Farmers’ constraints and extension strategies for increasing the adoption of recommended plant protection practices in brinjal cultivation

Brinjal is a major vegetable crop grown in Tamil Nadu and it is one of the crops that uses the most chemicals for pest control. Though agricultural scientists and extension personnel are emphasizing on merits of Integrated Pest and Disease Management (IPDM) methods, the adoption of IPDM is limited among farmers as they faced with multi pronged challenges. The major constraints faced by farmers in adoption of the recommended practices and extension strategies to improve the adoption by the farmers are described in this study. Ex-post facto research design was adopted and the research was carried out with 120 brinjal growers purposively selected from two blocks of Salem district in Tamil Nadu. Nearly half of the brinjal growers (45.83%) felt that high incidence of pest and non-availability of predators, traps (45.00%) were the prime constraints. Multi disciplinary approach to research, educating people are some of the methods suggested.