Abstract:
In Tamil Nadu, drip and fertigation for a horticultural crop was introduced through
Tamil Nadu Precision Farming project was implemented by Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University, Coimbatore in the Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts
during 2004-07 as a turnkey project. The yield and income of the farmers increased
by three fold, apart from increasing the area under irrigation. A survey was
conducted in the Pennagaram block to analyse the factors affecting adoption of drip
and fertigation. Fifty farmers were selected from the Pennagarm block farmers’
database of Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Dharmapuri district who had adopted drip
irrigation system. Drip adoption index was calculated and based on the drip
adoption index the farmers were categorized under three groups. It was found that
majority of the farmers fell under the medium category (66%) followed by high
adopters (24%) and low adopters (10%). The crop wise and the adoption of
fertigation wise grouping was done based on the drip adoption index. It was found
that there was significant difference among the drip adoption index crop wise. The
correlation effect of the various items under consideration on the drip adoption
index showed that the drip adoption index was high among the flower growers. The
difference in the interaction effect of the crop and adoption of fertigation showed
that this should be critically taken into account that the benefits of fertigation
should be further educated to the farmers.
