A study on the identification of the preferred varietal traits of mustard by the farmers

Abstract

Mustard is the second most important oil seed crop in India and a mustard oil that is healthy and yet retains its characteristic pungency is the ideal cooking oil and which is something many consumers especially in northern India want. The study evaluates the preferred varietal traits of mustard at the time of adoption of a mustard variety using a sample of 160 farmer households from Baghpat (U.P.) and Jhajjar (Haryana). During pilot study, five important mustard attributes were identified, with different levels for each attribute. Three attribute levels were identified for yield and oil content and two levels were identified for resistance to pests and diseases, taste and erucic acid content. By using orthogonal design, 18 combinations of these different levels were selected for ranking. Conjoint analysis was done to identify the relative importance of different attributes. It was found that yield was the most considered attribute in the selection of a mustard variety by the farmers, which had an influencing percentage of 58 percent in the selection of a mustard variety. Oil content was the second most considered attribute which influenced about 22 percent, taste of the mustard oil was the third most preferred attribute which influenced about 8 percent. Resistance to pests and diseases was the fourth important attribute considered in the selection of a variety which influenced 5.5 percent. Erucic acid content was the least considered attribute in the selection of any mustard variety for cultivation. The total utility scores for different combinations of the attribute levels are calculated and found that the combination i.e., more than 20 q of yield, more than 35 percent of oil content, highly resistant to pests and diseases, low erucic acid content and less pungency of oil got the highest score which means this combination was the most preferred one by the farmers in selection of a mustard variety for cultivation. These combinations of preferred traits will facilitate the researcher in improvement and development of varieties of mustard with those attributes.