Evaluation of drumstick varieties for yield and economy through On Farm Trails (OFT’s) in Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra

Introduction

Drumstick is the most well-known crop with a wide range of uses, which belongs to the Moringaceae family. There are more than 13 species in the genus Moringa two of which M. oleifera and M. concanensis are grown as vegetables in India (Malathi et al., 2021) [4] . The Drumstick tree has been grown throughout the plains, especially in backyards. The tree can reach heights of 5 to 10 meters. It grows best in tropical climates with little drought. Drumstick plant is native of the western and sub Himalayan tracts, India, Pakistan, Asia Minor, Arabia and Africa. Moringa oleifera popularly known as, Miracle tree, West Indian ben, Mother's best friend, Spinach Tree, Drumstick tree, Horse radish tree, Murungai. Moringa oleifera also possess number of remedial traits and all the plant parts-leaf, Roots, pods, bark, gum, seeds, flowers and seed oil have been utilized for several diseases in the traditional medicine of South Asia for the curing of inflammation and infectious diseases like cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, haematological and hepatorenal disorders. In Maharashtra state of India, Drumstick farming is a profitable and drought-resistant crop suitable for arid regions of Maharashtra, especially Solapur, due to its low water needs and ability to provide round-the-year income. The crop is suitable for dryland farming, has a high yield potential, and can generate significant income compared to traditional crops like sugarcane. Drumstick (Moringa) farming in Vidarbha is considered economically viable and is being explored as a profitable crop, especially with the adoption of integrated farming systems and specific agricultural techniques like drip irrigation. Key aspects include a lower initial investment compared to some other crops, potential for good returns, and a long harvesting period of about 10 months a year with certain varieties. Challenges to overcome include dealing with local climate extremes, such as Vidarbha's severe summers and heavy monsoons, which can impact sapling survival and overall yield. Farmers have lack of knowledge regarding recent package of practices as well as recommended varieties to get better production and income from drumstick crop. With aim, the present On Farm Trials were carried out to evaluate the performance of Drumstick varieties suitable for Buldhana district of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

Materials and Methods

The On Farm Trials were conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Buldhana II in Buldhana district from 2018-19 to 2020-21. The on farm testing conducted at 13 farmers file namely Ajispur and Nandrakoli villages of Buldhana block and Walti village of Chikhli block in Buldhana District. Two Drumstick varieties viz. PKM-1 and Bhagya (KDM-1) were assessment and cultivated in an area of 15.6 ha. during 2018-19 to 2020-21. The seeds were sown in the month of June to grow seedlings and were transplanted in the month of July on selected farmers field. The field trials was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three treatments with ten replications as per the method was suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1967) [6] . The data on the outcome of yield and economics were directly collected from the farmers who were selected for the On Farm Trials. The gathered data were tabulated, classified and analysed in terms of mean% score and ranks in the light of objectives of the study. More than 10% difference between beneficiary and non-beneficiary farmers' was considered as significant difference. The extension gap, technology gap and technology index were calculated using the formula as suggested by Samui et al., (2000) [8] .

Extension gap (qha -1 ) = Demonstration yield-Farmer's yield Technology gap (qha -1 ) = Potential yield -Demonstration yield Technology index (%) = [Potential yield -Demo yield / Potential yield] x 100

Results and Discussion

Table 1 shown comparison yield parameters between Drumstick varieties PKM-1 and Bhagya (KDM-1) were used for this trial. It is clearly observed from results that under the assessment plot, performance of Drumstick variety PKM-1 (yield) was sustainable higher than that in the Bhagya (KDM-1) in all the years of the study (2018-19 to 2020-21). Yield in variety PKM-1 ranged from (41.00 to 46.48 t/ha) during the period under trials and enhanced yield to a tune of 11.17% during 2018-19, 10.38% during 2019-20 and 13.47% during 2020-21 respectively, over the Bhagya (KDM-1). Similar enhancement in yield in Drumstick was documented by Karunakar et al., 2018; Rajamanickam et al., 2019 [3,7] . Yield of Drumstick varieties PKM-1 and Bhagya (KDM-1) and potential yield of the Drumstick varieties PKM-1 and Bhagya (KDM-1) was compared for extension parameters. These parameters were further categorized as technology and extension gaps. Technology gap indicates a gap in demonstration yield over the potential yield, and this was 9.00 t/ha (2018-19), 7.95 t/ha (2019-20) and 3.52 t/ha (2020-21) respectively (Table 2). Extension gap ranged 4.12 t/ha during 2018-19, 3.93 t/ha during 2019-20 and 6.23 t/ha during 2020-21 respectively, (Table 2). A wide extension gap means farmers were need to educate regarding production technology of drumstick by different farmers training programme as well as different extension activities. [5,11] . The economics of trials Drumstick varieties PKM-1 and Bhagya

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