Knowledge and adoption gap of farmers about recommended paddy cultivation practices

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the knowledge and adoption gap among paddy farmers in Gondia district of Maharashtra, regarding recommended cultivation practices. A sample of 120 farmers from 12 villages was selected through random sampling method. Data were collected via structured interviews and analyzed using standard indices. Results showed that 86.67% of farmers had a high level of knowledge, especially in practices like ploughing (100%) and puddling (88.33%), while awareness was low for clipping seedling tops (20.83%) and zinc sulphate application (40.83%). Adoption gap analysis revealed that 83.33% of farmers had a medium-level gap, with full adoption for ploughing but significant gaps in clipping (79.17%) and hoeing (76.67%). The findings emphasize the need for focused extension efforts to improve adoption of critical paddy technologies.