Orobanche Infestation in tobacco: Farmers’ knowledge and constraints

Orobanche is the major production constraint affecting the income of Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco farmers. The present study is an attempt to analyze the knowledge level and identify the constraints faced by the respondents in orobanche management in FCV tobacco. Expost facto research design and random sampling procedure has been adopted in selection of respondents. To collect the data from the respondents in totally, 60 farmers from two tobacco growing regions viz., Southern Light Soils (SLS) & Southern Black Soils (SBS) in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh (30) and Karnataka Light Soils (KLS) region in Mysuru district of Karnataka (30) were sampled. The primary data was collected during 2021-22 based on field survey and interaction with FCV tobacco farmers. The results revealed that farmers knowledge on orobanche management practices is low in both the study areas. Correlation studies showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between level of education, farming experience, trainings attended and information seeking behaviour with the knowledge level of the respondents. For analyzing the constraints faced by the farmers in parasite management, Henry Garrett ranking technique was employed. Results revealed that the most serious constraints perceived by the majority of the farmers among all were problematic soils, favourable weather condition, easy spread of the parasite, physical removal after flowering, low credibility on extension personnel, lack of know-how on biology of the parasite, small and marginal land holdings, tenancy ownership, lack of strict quarantine measures and lack of compensation to the farmers in case of crop failure caused by orobanche.