Challenges in marketing and production of cucumber under protected conditions in Jaipur District of Rajasthan

Protected cultivation is a cropping technique in which the microclimate surrounding the plant is modified in part or whole to meet the plant’s requirements for the appearance of its output potential. Despite the government’s generous assistance, farmers are experiencing some difficulties. So, a study was conducted in Jaipur district of Rajasthan to find out the problems faced by farmers in polyhouse and open field cucumber cultivation, and to help policymakers mitigate them by proper policies. In Jaipur district, two blocks were selected purposively. From each selected block, two villages, i.e. total four villages were selected randomly. A total of 50 respondents were selected randomly from four villages, comprised of 25 polyhouse and 25 open-field respondents. Garrett’s ranking technique was used for ranking the constraints. The findings show that high seed costs (73.20) and high polyhouse investment costs (70.96) were major issues for polyhouse respondents, while a lack of skilled labour (30.52) was the least important issue. Respondents from open field cucumber cultivation cited market price fluctuations (70.84) and increased insect pest attacks (66.24) as their top concerns. The majority of respondents expressed concern about the large initial expenditure required to construct polyhouses and their maintenance, as well as the high cost of seeds, while market prices were a less concerning issue for them, which was a major issue for open-field cucumber growers.