CORRELATES OF ADOPTION OF GROUNDNUT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY BY THE FARMERS

The groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is the most popular oilseed crop in India. Out of a total area of 86.72 lakh hectare under groundnut in India, Rajasthan covers 2.46 lakh hectares with production of 2.96 lakh tones. The study was conducted in eight village of Sambhar lake block of Jaipur district of Rajasthan. The finding revealed that majority of the respondents (57.00 per cent) fell under medium adoption category followed by low (28.00 per cent) and high (15.00 per cent) level adoption of groundnut production technology. The study shows that the selected independent variable viz.; education, social participation, socio-economic status, sources of information utilization and level of knowledge were positively and significantly associated with adoption of recommended groundnut production technology. Further, it is also revealed that 't' test of significance expresses that coefficient of regression (b-value) were positively significant for all the independent variables. * Executive (Agriculture), The Bank of Rajasthan Ltd., Anta (Baran). ** Subject Matter Specialist (Extension Education), KVK, Anta (Baran). INTRODUCTION Indian occupies the first position, both with regard to area and productivity of groundnut in the world. The oil content of the seed varies from 44 to 55 percent, depending upon the varieties and agronomic condition. Its oil finds extensive use as vanaspati ghee. It is also used in manufacturing soap, cosmetic and lubricants. Kernels are also eaten raw, roasted or sweetened which is rich in protein and vitamins A and B. Being a legume with root modules, it is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, thereby improving soil fertility. The groundnut is the most popular oilseed crop in India. Out of a total area of 86.72 lakh hectare under groundnut in India, Rajasthan covers 2.46 lakh hectares with production of 2.96 lakh tonnes. In Rajasthan, this crop is grown over 38.95 percent of the area under irrigation in Bikaner, Ganganager and Jaipur district where the productivity of this crop is high. The productivity of this crop in Rajasthan is 1223kg/ha which is low as compared to national level. The Rajasthan state has 7th rank in groundnut production. It may be due to the low adoption of recommended production technology. Keeping this in mind, the present investigation was conducted with the specific objective to find correlates of Adoption of Groundnut Production Technology . RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study was carried out in Jaipur district of Rajasthan, because it occupies second highest area as well as production in the state. The eight village of Sambhar Lake block of Jaipur district were selected on the basis of highest groundnut production. A total 100 farmers were selected from selected villages by proportionate random sampling. The data were collected with pre-tested interview schedule. The statistical tests i.e.; percentage, rank, correlation coefficient and regression coefficient were used for analysis of the data. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Extent of adoption of groundnut production technology by the farmers The data in the table 1 depicts the adoption of recommended groundnut production technology by the farmers. Table 1 shows that the highest extent of adoption was found about seed rate (85.00 per cent), hence it ranked 1st. It was followed by spacing (83.00 per cent), depth of sowing (82.00 per cent), irrigation management (61.00 per cent), seed treatment (53.00 per cent) and weed management (51.00 per cent) and ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively. The least adoption of groundnut production technology by the farmers was found Raj. J. Extn. Edu. 19 : 125-127, 2011 126 Raj. J. Extn. Edu. : 19, 2011 about plant protection measure (34.00 per cent), fertilizer management (35.00 per cent), and high yielding variety (28.00 per cent), hence ranked 7th, 8th and 9th respectively. As far the adoption practices regarding of groundnut production technologies were concerned, table 2 shows that majority of the respondents (57.00 per cent) fell under medium adoption category followed by low (28.00 per cent) and high (15.00 per cent) level adoption of groundnut production technology. Table 1. Extent of adoption of groundnut production technology by the farmers This table also shows that 't' test of significance expresses that coefficient of regression (b-value) were positively significant for all the independent variables viz.; education (X1), social participation (X2), socio-economic status (X3), sources of information utilization (X4), and level of knowledge (X5). This might be due the fact that education gives shape and direction to the thinking of individual. Social participation is one of the factors which inspire the farmers for adoption of innovations. The socio-economic status of an individual farmer exerted a significance of his adoption behavior about innovation and it seemed to be quite logical that knowledge about new technology is a prerequisite for adoption. Table 3. Relationship between independent variables and the extent of adoption of groundnut production technology by the farmers ** Significant at 0.01 level of significance Table 4. Multiple regression analysis of independent variables S. No Recommended practices Extent of adoption (Per cent) Rank 1 Use of high yielding variety 28.00 IX 2 Seed rate 85.00 I 3 Seed treatment 53.00 V 4 Spacing 83.00 II 5 Depth of sowing 82.00 III 6 Fertilizer management 35.00 VII 7 Irrigation management 61.00 IV 8 Weed management 51.00 VI 9 Plant protection