KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF FARMERS ABOUT CLUSTERBEAN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY IN WESTERN ZONE OF RAJASTHAN

The present investigation was carried out during the Kharif 2008 in western zone (Hyper Arid Partially Irrigated Western Plain) of Rajasthan with sample size of 316 respondents. The investigation revealed that majority of respondents had medium level of knowledge about clusterbean protaction technology. Further, the cultivators possessed high knowledge about clusterbean production practices viz, irrigation management, sowing time, seed rate and method of sowing and use of improved seed practices. The farmers possessed medium knowledge about plant protection measures, field preparation, soil testing, crop rotation and nutrient management practices. The study further revealed that the clusterbean growers possessed very little knowledge about application of culture, seed treatment, spacing and weed management practices in respect to clusterbean production technology with knowledge gap was 84.49, 82.03, 68.04 and 61.71 per cent, respectively. * Technical Assistant, National Seed Project, SKRAU, Bikaner. ** Associate Professor & Head, SKN College of Agriculture, Jobner, Jaipur. *** Deputy Director, Directorate of Extension Education, SKRAU, Bikaner. INTRODUCTION Rajasthan has largest area under cultivation of guar (82.1%) followed by Haryana (8.5%), Gujarat (8.3%) and Punjab (1%) which in turn producing 64, 22.12 and 2 per cent of guar seeds. The average productivity of the crop kg per hectare was 272 in Rajasthan, 881 in Haryana, 522 in Gujarat and 748 in Punjab respectively, whereas on all India basis it was 350 kg per hectare (Souvenir, 2008). Whereas the potentiality of production is more than 15 quintal/hectare. This wide gap is actual and potential yield of guar may be attributed to low knowledge of scientific production technology. The per unit production of clusterbean mainly depends upon the technical know-how and extent of its use by the clusterbean growers. Therefore, it was thought opportune to probe into the level of knowledge of the clusterbean growers about the recommended clusterbean production technology. Guar grown well under wide range of soil conditions, guar fits well into crop rotation. It is a deep tap rooted legumes and is an excellent soil improving crop. It works well in rotation with pearl millet a major staple cereals in its growing areas. Increased yield can be expected from crops following guar because of increased soil fertility. When harvested from seed, guar returns considerable dry organic matter to the soil surface. Largest area under cultivation of guar (82.1%) followed by Haryana (8.5%), Gujarat (8.3%) and Punjab (1%) which in turn producing 64, 22.12 and 2 per cent of guar seeds. The average productivity of the crop kg per hectare was 272 in Rajasthan, 881 in Haryana, 522 in Gujarat and 748 in Punjab respectively, whereas on all India basis it was 350 kg per hectare (Souvenir, 2008). Whereas the potentiality of production is more than 15 quintal/ hectare. This wide gap is actual and partial yield of guar may be attributed to low knowledge of scientific production technology.The per unit production of clusterbean mainly depends upon the technical know-how and extent of its use by the clusterbean growers. Therefore, it was thought opportune to probe into the level of knowledge of the clusterbean growers about the recommended clusterbean production technology. This zone is endowed with harsh adverse climatic conditions with very limited irrigated water, erratic rains, fragile eco-system etc. under these Raj. J. Extn. Edu. 19 : 210-213, 2011 Knowledge level of farmers about clusterbean production technology in Western Zone of Rajasthan 211 situations farming is a challenging task. The present study was conducted with following specific objective:1. To find out the knowledge level of the farmers about the recommended production technology of cluster bean. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Rajasthan state comprises ten agro-climatic zones and the Zone-Ic was selected purposely for the study. As this zone is comprised of three district, out of these, Bikaner and Churu districts were selected randomly. Fifty per cent panchayat samities were selected randomly from the selected districts (total number of four panchayat samities were selected from eight panchayat samities). Ten per cent gram panchayats were selected from selected panachayat samities and hence, 19 gram panchayats were also selected randomly. One village was randomly selected from each gram panchayat. A list of all the farmers who were growing cluster bean crop for last 5 years was prepared from each selected village. From this list 40 per cent respondents were selected from the total cultivators of the selected villages on the basis of random sampling method. Thus, total sample of 316 respondents were selected for the study purpose. The knowledge for the present study refers to the amount of information and understanding of the respondents about improved farming practices. The data were collected by personal interview technique with the help of knowledge test specially prepared for this purpose during kharif 2008. The statistical tools like, frequency distribution, percentage, mean, standard deviation and rank order were use to analyze the data and interpretating accordingly. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In this part of the investigation, knowledge level of the cultivators about recommended production technologies of clusterbean cultivation was measured. The knowledge score was calculated as sum of the total score obtained on correct response and converted into percentage. The respondents were categorized into three categories with the help of mean and standard deviation. Knowledge level of the cluster bean growers about their recommended production technologies. The collected data on farmer's knowledge regarding recommended production technologies of cluster bean cultivation are presented in table 1. Table 1. Distribution of farmers according their knowledge level about recommended production technologies of cluster bean cultivation Knowledge level Number of respondents Percentage Low (score below 25.03) 52 16.45 Medium (score from 25.03 to 41.53) 202 63.92