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P. BALA HUSSAIN REDDY*, S. SREENIVASULU, K. DATTADRI, P.V.K. SASIDHAR AND P.V. SATYAGOPAL
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University Kalikiri
Direct seeding in Rice using drumseeder was introduced by Krishi Vigyan Kendra during 2006 in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh to address problems like shortage of labour, increased cost of cultivation and to augment the productivity with judicious use of resources. The area under drumseeder method escalated to 4621.2 ha by the year 2012 from just 0.2 ha in 2006. A study was conducted in Chittoor district in 2014 to understand the perception of farmers about drumseeder method with a sample size of 160 respondents who practiced it. They perceived that drumseeder method is farmer friendly, technically and economically feasible to all categories of farmers and can be taken up in any season. They expressed that the cost of cultivation is very much reduced in addition to saving in resources like human labour, water and inorganic fertilizers. The respondents gave some suggestions for upscaling drumseeder method among the farming community. The ‘master trainer’ concept helped in large scale dissemination and adoption of drumseeder technology in the district and supplemented the efforts of extension agencies. Hence this method may be popularised in feasible areas through capacity building programmes and providing incentives for the farmers.
Direct seeding, Rice, Drumseeder, Traditional transplanting, Productivity, Resources