Farmers’ Perception on Tuber Crop Production Technology in Manipur, India

Abstract

Tuber crop cultivation contributes positively to the economic empowerment of the poor people and generally preferred by the tribal people. The study was conducted in the hill districts, viz., Senapati, Tamenglong, Chandel, Churachandpur and Ukhrul districts of Manipur to understand the farmers perception on tuber crop mainly Elephant Foot Yam, Colocasia, Dioscoria and Casava production technology with 110 randomly selected respondents. Data collection was done through personal interview with structure schedule and was analyzed in terms of frequency, percentage and rank. The study revealed that perception of famers on tuber crop germination rate is 67 percent followed by weed management (48%), after care (58%) and cost of cultivation (55%) is as usual as other crop production technology whereas 78 percent of the respondents revealed that there is no difference between tuber crop and other crop production technology for overall rating. The respondents reported that water management (65%), nutrient management (64%), disease incidence rate (58%), pest infestation rate (61%) and labour requirement (68%) are less as compared to other crop production technology.