A study on constraints faced by finger millet growers in adoption of nutrient management practices in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Finger millet is an important minor millet crop grown in India. It has the potential to grow in drought and unfavourable agro-climatic conditions. Nutrient management practices can improve the production and productivity of finger millet in the country. There are several factors preventing farmers from adopting nutrient management practices in finger millet cultivation. Hence, the study was conducted to find out the constraints faced by finger millet growers in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. A sample of 120 finger millet growers was randomly selected from the Thally and Kelamangalam blocks of the district. From the study, it was found that the major constraints faced by the finger millet growers were lack of awareness, difficulty in soil sample collection, difficulty in understanding soil test based recommendations, the bulkiness of the organic input, lack of information about the recommended dosage of NPK, lack of awareness about micronutrients, high cost of fertilizers and non-availability of labour during peak season. Based on the findings it was suggested to train the farmers on nutrient management aspects, strengthen the co-operative society, and create awareness about the benefits of soil testing, micronutrients and bio-fertilizers to ensure the greater adoption of nutrient management practices by finger millet growers.

Farmers’ Adoption of Finger Millet Production Technologies and the Impact on Finger Millet Yields

“…Impact index was worked out by calculating average score of the four parameters viz., grain yield, fodder yield, net returns and benefit-cost ratio (B:C) of the demonstrated technologies under pre-and post-FLDs (Thakur, A. K, 2017) [7]. The constraints were rated on a three-point continuum starting from 1= to a low extent to 5= to a high extent on different components [8]. The constraints were measured by using Garrtte's ranking method.…”

“…It is evident from the results (Table 5) that among the constraints, availability of labour, wild animals (deer and wild boar), availability of seed, erratic rainfall and high input cost are the major constraints for adoption of demonstrated finger millet production technologies [8,24].…”

The enduring significance and vital role of draught animals in India's agriculture

“…Increasing the utilization and field operation of draught animals, particularly by employing rotary modes to operate agroprocessing machines, can substantially reduce the unit operational cost of Draught Animal Power (DAP). Consequently, draught bullocks prove to be a more costeffective option compared to tractors, especially for small and marginal farmers, provided that farmers can cover the feed cost through their own sources and there is an improvement in the number of work days available (Pandith et al, 2019) [8] .…”

Constraints Percieved by Tribal Farmers in Production and Post-harvest Practices of Small Millets

“…Challenges in millet cultivation and consumption includes low productivity of small millets, need for nutritional profiling of various cultivars across all major millet growing areas, non-availability of endproduct specific cultivars, lack of improved primary and secondary processing facilities, less shelf-life of millet food products etc (Kumari et al, 2018;Prasanth and Murugan, 2021). Despite these challenges, millet farming has the potential to play a significant role in ensuring food security and nutrition in the future (Pradhan et al, 2022).…”