Impact Study on Front Line Demonstration of Rice Variety Shalimar Rice-4 (SR-4) in District Kupwara

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) remains the primary food that sustains half population of the world daily. Approximately 70 million of the most impoverished individuals rely on it (Khandey, 2017). Nearly 640 million tonns of rice is produced  in Asia, representing 90% of global production. India is the second-largest producer of rice after China and has allocated the most extensive area for rice cultivation (43.1 Mha) paying for 29.4 per cent of the global rice expanse and producing 110.15 million tons, with an average yield  of 2,550 kg per hectare (Economic Survey, 2017-2018). After West Bengal, UP stays the second largest rice -growing state in the country, where rice is grown over an extent of 5.86Mhaencircling a production of 14.41 million tonnes and the productivity is 2.46 tonnes per hectare.
       
In UT of J and K , rice is primarily cultivated as a single-crop activity across both divisions, yielding an average of 41 quintals per hectare. Rice production rose from 4,327 quintals in 1965 to 5,001 quintals in 2010-11, while the cultivated area expanded from 212.00 hectares to 261.35 hectares during the same period (Economic Survey, 2017-2018). The rice is cultivated on 0.26 million hectares exhibiting output and productivity of 0.55 million tonnes and 2.1 tonnes per hectare respectively.
       
In district Kupwara rice being the major crop is cultivated over an expanse of 22000 hectares, possessing a mean productivity of 45 qtls per hectare (Statistics CAO Kupwara, 2022). The rice productivity in the concerned district is stumpy on account of the low seed replacement rate and non availability of improvedrice varieties  and non-adoption of scientific cultivation methods recommended by SKUAST-Kashmir. Front line demonstration serves as an effective mechanism for technology transfer, showcasing the potential of new techniques to enhance yield and profitability. Keeping in view the afore mentioned reasons KVK,Kupwara conducted frontline demonstrations in different villages of the district on high yielding ,disease resistant rice variety viz. Shalimar rice-4 (SR-4) released by SKUAST-Kashmir in order  to boost the rice production of the respective district.

The current investigation was accomplished at farmers  field in District Kupwara through front line demonstration by Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kupwara SKUAST-Kashmir for during the Kharif seasons of  three successive years from 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
       
Hundered eighty (180) demonstrations were conducted in various villages of Kupwara district. Ninety (90) farmers were involved  in FLD programme encasing an expanse of  36 .0 hectare in kharif seasons of the three consecutive years of 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24. Each frontline demonstration was established on a 0.2-hectare plot, with an adjacent 0.2-hectare area designated as a control to compare against traditional farming practices. Farmers were selected based on a survey conducted by KVK and specialized training was provided during the implementation of the demonstration. Table 1 outlines the differences between the demonstration and the current farming practices. The crop was harvested at maturity. The extension gap, technology gap and technology index were evaluated using the formulas proposed by Samui  et al. (2000) and Dayanand et al., (2012), as detailed below:


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Data on the adoption and horizontal spread of technologies were gathered through interactions with farmers. The information was analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. The following formulas were employed to evaluate the impact on various parameters of the rice crop.
 

 

 
 

 

Plant height
 
The average plant height from the demo plots was recorded as 140.05 cm as compared to average plant height of 115 cm from farmers field (Table 2) , this might be in debt of the element that the variety in demonstration plot has high biomass alongwith high grain yielding capacity i.e. genetic potentiality and balanced use of fertilizers and by following other recommended package of practices, these results resemble with Samant (2015).


 
No. of panicles /m²
 
From the (Table 2) it can inferred that number of panicle/m2 was found highest from the demo plots with average panicle/m2 as 384.06 as compared to 306.33 from farmers practice plots this may be due to high yielding potential of variety with higher yield attributes as a result of implementing the recommended practices in the demo plots where as the control plots lack such practices. Same results have also been reported by Tripathi  et al., 2013 and Samant (2015).
 
Yield
 
Analysis of the data (Table 2) shows that the average yield from demonstration plots was 83.33 q/ha, while traditional farming practices yielded 51.60 q/ha. This represents an increase of 63.33 per cent in rice yield. The yield under demonstration practices significantly surpasses that of conventional methods due to high yield potential of the demo variety of rice balanced and proper use of  fertilizers and other recommended practices of rice cultivation. These results align with the findings of Singh (2018). However, fluctuations in rice yield across different years may be attributed to variations in soil moisture and rainfall.
 
Extension gap
 
Extension gap of 36.00, 31.00 and 30.00 q/ha was perceived in 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively. A usual extension gap of 32.33 q/ha was noted, highlighting the necessity to educate farmers through various outreach methods, such as frontline demonstrations and training sessions. This approach is essential for encouraging the adoption of improved paddy varieties and protective technologies to narrow the extension gap. Increasing the use of modern production techniques alongside high-yield varieties will help address this concerning trend, (Meena and Singh, 2016).
 
Technology gap
 
The disparities amid the potential yield and the yield from demonstration plots were 2, 3 and -2 for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Over the three-year FLD program, the average technology gap was 2.33 q/ha. This observed gap can be attributed to variations in soil fertility, farming practices and local climatic conditions (Meena  and Singh 2016).
 
Technology index
 
The technology index reflects  practicality of the demonstrated technology in a farmer’s field. The observed value of technology index was 2.35,3.52 and -2.29 per cent  during 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively (Table 2). Technology index was recorded as 1.19 % during kharif seasons of demonstrations, showing the efficiency of interventions. With these results the adoption of the interventions will enhance which in turn will improve the productivity of rice. These results are in close conformity with the results of  Bhartiya  et al. (2017).
 
Economics
 
Rice variety SR-4 demonstrated higher net returns of Rs 88,607, Rs 92,659 and Rs 97,421 per hectare in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, compared to traditional farming practices, which yielded Rs 48,329, Rs. 49,421 and Rs 54,020 during the same years (Table 3). Additionally, the BCR for rice raising using best practices were 1.50, 1.53 and 1.54, while the ratios for traditional methods were 0.99, 0.96 and 1.01 (Saikia and Saikia, 2022). These differences are likely due to the higher yields achieved with improved technologies, which corroborates Mokidue et al., (2011). The results from the front line demonstration (FLD) showcased a significant positive impact, allowing researchers to effectively illustrate the benefits of the new agricultural technologies in farming contexts, ultimately facilitating long-term technology transfer.


 
Impact of technology
 
The technology significantly influenced the adoption of the high-yielding paddy variety SR-4, covering 830 hectares over the past three years. This variety boasts quality traits such as blast resistance, early maturity and a yield potential of up to 85 quintals per hectare. The demonstration also facilitated the promotion of scientific cultivation which increased  the average paddy yield upto 83.33 q/ha  compared to farmers practice with 51.66 q/ha. The demonstrations also recorded average higher gross returns of 153623.00 compared to farmers practice with average gross returns of  101521.33 which had an average  benefit cost (B:C) ratio of 1.52  and 0.98, respectively. The technology made a notable impact on the farming community, leading to a broader adoption across the region. The results are in agreement with Singh et al., (2018).
 
Horizontal spread of rice, variety SR-4
 
The Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) yielded positive outcomes, showcasing the benefits of the new technologies in actual farming conditions. FLDs organized by KVK, Kupwara, significantly contributed to a 48.57% horizontal spread of this technology (Table 4). The results are in agreement with Singh et al., (2018).


 
Adoption of rice technologies
 
During the course of study it was observed that prior to demonstration, the adoption of the recommended new rice variety among farmers was low, but it surged by 200% afterward. Overall, the adoption level of rice cultivation improved by approximately 330% (Table 5). The results are in agreement with Singh et al., (2018).

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Farmers have experienced a significant increase in income due to the cultivation and adoption of the new rice variety SR-4 with other recommended scientific techniques of production. This statement is backed by the income generated by the farmers over past three years in contrast to the local variety and farmers practice. Consequently, this demonstration was widely accepted with the variety and other recommended package of practices by realizing higher profitability. The FLDs posed a affirmative influence on Horizontal spread and adoption rate of SR-4. The FLDs recorded lower  technology gap as well as technology index showing the more feasibility of the variety and other technological interventions in the area, however higher value of  extension gap indicates that more demonstrations on the supra technologies needs to be conducted.

The present study was supported by, Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-Kashmir and ICAR, ATARI, Ludhiana and FLD farmers.
 
Disclaimers
 
The views and conclusions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of their affiliated institutions. The authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information provided, but do not accept any liability for any direct or indirect losses resulting from the use of this content.
 
Informed consent
 
All animal procedures for experiments were approved by the Committee of Experimental Animal care and handling techniques were approved by the University of Animal Care Committee.

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article. No funding or sponsorship influenced the design of the study, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.