A Study on Perceived Efficiency of Farm Implements and Machinery Used in Selected Crops in Kerala

The study was conducted in Keralastate to understand the perceived efficiency of farm implements and machinery used inselected crops. Ex-post facto design was adopted to understand the perceived efficiency of farm implements and machinery List of various implements and machinery used in selected cropsviz., rice, plantation crops, fruits and vegetable crops was made based on the collected data. This was subjected to rating by 30 agricultural engineering scientists in Kerala Agricultural University. These implements and machinery were subjectively rated for their efficiency as perceived by respondents. The responses obtained were as: (1) less than 25 per cent, (2) between 25 and 50 per cent, (3) between 50 and 75 per cent and (4) more than 75 per cent. Majority of the agricultural engineering scientists rated manually operated and animal drawn implements as less than 50 per cent efficient, while power operated machinery were rated as more than 75 per cent efficient by majority of scientists. The drudgery in using manually operated and animal drawn implements may be the reason for the perception of these as less efficient by most of the agricultural engineering scientists.