Constraints faced by sugarcane growers in West Champaran district of Bihar

The present study was carried out, with the objective to identify the constraints regarding improved production and integrated insect-pests/diseases management technology. By interviewing, 120 sugarcane growers from five different villages of command area of Harinagar Sugar Milland Magadh Sugar Mill, Narkatiaganj, Bihar were selected purposely. The constraints encountered by most of the respondents in adoption of sugarcane production and protection technology were irregular/unseasonal heavy rainfallfollowed by unavailability of safe/biopesticides at local market, irregular supply of electricity, shortage of fertilizers in the market, unavailability of labour in time for intercultural operation etc. Most important constraints faced by the sugarcane growersabout knowledge and adoption of natural enemies/friendly insects (98.33%) followed by improved IPM practices (95.83%), identification of harmful insect-pest and diseases and their economic threshold level and economic injury level (94.17%) under technical constraints. Majority (93.33%) of respondents faced problems in high cost of insecticides/fungicides/herbicides followed by high cost of farm machinery (91.67%), high cost of agricultural labour (87.50%), high cost of fertilizers (85.00%), high cost of sugarcane seed setts (81.67%) under economic constraints.