Enhancing the Yield and Economics of Okra Through Frontline Demonstrations in Samba District of Jammu and Kashmir Sharma Neerja*, Sinha Abhay, Gupta Saurav ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra (SKUAST-Jammu) Samba184121Jammu and Kashmir, India *Email for correspondence: neerja1975@gmail.com
Online Published on 12 September, 2022. Abstract Frontline demonstration is one of the powerful tools for transfer of technology. After realizing the importance of frontline demonstrations, demonstrations on the production and protection technology of okra were laid out at the farmers’ fields under the supervision of scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Samba, Jammu and Kashmir in different agro-climatic regions and farming situations and their impact was recorded. The study revealed that majority of the beneficiaries (87%) adopted high yielding variety resistant to yellow vein mosaic virus. The important package of practices where more increase in adoption was found was use of recommended fertilizer dose (57%), seed treatment (50%), use of high yielding improved variety (47.5%), line sowing on ridges and furrows (40%), plant protection measures to control insects pests and diseases (42%), weed management (35%) and use of proper seed rate and spacing (30%). The mean knowledge and adoption scores of beneficiaries were higher comparatively to non- beneficiaries. It was also observed that majority of beneficiaries had medium to high knowledge and adoption of production technology promoted through frontline demonstrations. This might be due to the concerted efforts made by KVK scientists in implementation of frontline demonstrations. There were significant differences observed in yield and B-C ratio of okra before the FLD and after FLD programme. The data also signified strong satisfaction of farmers about the services rendered by scientists through frontline demonstrations which ultimately lead to increase in knowledge and adoption level of beneficiaries and thus higher yield and economic net return. Top Keywords Frontline demonstration, Impact, Adoption, Benefit-cost ratio, Okra. Top |