Growers Knowledge and Adoption of Chemical Fertilizer in Bt. Cotton

Increasing use of fertilizer has led to a phenomenal growth in the food grain production over the last four decades. However, the pattern of fertilizer use varies widely from state to state. Cotton is the major fibre crop of India and occupied an area of 8.5 m ha and accounted for 6.0 per cent of total fertilizer consumption. The study investigated Bt. cotton growers’ knowledge towards the use of chemical fertilizers. Simple random sampling was used to select 180 cotton growers from 3 blocks of Rajkot district of Gujarat state. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire through interview schedule and were analysed statistically. The results showed that the respondents perceived their general knowledge level on fertilizers use low; in the following order: method of application of chemical fertilizer (MS=1.98), time of application of different chemical fertilizer (MS=1.94), recommended dose of chemical fertilizer in Bt. cotton (MS=1.86), different type of chemical fertilizer (MS=1.85). The overall mean of knowledge domain was 1.82, indicated that the knowledge level of the farmers was low about use of chemical fertilizer in Bt. cotton. Over all adoption was 58.88 per cent of chemical fertilizer used in Bt. cotton, which is higher than knowledge level of the growers.