Innovations Developed by Farmers in Erode District of Tamil Nadu

The study was conducted in Erode district of Tamil Nadu in order to identify the grass root level farmer led innovations by using personal interview method and observations in order to know location specificity of the innovations. A total of nine innovations were selected for this study namely land preparation, cultivation aspects, harvesting technology and varietal development in acid lime, organic liquid manure preparation and pest management. All the innovators were personally interviewed to know the uniqueness and its special features. This study revealed that, two innovations on land preparation machineries having the potential of covering 2 ha in a day, other two innovations in relation to cultivation aspects reduced the cultivation cost on an average of Rs. 2, 800/-and Rs. 5, 000/-per ha. Two more innovations on harvesting technology were used for timely harvesting and saved Rs.6, 250/-and Rs.18, 750/-ha. The average yield potential of acid lime variety was up to 2000 fruits/tree/season. By adopting liquid manure preparation technique and pest management technique, a farmer saved Rs. 12, 000/-and Rs. 2, 500/-against the purchase of fertilizers and pesticides, respectively.