Knowledge and adoption of maize production technology among farmers of Buldhana district

Introduction

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereal crops grown in India, used both as human food and as a key raw material for industries such as poultry feed, starch, and processed foods. India's maize production has grown steadily in recent years, reaching an estimated 43.41 million tonnes in 2024-25, making it one of the leading coarse cereals in terms of both area and output nationally [2] . Maharashtra continues to figure among the leading maize-producing states of the country, with the crop expanding into non-traditional pockets such as the Vidarbha region, where farmers have increasingly adopted maize as a preferred kharif alternative to more waterdemanding crops. Despite this expansion in area, the yield realised by farmers in the field is often lower than what is demonstrated at research stations. This gap is not always due to nonavailability of improved technology; it more commonly stems from farmers either not being fully aware of recommended practices, or being aware but not applying them correctly. Improved maize technology includes practices such as hybrid seed use, correct spacing, balanced fertilizer application, timely plant protection, and efficient irrigation scheduling. When farmers possess sound knowledge of these practices and apply them consistently, this yield gap can be narrowed considerably. A farmer may be aware of a recommended practice yet choose not to adopt it, due to cost, risk perception, or limited conviction in its benefit. This makes it important to study not just what farmers know, but how much of that knowledge is actually converted into field-level practice. With this understanding, the present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge and adoption of improved maize production technology among farmers of Buldhana district.

Methodology

The present study was carried out using an exploratory research design of social research. Buldhana district of western Vidarbha was selected as the study area, being one of the leading maize-growing districts of the region. Within the district, Buldhana and Chikhli talukas were purposively selected on the basis of having the largest area under maize cultivation during 2024-25. From each of these two talukas, five villages with higher area under maize crop were selected, making a total of ten study villages. From each selected village, twelve maize growers with at least three years of experience in maize cultivation were chosen randomly, giving a total sample of 120 respondents. Primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured and pre-tested interview schedule. The collected data were then tabulated and analysed using suitable statistical tools such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation to draw meaningful conclusions from the study.

Results and Discussion

Profile characteristics of maize farmers

The data presented in Table 1 reveals that a majority (57.50%) of the respondents belonged to the middle age group (36 to 50 years), with regard to education, majority (32.50%) of the respondents had completed secondary schooling, whereas majority (37.50%) of the respondents had small land holding (1.01 to 2.00 ha), while slightly over one third of the respondents (78.33%) were reported agriculture as their main occupation. With respect to area under maize cultivation, majority (63.33%) of the respondents cultivated maize on a marginal area of up to 1 hectare. With regard to annual income, more than half (51.67%) of the respondents had an annual income ranging between Rs. 3,46,534 and Rs. 5,91,066/-whereas income from maize crop, 65.83 per cent respondents reported they earned up to Rs. 1,21,333 per annum. Majority (97.50%) of the respondents reported tubewell or well as their primary source of irrigation and more than half (55.83%) of the respondents had possessed medium experience (11-20 years) in maize cultivation. With respect to sources of information, slightly half (49.17%) of the respondents utilized a medium category of information sources, and more than one third (80.00%) of the respondents had medium level of risk orientation. The data shown in Table 3. revealed that, majority of the respondents (65.00%) possessed medium level of knowledge about improved maize cultivation practices, followed by 20.00 per cent with high knowledge and 15.00 per cent with low knowledge. These findings were in conformity with the findings of [1,5,6,7] .

Adoption of farmers regarding maize production technology

Table 4. indicates that farmers showed high adoption for basic operations. Recommended preparatory tillage practices were adopted fully by 76.67% to 85.00% of respondents, majority (84.17%) of the respondents followed recommended sowing time for maize cultivation, whereas 87.50 per cent of the respondents harvested their crop at proper maturity stage. However, adoption was considerably lower for some of the more technical practices. Only 28.33% of farmers had fully adopted application of compost/ FYM, while nearly half (52.50%) had not adopted them at all. Gap filling was neglected by a majority of farmers, with more than two-thirds reporting no adoption. The data depicted in Table 5. revealed that nearly one third of the respondents (70.83%) had medium level of adoption, followed by 17.50 per cent with high adoption and 11.67 per cent with low adoption. Similar findings were observed by [1,3,5,6] .

Conclusion

The study shows that maize growers in Buldhana district know the basic, traditional practices of maize cultivation well, but their knowledge of technical practices like early and late varieties, intercropping and gap filling is still limited. Majority of the respondents (65.00%) had medium level of knowledge. Majority of the farmers (70.83%) had medium level of adoption, and for practices like application of compost / FYM and gap filling, adoption remained much lower than knowledge showing that farmers often know what to do but are not fully able to apply it, likely due to cost or limited input availability. Thus, there is a clear gap between farmers' knowledge and actual adoption of improved maize technology, which can be reduced through easier access to inputs, field demonstrations, and regular follow-up by extension workers.

References

1. Anand A, Jena A, Sahoo S. Association between socioeconomic profile and adoption level of improved maize cultivation practices by maize growers in Saran district of Bihar. Environment and Ecology. 2023;41(2):891896.
2. Anonymous. Maize. New Delhi: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India; 2025.
3. Jayabhaye JM. Technological gap in adoption of recommended practices of maize cultivation among the farmers of Buldana district. Akola: Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth; 2014.
4. Mathkar AU, Koshti NR, Shambharkar YB, Sadawarte AK, Nagpure SC. Profile analysis of vegetable growers in Akola district, Maharashtra. International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development. 2026;9(6S):177-182. doi:10.33545/26180723.2026.v9.i6Sc.3795.
5. Nagendra Babu N, Divya P, Sarma ASR, Venkataramulu M, Krishnaji MV, Ravi Kishore M, et al. A study on knowledge and adoption of improved technologies in maize in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development. 2025;8(4):172-176.
6. Patra S, Bose DK. Knowledge and adoption of improved maize cultivation practices by the farmers in Purulia District of West Bengal. International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development. 2025;8(12):20-22.
7. Wadge S, Kapse PS, Ahire RD. Knowledge and adoption of kharif maize production technology among the farmers. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences. 2018;Special Issue 6:1478-1484.