Anika Ibnat
Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh.
Mohammad Bashir Ahmed
Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh.
Suruj Jaman
Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh.
Md. Ruhul Amin
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet- 3100, Bangladesh
Litchi, Present scenario, Problem confrontation.
Meherpur Sadar and Mujibnagar Upazila in the Meherpur district in Bangladesh.
Crop-Soil-Water Management
The study was conducted at Meherpur Sadar and Mujibnagar Upazila in the Meherpur district. Most of the cultivable land of Meherpur district is high land and very fertile which is very suitable for orchard establishment. The weather condition of the area is also suitable for litchi cultivation. The study was conducted following descriptive and diagnostic research design (Kothari, 2004). The study was confined to commercial litchi growers having a litchi orchard of 0.134 ha or above. A number of 60 respondents (taking 30 from each of the Upazilas) were selected as samples following the accidental or convenience sampling method. Data were collected from the respondents by a pre-tested interview schedule through the personal interviews from May to June 2019. Present status of litchi cultivation was observed in terms of (i) year of initiation of litchi cultivation, (ii) first harvesting of litchi after cultivation inception, (iii) area under litchi cultivation (ha), (iv) extent of litchi cultivation (%), (v) varieties of cultivated litchi, (vi) number of litchi plants in the orchard, (vii) plants’ spacing (m×m), (viii) intercultural operations conducted [application of irrigation, fertilizer and pesticides] (ix) yield of litchi (ha-1), (x) price of litchi (100-piece-1), (xi) total cost of production (BDT), (xii) gross income from litchi (BDT), and (xiii) net income from litchi (BDT) orchard. The extent of litchi cultivation means the actual area (ha) under litchi cultivation is divided by the potential area of litchi cultivation. It was calculated by using the following formula: % ELC = AAULC/PAULC ×100. Where, ELC- Extent of litchi cultivation; AAULC- Actual area of litchi cultivation; and PAULC- a potential area of litchi cultivation. Based on the extent of litchi cultivation, the respondents were classified into three different categories, viz. low (≤40%), medium (41-60%), and high (?60%) extent. The respondents were asked to address the problems s/he faced in litchi cultivation along with their magnitude of severity. The PC was thus determined by adding all the scores against the 12 problems and the total PC score could range from 0-36 where ‘0’ indicates no PC and ‘36’ indicates a high magnitude of PC. Based on the PC score, the respondents were classified into three different categories, viz. low (score 1-17), medium (score 18-21), and high problem (?21) confrontation. The severity of a problem was determined by calculating a problem confrontation index (PCI) based on the following equation: PCI= NSe×3+NMs×2+NNe×1+NNo×0. Where NSe= Number of respondents rated the problem as severe; NMs= Number of respondents rated the problem as moderately severe; NNe= Number of respondents rated the problem as less severe; NNo= Number of respondents rated the problem as not at all. The PCI score could range from 0 (0%) to 180 (100%). For a better understanding of the severity (relative position) of a particular problem, the PCI score was converted into a percentage using the following formula: % PCI = Observed PCI score/Possible highest PCI score × 100. The selected socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents were as (i) age, (ii) educational qualification, (iii) farming experience, (iv) experience in litchi cultivation, (v) family size, (vi) farm size, (vii) annual family income, (viii) organizational participation, (ix) exposure to extension media, (x) training received, and (xi) knowledge on litchi cultivation. Age, farming experience, and experience in litchi cultivation were expressed in years while educational qualification was measured in the year of schooling. The number of family members in respondents’ families was used to indicate family size. Farm size and annual family income were measured in hectare (ha) and ‘000’ BDT respectively. Likert scale (Likert, 1932) was used to express the status of respondents’ organizational participation, cosmopolitanism, and exposure to extension media. Received training was measured in terms of number. After completion of the field survey, all the data of the interview schedule were compiled and analyzed in accordance with the objectives of the study. Various statistical measures such as mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, and percentage values were used in describing the parameters for determining the present scenario and focus issues as problem confrontation and selected socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents. For clarity of understanding, tables were used to present the data. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was computed to explore the relationships between the selected characteristics of the respondents and their problem confrontation in litchi cultivation. Data were analyzed by using the software named Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 20.0).
South Asian J. Agric. Vol. 8, No. 1 & 2, 2020-’21: 20-28
Journal