Impact and Assessment of Frontline Demonstration (FLD) Management of Weeds in Pineapple by Plastic Mulch
Rohit Shukla
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mamit District, Lengpui, Mizoram, India.
Vanlalhruaia Hnamte
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mamit District, Lengpui, Mizoram, India.
Santosh Kumar *
KVK CAU, Aizawl Mizoram, India.
Nitin Kumar Pandey
SMS Agricultural Extension, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Lalitpur, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Twenty-five numbers of frontline demonstrations were conducted on management of weed in pineapple by plastic mulch 2014-2016 & 2016-2018 subsequently with an ultimate aim to supressed growth of weeds and boost farmer income because weeding accounts approximate 30–40% of the overall cost of crop. Pineapple cultivation with 50 micron black polythene sheet mulching with double row spacing i.e. 90 x 60 x 30cm not only suppresses the weed growth but conserves the soil moisture, which leads to early flowering, better vegetative growth & higher yield over control (Farmer practice). The demonstrated recorded an average yield ranging from 43.18 to 45.90 t/ha with a mean of 44.54 t/ha. The per cent increase yield in demonstration 49.77% during 2014-16 and 66.67% during 2016-18 respectively, over the farmer practice. The average ranges of extension gap (14.35- 18.36 t/ha), technology gap (9.10- 11.82 t/ha) and technology index (21.49-16.55%) were during the period under study. The demonstrated field gave higher mean gross return (Rs. 267240 /ha) and mean net returns (Rs. 191740/ha) with average benefit: cost ratio (3.54) compared to the local checks (1.71). Present results clearly show that the yield and economics of pineapple can be boost up by adoption of recommended technology.
Keywords: Pineapple, mulching, weed growth, net return technology gap, extension gap, yield