A study on profile characteristics of mustard growers and adoption gap in mustard cultivation

Introduction

Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) is an important oilseed crop belonging to the family Brassicaceae. It is widely cultivated in India and is valued for its edible oil, vegetables, fodder, condiments and medicinal uses. Mustard oil is commonly used as cooking oil, while the oil cake is utilized as manure and cattle feed. India is one of the major mustard-producing countries in the world. During 2023-2024, mustard was cultivated on a large area in the country and Rajasthan was reported as the leading mustard-producing state. Maharashtra is also an important mustard-growing state, and mustard cultivation is undertaken in several districts of Vidarbha. The productivity and adoption of recommended production practices are important determinants of mustard production. Although farmers may possess knowledge of improved production practices, the extent to which these practices are actually adopted may vary. Therefore, assessment of the profile characteristics of mustard growers and the adoption gap in recommended mustard cultivation practices is useful for identifying areas requiring greater extension support. Accordingly, the present study was undertaken among FLD mustard growers in Bhandara district of Maharashtra to document their socio-economic, communication and psychological characteristics and to assess the adoption gap in mustard cultivation.

Methodology

The present study was conducted in Bhandara district of Maharashtra State. Two tahsils were selected on the basis of the maximum number of mustard growers and the implementation of Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) by the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Mustard, College of Agriculture, Nagpur. From each selected tahsil, four villages were purposively selected on the basis of the maximum number of mustard growers. From each selected village, fifteen FLD mustard growers were selected. Thus, the total sample size was 120 FLD mustard growers. The socio-economic, communication and psychological characteristics of the mustard growers were studied to assess their profile. Primary data were collected through personal interviews using a structured interview schedule.

The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and equalinterval methods. For the present analysis, the respondents were classified into low, medium and high categories for the respective profile variables using the classification procedure adopted in the study. The adoption gap index was classified as low (up to 33.33), medium (33.34 to 66.66) and high (above 66.66). [7] .

Results and Discussion

Education:

The findings revealed that nearly half of the mustard growers (48.33%) had completed secondary education, followed by higher secondary education (18.34%) and graduation (15.83%). About 12.50 per cent had middle-level education and 5.00 per cent had primary education. None of the mustard growers was illiterate, indicating a relatively satisfactory educational status among the mustard growers. These findings were supported by Akanksha Nigam et al. (2024) [1] .

Annual income:

The findings revealed that the majority of the mustard growers (45.83%) belonged to the annual income group of ₹3,00,001 to ₹4,00,000, followed by 28.34 per cent with an annual income above ₹4,00,000. About 15.83 per cent had an annual income of ₹2,00,001 to ₹3,00,000, while 5.83 per cent earned ₹1,00,001 to ₹2,00,000 annually. Only 4.17 per cent reported an annual income up to ₹1,00,000. These findings were supported by Divya Ambarkar (2025) [3] .

Land holding:

The findings revealed that the majority of mustard growers (40.83%) possessed small land holdings (1.01-2.00 ha), followed by 35.00 per cent having semimedium holdings (2.01-4.00 ha). Marginal farmers constituted 12.50 per cent, while 8.33 per cent and 3.34 per cent belonged to the medium and large landholding categories, respectively. Thus, mustard cultivation was predominantly practiced by farmers having small to semimedium land holdings. These findings were supported by Roshani Rajpoot (2023) [9] .

Area under mustard cultivation:

The findings revealed that a large majority of the mustard growers (71.67%) had a medium area under mustard cultivation, whereas 15.00 per cent had a high and 13.33 per cent had a low area under mustard cultivation. This shows that most mustard growers allocated a moderate area of their land to mustard cultivation. These findings were supported by Janhavi Bisen (2025) [4] .

Sources of irrigation:

The findings revealed that nearly half (44.17%) of the mustard growers belonged to the medium category, followed by 33.33 per cent in the low category and 22.50 per cent in the high category. Hence, nearly half of the mustard growers had a medium level of access to irrigation sources for mustard cultivation. These findings were supported by Dolma et al. (2024) [2] .

Experience in mustard cultivation: The findings revealed that the majority of the mustard growers (67.50%) had medium experience, followed by 24.17 per cent with high experience and 8.33 per cent with low experience. This indicates that most mustard growers had a moderate level of experience in mustard cultivation. These findings were supported by Rakesh (2016) [8] .

Sources of information:

A majority of the mustard growers (60.00%) belonged to the medium category, while 23.33 per cent and 16.67 per cent belonged to the low and high categories, respectively. Thus, most mustard growers had a medium level of access to agricultural information sources. These findings were supported by Parmar (2021) [7] .

Social participation:

The findings revealed that the majority (60.00%) of the mustard growers had medium social participation, followed by 21.66 per cent with low and 18.34 per cent with high social participation. This indicates that the majority of mustard growers participated in social organizations and activities to a moderate extent. These findings were supported by Tiwari (2021) [10] .

Innovativeness:

The findings revealed that the majority (64.17%) of the mustard growers belonged to the medium category, followed by 20.00 per cent in the low category and 15.83 per cent in the high category. Therefore, the majority of mustard growers showed a moderate tendency to adopt or try new ideas and technologies in farming. These findings were supported by Kumar et al. (2024).

Risk orientation:

The findings revealed that the majority (70.84%) of the mustard growers belonged to the medium category, whereas 15.83 per cent and 13.33 per cent belonged to the low and high categories, respectively. This indicates that most mustard growers possessed a moderate level of willingness to take risks associated with agricultural production. These findings were supported by Parmar (2021) and Tiwari (2021) [7,10] .

Market orientation:

A large majority of the mustard growers (77.50%) belonged to the medium category, followed by 15.83 per cent in the low category and only 6.67 per cent in the high category. This suggests that although most mustard growers had a moderate orientation towards market-related activities, only a small proportion showed a high level of market orientation. These findings were supported by Divya Ambarkar (2025) [3] .

Knowledge: Knowledge about recommended mustard production practices revealed that a large majority (88.34%) of the mustard growers had a high level of knowledge, while 11.66 per cent had a medium level of knowledge. None of the mustard growers belonged to the low knowledge category. This clearly indicates that the mustard growers possessed a high level of knowledge regarding recommended mustard production practices. These findings were supported by Yadav and Mishra (2018) [11] . Bunkar (2015) and Divya Ambarkar (2025) [3,6] .

Conclusion

Overall, the findings revealed that the typical mustard grower in the study area was middle-aged, educated up to the secondary level, and possessed a small to semi-medium land holding. Most growers cultivated mustard over a medium area and had medium levels of irrigation sources and experience in mustard cultivation. Similarly, medium levels of sources of information, social participation, innovativeness, risk orientation and market orientation were observed among the majority of the growers. Notably, a large majority of the mustard growers (88.34%) had a high level of knowledge regarding recommended mustard production practices. Despite this high level of knowledge, 89.17 per cent of the growers had a medium adoption gap. This indicates a need to strengthen extension efforts that facilitate the translation of knowledge into actual adoption of recommended mustard production practices.

References

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