

e

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

Mar

gina

l far

ms

< 1

ha

62

03

06

36

26

50

64

Smal

l1-

2 ha

258

28

125

1514

224

192

2320

Sem

i-m

ediu

m2-

4 ha

3712

1016

335

1619

930

257

3728

Med

ium

4-10

ha

3818

824

538

1724

1235

278

3829

Lar

ge>

10 h

a14

93

92

147

61

138

314

11T

otal

(num

ber)

120

4923

6011

118

5869

2610

884

2011

892

Per

cent

age

40.8

46.9

50.0

18.3

98.3

49.2

57.5

37.7

90.0

77.8

16.7

98.3

78.0

Tab

le 1

.1 O

wne

rshi

p of

IC

T to

ols

and

its

use

for

agri

cult

ure

purp

ose

amon

g th

e fa

rmer

s of

dif

fere

nt la

nd h

oldi

ng c

ateg

orie

s (f

igur

es in

per

cent

ages

)

Far

m s

ize

Lan

dN

umbe

r of

L

andl

ine

phon

e C

ompu

ter

TV

Rad

io

N

ewsp

aper

H

elpl

ine

M

obile

hold

ing

farm

ers

seri

vce

phon

e

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

Agr

i use

No.

Agr

i use

Mar

gina

l far

ms

< 1

ha

5.0

33.3

0.0

50.0

0.0

100.

050

.010

0.0

33.3

100.

083

.30.

010

066

.7Sm

all

1-2

ha20

.832

.025

.032

.012

.510

0.0

60.0

56.0

14.3

96.0

79.2

8.0

92.0

87.0

Sem

i-m

ediu

m2-

4 ha

30.8

32.4

83.3

43.2

18.8

94.6

45.7

51.4

47.4

81.1

83.3

18.9

100.

075

.7M

ediu

m4-

10 h

a31

.747

.444

.463

.220

.810

0.0

44.7

63.2

50.0

92.1

77.1

21.1

100.

076

.3L

arge

>10

ha

11.7

64.3

33.3

64.3

22.2

100.

050

.042

.916

.792

.961

.521

.410

0.0

78.6


tools for dissemination of agricultural information,lesser awareness among extension agents andfarmers regarding range of services available.Further the adoption of information is limited byinfrastructural constraints like assess to marketand storage. Capacity building of both extensionworkers and farmers in field of utilization of thesetechnologies, strengthening of extension agenciesby equipping them with modern facilities,providing latest customised information in locallanguage are required to harvest the potential ofthese tools for improving agricultural productivity.

REFERENCESAdams, M. E. 1988. Agricultural Extension in Developing

Countries. ELBS edition, Longman Singapore Publishing,Singapore.

Asnafi, A and Hamidi, A. 2008. The role of ICT in developing ofknowledge. Centre of Iran informationandscientificevidence.E-Journal 3(2) http://aeizhazmi.persianblog.ir/post/13

Ekoja, I. 2003. Farmer’s access to agricultural information inNigeria.Bull. Am. Soc. Info. Sci. Technol. 29(6): 21- 23.

F.A.O. 2001. Knowledge and information for food security inAfrica from traditional media to the Internet. Communicationfor Development Group, Sustainable DevelopmentDepartment. Rome: FAO.

Md Salleh, H., Hayrol Azril, M.S., Abu Samah, B., Shahkat Ali,M.S. and Ramli, N.S. 2010. Agriculture Communication inMalaysia: The Current Situation. American J. Agric. Biol. Sci.5(3): 389-396.

Pandey, M. 2003.Information technology application in agri inputmarketing. Agriculture Today Vol 6, pp. 25-28.

Table 2. Ownership of ICT tools in different blocks of district Kapurthala (% of farmers)

Block Landline phone Computer TV Radio Newspaper Mobile phone

Sultanpur Lodhi 46.7 23.3 100.0 36.7 76.7 96.7Kapurthala 40.0 80.0 100.0 85.0 90.0 100.0Dhilwan 37.5 70.8 100.0 41.7 62.5 100.0Nadala 69.6 52.2 100.0 43.5 60.9 100.0Phagwara 40.0 60.0 100.0 0.0 70.0 100.0

Table 2.1 Distribution of farmers on the basis of land holding in different blocks of district Kapurthala (% of farmers)

Block < 1 ha 1-2 ha 2-4 ha 4-10 ha >10 ha

Sultanpur Lodhi 3.3 10.0 23.3 53.3 10.0Kapurthala 0.0 0.0 0.0 35.0 65.0Dhilwan 0.0 0.0 0.0 41.7 58.3Nadala 0.0 0.0 4.3 43.5 52.2Phagwara 0.0 0.0 20.0 50.0 30.0

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The editorial office of Journal of Krishi Vigyan expresses its extreme gratitude to the followinghonorable reviewers from across the country, for reviewing the manuscripts and providing their expertcomments from July 2012 to December, 2012. The valuable input by the worthy reviewers in terms oftheir precious time and sincere efforts is greatly admirable.

1. Anil Sharma 1 New Delhi2. Bhupinder Singh 1 Haryana3. D S Dhillon 1 Punjab4. Gobinder Singh 1 Punjab5. Gurdeep Singh 3 Punjab6. Gurmeet Singh 1 Punjab7. Inder Preet Kaur 1 Punjab8. Kanchan Sandhu 1 Punjab9. M I S Gill 1 Punjab

10. Mukesh K Gupta 1 Odisha11. P K Sharma 1 Uttar Pradesh17. R D Kaushik 1 Haryana12. Rajendra Pashin 2 J & K13. Rajendra Yonzone 1 West Bengal14. Rakesh Nanda 1 J & K15. Ram Singh 1 Punjab16. S K Acharya 2 West Bengal

Sr. No Reviewer’s Name No. of Articles State Sr. No Reviewer’s Name No. of Articles State

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