Technological gap in different practices of among chickpea growers in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

Chickpea is one of the most important pulse crops in India and world, cultivated over an area of 12 million hectares with a production of about 9.2 million tones of grains. In India chickpea occupies an area of 8.22 million hectares with production of 7.24 million tones with productivity of 881 kg/ha.The higher percentage of chickpea growers 44.16 per cent were middle aged (36 to 55), higher percentage of them (36.66%) were educated middle level and higher percentage (38.66%) had small size (1.1 to 2 ha.) of land holding. The higher percentage of chickpea growers (44.17%) had low material possession, had low social participation (61.67%), had low farm power (86.66%), while (40.00%) of growers belonged to low (24001 to 50,000/-) annual income group, low socio-economic status (50.83%) and low mass media exposure (73.33%). The out of total chickpea growers had low contact with extension agencies (65.83%), had low extension participation (65.83%), had medium scientific orientation (71.67%)and had medium marketing orientation (40.83%), had medium knowledge level (40.83%), and had medium adoption package of practices (44.17%). The majority of growers (87.20%) had medium to low technological gap of chickpea cultivation practices. This may be due to non-availability of technical information and various constraints in adoption of the practices. Age, education, land holding, farm power, annual income, socio-economic status, scientific orientation, knowledge level of practices and adoption of growers had significant association with technological gap, while material possession, social participation, extension participation, mass media exposure marketing orientation and contact with extension agencies were found to be non-significant association with technological gap.