Techno-socio-economic assessment of farmers practices in the cultivation of bittergourd in Thiruvananthapuram district

Abstract

The study was carried out in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala on the farmers' practices followed in bittergourd cultivation. The study aimed at identifying the farmers' practices, assessing the knowledge about recommended practices, extent of adoption offarmers' practices, techno-socio-economic aspects, efficiency and ecofriendliness of these practices and also constraints faced by farmers in bittergourd cultivation. The respondents consisted of 40 farmer respondents. selected from Kalliyoor panchayat of the district, 25 extension personnel and 25 research personnel working on bittergourd. The dependent variables for the study were, the knowledge about recommended practices and the extent of adoption of selected farmers' practices by farmers. The independent variables included the personal, socio-economic and psychological characteristics of farmers. In total, 40 farmers' practices were identified. Of which, the plant protection practices outnumbered the management practices. All the respondents were aware of most of the recommended practices in bittergourd cultivation. 'Soaking of seeds in water' , 'organic manuring'practices adopted by 100 per cent of the farmers.

'Education' was the single variable which showed a significant positive correlation with knowledge whereas, 'extension orientation' and 'participation in P. T.D.' were the two variables exhibiting a significant positive relationship with the extent of adoption of farmers' practices. The practices, 'burning of dry leaves and twigs', 'banana fruit trap' and green leaf manuring registered the highest techno-socio-economic indices. 'Banana fruit trap' , 'organic manuring' and 'soaking of seeds in water' were the most efficient practices as perceived by researchers, extension personnel and farmers. 'Soaking of seeds in water', 'burning of dry leaves and twigs' , 'spraying nattapoochedi leaf extract', 'oraganic manuring' and 'green leaf manuring' were the most ecofriendly practices as identified by the farmers. The most important production constraint experienced by the farmers was 'incidence of pests and diseases'. The common pests were fruit fly, epilachna beetle, pumpkin beetle and plant lice. Mosaic and leaf spot were the common diseases. 'High cost of material inputs' was the most important economic constraint.