Impact of Various Parameters on Adoption of Zero-till Seed-cum- Fertilizer Drill in Pusa Block of Samastipur District – A Case Study

Abstract

Adoption of zero-till technology in wheat was found to be governed by man, machine and input parameters. Attitude of farmers and awareness were found to be most prominent one with 100% scoring. Age of farmers and benefits in cultivation were vital in machine adoption. A total of 75% farmers below 40 years age had used machine and earned more than Rs. 8000/- per acre. Further, 71 % farmers, having above 5.0 acres land had better adoption of the machine. The machine users (82%) were mostly from Rice-Wheat cropping system and 89% of them had sown wheat timely. The percentage of farmers who had used new seeds and granular fertilizers in machine was 79 and 93, respectively. Only 18% and 11% farmers had knowledge of machine calibration for seed and fertilizer, respectively. Poor knowledge of majority of farmers (32%) for depth control in field was general problem. Ultimately, the man, machine and input parameters were found to have role in enhancing wheat productivity through machine. A total of 54% of farmers had realized more than 10% gain in yield by machine over broadcasting method. The farmers who had used machine with fluted roller metering device were 68%. Only 46.43% had maintained machine properly before its use.