Performance of Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) Varieties Sown on Ridge under Front Line Demonstration at Farmer’s Field in Deoria District of Uttar Pradesh, India

Aims: The production of pigeon pea is lower than the other pulse crops due to non-adoption of recommended high-yielding varieties and advanced technologies by the farming community in the eastern plains of Uttar Pradesh. To replace this anomalous, we conducted 152 front-line demonstrations (FLDs) at farmers' fields in various adopted villages by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Deoria.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Malhana, Deoria, under the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, UP. A total of 90, 12 and 50 FLDs were conducted sown on ridge method with three varieties of pigeon pea (Narendra Arhar 1, Pusa Bahar and Narendra Arhar 2) from 2014-15 to 2018-19 respectively.

Methodology: Conducted 152 front-line demonstrations (FLDs) at farmers' fields in various adopted villages by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Deoria. Cultivation practices comprised under FLD viz. improved varieties, sowing methods, irrigation, date of sowing, seed treatment, spacing, balance use of fertilizers, intercultural operations, and plant protection measures etc.

Results: Showed an increase in yield of pigeon pea varieties sown on ridge from 4.76–39.20% over traditional cultivation practices. As presented in Fig. 3, the technology gap was highest in Narendra Arhar 1 (1680 kg/ha) during 2016-17 and lowest in Narendra Arhar 2 (340 kg/ha) during 2018-19. The analysis of data for extension gap showed that Narendra Arhar 2 had the highest gap (540 kg/ha) during 2017-18 and Narendra Arhar 1 had the lowest gap (60 kg/ha) during 2016-17. The technology index was highest (56%) in Narendra Arhar 1 in 2016-17 and lowest (15%) in Narendra Arhar 2 in 2018-19.

Conclusion: The lower the value of the technology index, the more feasible the technology is in the eastern plains of UP.